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You have to be at least 18 years old to order cannabis seeds from Seedsman. It is an offence to cultivate any plant of the genus cannabis in most of the world without a licence from the secretary of state. Anyone committing an offence contrary to this section may be imprisoned or fined, or both. Seeds can only be sold as souvenirs, or for the preservation of genetics or in-case laws may change. It is your responsibility to check your local laws before ordering. Acquisition of live cannabis seeds is illegal in United States.

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DO YOUR PART TO GROW THE CULTURE. LET OUR ADVERTISERS KNOW THAT YOU SAW THEM IN SATIVA MAGAZINE. Budfolio Cannabis Camera Sativa Magazine Online Issue No. 20 September 2014

CannaCon Flipz/Cool Jarz Guaranteed Relief Guardian Data Systems Herbivore Designs Edibles by Hippy KK Ideal 420 Soil Kasher/SWADO Lush Lighting Old School Breeders Quantum 9 Scientific Soil Seedsman

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President & Publisher

Editor-in-Chief

Michael Freedom Carter Karen E. Szabo

Managing Editor & Design Director

Cheryl Addington

Social Marketing Expert

Carly Hofer

Art Director

Josh Clappe

Designers

Emily Cain April Greene

Photographer

Max Bortnick

Executive Editor

Gloria Martinez

Writers Diana Campos Natalie Covate Hippy KK David Kennedy Kandy Krush

All contents ©2014 Sativa Magazine. Sativa Magazine is published and distributed by Vanguard Click Publishing, Seattle, WA. Sativa Magazine does not condone or endorse any illegal use of any products or services advertised herein. All material is for educational purposes only. Sativa Magazine recommends consulting an attorney before considering any business decision or venture. We take no responsibility for the actions of our readers.

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Help Sativa Magazine get in print

Welcome to the 20th issue of Sativa Magazine!

We are very excited to announce that soon Sativa Magazine will be available in print. As a team, we have come to the conclusion that we need to produce a coffee-table-format issue of Sativa — not only for our readers, but also for our advertisers. To that end, we’ve done a little editorial shifting: Former editor-in-chief Michael Freedom Carter is now publisher and president of Sativa Magazine, and Karen E. Szabo takes over as editor-in-chief.

In the past eight years, crowdfunding has become a popular method for raising capital, even for those in the Cannabis industry as long as the plant itself or any form of derivative isn’t directly involved, i.e. dispensaries or medible companies. So much so that this summer, a new platform designed specifically for the Cannabis industry, WeCanna began accepting submissions. It’s estimated that this year alone, the crowd funding market will raise nearly $10 million.

For those in the Cannabis industry, Cannabis media publications included, finding capital to finance a startup or even expand an existing business is virtually impossible to obtain through a financial institution. It’s believed that 83 percent of Cannabis-related businesses are funded solely by the founder’s personal savings and any and all debt accrued is in their personal name.

After being in business for nearly two years, Sativa Magazine and its exceptional team of volunteers are in the process of organizing an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds needed to produce a printed version of Sativa. We’ve chosen the appropriate platform, set our goal and are now reaching out to the general public for help. We need your support so that our voice becomes stronger enabling us to reach a larger audience.

Startups are starving for capital, and with limited financing available, only those with cash-lined pockets are benefitting from the Green Rush. Having access to bank financing would make things much easier however cannabusinesses aren’t privy to such luxuries and are being forced to seek alternative methods to finance their dreams. “Crowd” funding or what might otherwise be known as Hyperfunding or even crowd financing offers those with no other financial means available, a unique and targeted platform to raise cash for starting up, or for expanding their cannabusinesses.

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How can you help? Will you consider donating to our campaign? Everyone who donates, regardless of the monetary value, will receive a special gift and will be invited to participate in a fun-filled video helping to spread an important message about our future. Are you ready?

Karen E. Szabo Editor-in-Chief

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SEPTEMBER 2014 COLUMNS Business Highdeas Cannadinner in, or do you want to go to the cannaevent?

More great ideas to get your business brain humming.

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Bright Shiny Objects Maud-Dib Concentrate Box by Magic-Flight Never too early to start that Christmas list.

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From Seed to Sale Ask an expert with Read Spear Our new Q&A column answers all your cannabusiness questions.

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Business as Unusual Yield management: make the most of what you’ve got Small crop or large; hydro or soil — how to reap the most profit.

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Incredible Medibles Rolled-up apple pie It’s apple season! Reap the bounty and turn on the oven.

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FEATURES

CROWDFUNDING CANNABIS Crowdfunding: An Introduction David Kennedy gives you the low-down on the funding phenom.

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Why We Write Why do we keep crankin’ every month? A few reasons why.

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Crowdfunding Cannabis 44 Think your cannabusiness might be a good crowdfunding candidate?

Made For Each Other Cannabis and crowdfunding really do go together.

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The Greentable Interview: 502 Security 56 Everything you’ve always wanted to know about securing your business.

How Potent is Your Extraction?

Diana Campos looks at how the different methods stack up.

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BUSINESS HIGHDEAS  HIPPY KK/CARTER

Cannadinner in, or do you want to go to the cannaevent?

Cannabis event planner With Cannabis now legal recreationally in two states and medically in Washington, D.C. and 23 states, Cannabis events are becoming more popular especially in the spring and summer months. Have you ever wondered who organizes these events? It’s usually an individual or a business that dedicates tireless hours into organization. I’m fairly certain that those individuals would very much appreciate a Cannabis event planner, who in turn would free up their valuable time to focus elsewhere.

After all, some of these events literally take months in advance to plan and organize.

A Cannabis event planner should begin their career by understanding that organizing an event is nothing like planning a party. A Cannabis event planner creates events that address a specific purpose, message or impression that their client is trying to communicate. The real work is in the details that lead up to the actual event.

Events bring people together for a common purpose, and a Cannabis event planner works

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to ensure that this purpose is achieved and the message being relayed is heard. Cannabis event planners will coordinate every detail of the event, from the event location, vendors, key speakers, discussion panels, musicians, right down to the printed material. A Cannabis event planner would work for anyone in the Cannabis industry, including those that are

nonprofit organizations and are looking to hold any type of event or meeting. Some organizations might have an event-planning staff, while others hire independent Cannabis event planners to organize their events. Often times, these two parties will work together in order to utilize their shared contacts in order to reach a larger audience.

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If you love working with people and get satisfaction out of seeing everything coming together, then choosing to be a Cannabis event planner might just be for you.

However, don’t fool yourself, a Cannabis event planner will work long and non-traditional hours to plan and execute the myriad of details related to a variety of events including seminars, conferences, trade shows, retreats, incentive programs, and more. But in the long run, the hard work put into planning a Cannabis event will be quite gratifying and at the same time, contribute to the end of prohibition.

AVAILABLE URLS: www.cannabiseventplanner.com www.pro420events.com www.planmycannabisevent.com www.eventsbycannabis.com www.420eventplanner.com www.cannabisexpoplanner.com Medible recipe app Of course there’s an app for that!

Why wouldn’t there be? There’s an app for everything.

There are already many apps and websites where you can key in ingredients that you have on hand and a list of recipes will be generated that can be made without having to make a special trip to the grocery store. Whether it is for medicinal value, taste or the overall effect, everyone has

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a favorite strain of Cannabis that they prefer over another.

Well, what if you could input two ingredients and Cannabis — viola! — you now have a variety of medible recipes to choose from.

It’s true, some people have specific preferences as to how they prefer to infuse a medible, i.e. oil, butter, hash, etc., but for argument’s sake, let’s say cannabutter is what’s currently on hand. This is how the app would work: Enter ingredients you wish to use, select what type of meal is being made — breakfast, lunch or dinner. The app will ask what type of product is being used to infuse the edible, which in turn, makes it a medible.

Example (for dinner): Chicken breast Italian dressing Fettuccini noodles Mushrooms Green peppers Stewed tomatoes infused with Cannabudder After entering the ingredients you wish to use to make the meal, a list of recipes will appear. Using the above list, 11 recipes were generated and the most appealing at the time was Quick Fettuccine Cacciatore. Everything listed in the recipe was on hand with the exception of one item and it was easily substituted with something that was on hand. The recipe

called for four-cheese Italiano shredded c heese; Parmesan cheese was on hand so it was easily substituted.

When entering ingredients, one doesn’t have to be as detailed as I was. You can enter one, two or even three key ingredients and a list will be generated. You can then go through the list and make the selection according to what’s available.

The app could go one step further by offering the option to add what type of genre Cannabis is being used, sativa or indica.

Unless someone is ready to nap right after eating a turkey-infused meal that was prepared with an indica concentrate, it would be recommended to use a sativa infusion rather than indica. Let’s face it, turkey and indica have sleepy written all over them.

Offer cooking with Cannabis advice on the app as well and be sure to label all recipes with the appropriate warning: DO NOT operate a vehicle or machinery after consuming medibles. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

AVAILABLE URLS: www.cannabiscookingapp.com www.cannabisinfusedrecipes.com www.cannabisrecipes.com www.recipeswithcannabis.com www.recipesforcannabis.com www.getbakingwithcannabis.com S

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DOWNLOAD TODAY! www.budfolio.com

BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS HIPPY KK

Product review: Maud-Dib Concentrate Box by Magic-Flight Rating: 5 nuggs A couple of months ago, while attending the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Clio, Mich., I had the opportunity to meet a couple of the wonderful Magic-Flight team members. While checking out their array of displayed items, JD and I were kindly invited to have a seat and a complementary dab from the Maud-Dib Concentrate Box. Since I don’t normally consume, and I wasn’t in the privacy of my own home, I politely declined explaining that I received Magic-Flight’s Kava Concentrate with my Maud-Dib. However, I quickly added that JD would love to dab with them!

The Maud-Dib (pronounced mawdeeb) Concentrate Box contains everything you need to easily, quickly, and safely vaporize concentrates, oils, and herbal extracts. Best of all, no torch is required! A tiny, pinhead-size dab is all you need for a sensational experience. The Maud-Dib Concentrate Box uses the same simple patented technology as the Launch Box which was featured

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in our March edition, but with a redesigned screen that reaches 900° in just three seconds. The Maud-Dib Concentrate Box uses the same batteries as the Launch Box, but drastically improves on battery life, allowing you to take 50-plus dabs on a single charge.

The new lid features a brushed brass face, four click locks and an optical grade glass lens. Due to the high heat produced by this Box, an 18-inch draw whip is included in place of a draw stem to help cool the vapor stream.

To operate the Maud-Dib, insert one of the fully charged batteries into place, slide the cover lid open to expose the trench, place a very small amount of concentrate between the rails (or side walls), slide the lid closed until it clicks shut. With the draw whip in place, put a little pressure on the battery to engage power. Now slowly draw on the draw whip, hold-it, hold-it, and exhale. Ah, Maud-Dib! Magic-Flight provides the most thoroughly explained instructions I’ve seen ever to accompany a

vaporizer. The Box itself, without the draw whip or battery in place, measures two-and-a-half inches long by one and onequarter inch wide and is a hair over three-quarters of an inch.

With the exception to the concentrate itself, each kit includes everything one needs to dab at home or on the go, packaged nicely inside Magic-Flight’s feltlined tin, Maud-Dib Concentrate Box, 2-Glyph batteries and protective caps, 18-inch draw whip,

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battery charger, cleaning brush and instruction guide.

Not only is the Maud-Dib handcrafted right here in the USA — San Diego, Calif. to be more specific, but something in particular that makes Magic-Flight stand out from all other companies is their compassion program.

Because they know, there truly are people who may not be able to afford the accessories to consume their medicine, Magic-Flight works with certain organizations

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to gift Compassion Kits on a basis of need due to a terminal illness, chronic health issues, or financially destitute circumstances.

Kudos to you Magic-Flight for the good deeds you continue to do for others!

Magic-Flight is a green sustainable company that not only offers top-notch products, but exceptional customer service as well. All Maud-Dibs come with a lifetime functional warranty. Be sure to visit their website for a complete

list of available products, accessories and pricing.

Magic-Flight: http://sales.magicflight.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magicflight Tumbler: tumbler.com/mflb Youtube: http://www.youtube. com/magicflightvaporizer Twitter: @magicflight Instagram: @magicflightlaunchbox Blog: blog.magic-flight.com S

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photoperiod to a flowering photoperiod your plant must undergo metabolic changes before it can proceed with flowering. This period occurs in two stages.

FROM SEED TO SALE

Ask an Expert

with READ SPEAR

Sativa Magazine would like to introduce our Cannabis expert, Read Spear, who will personally answer questions submitted regarding Cannabis. It’s truly a privilege to offer our readers the opportunity to interface with Read. His vast knowledge in the Cannabis industry is remarkable.

Read Spear began cultivating in the late ’80s. His medical marijuana dispensary was among the first to be issued its Medical Marijuana Center license in Colorado. He is active as a consultant in the industry, specializing in new business development, business funding, and mergers and acquisitions. Read has two degrees in philosophy, a Bachelor of Arts from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of

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In the first stage the cells in the plant’s apical meristem become “competent,” or able to change developmental fate. In the second stage, these cells, now able to respond in a new way, do so.

These cells are now said to be “determined.” The plant then goes on to express its flowers.

I predict a high level of success for you given your keen observational skills.

Arts from The Duquesne University of the Holy Ghost in Pittsburgh.

When not traveling, he lives in Colorado with his hound dog.

Q: I grow in a deep-water culture system and have made no changes.

What could possibly be causing root rot to my plants and how do I save them?

D o n’t be afraid to as k t h e expert! Email your questions to: askthegrower@sativamagazine. com

A: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but once you have pythium, your plants are almost certainly doomed.

Q: I see my plants every day.

Usually I can visually see the new growth, however, over the past several days, it appears that they have not grown AT ALL. What would cause my plants to stop growing? They’re in their first week of flower.

This would be a good time to review the disease process triad.

There must be met, for any disease to occur, three conditions.

The three conditions are pathoge n, h os t a nd e nviro n m e nt.

Eliminate any one and you cannot have disease.

A: You are an astute observer of plant development! What you are describing is called floral evocation. When you switch your plant from a vegetative light

Pythium (pathogen) is always present in the air (and therefore, your water); it is only a question of whether the conditions favor its proliferation or not. What

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happened was your water got too warm (environment favors pythium growth) and your roots too numerous (host volume increase) and this favored the explosive growth of the pathogen.

Pythium is extremely hard to get rid of. I fear that by the time you get your answer you will already know this. Next time it happens, if you catch it early enough (big “if” here), immediately chill your water and add hortic ultural strength hydrogen peroxide to the bucket. Since I suspect you have already lost your plants, you need to bleach all of the equipment that came in contact with your infected water and start fresh.

Sorry, my friend, pythium really sucks. Keeping your water cool is the best preventative. Media temperature is why I prefer soil in the summer and hydro in the winter.

Q: Soil or hydro — which is the best method for an indoor grow?

A: There is no one answer to this question. Ask the reader who just experienced a pythium bloom and you will get one answer, ask another who is battling fungus gnats and you’ll get the other. I like soil through the summer and hydro through the winter. The changes in ambient temperature complement the media that way.

The received wisdom is that soil is easier for beginners and hydro is better for more advanced

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growers, but I don’t agree. A better deciding factor is how much time you want to put into your hobby. If the answer is “not much,” then use a large volume of good soil in a well-drained pot and get on with life. If the answer is that you like spending time with your plants, then try hydro.

It really is not that difficult, but you will need to monitor nutrient ppm, pH, temperature and top it off when levels run low.

misunderstanding of genetics. A plant is literally using code to grow new tissue. Like taking a copy of a CD, ripping it and burning it, you can do this indefinitely and it does not matter which CD you rip next (original or copy), the next burned copy will always be identical. Plants work the same way, amazingly, but that’s what genetic code is for. The plant is following instructions contained in its DNA.

As a commercial grower, I used soil because consumers believe that it produces a better product (this is not true, but why fight it?) and because it can be certified “organic” if it is grown in soil. For a home grower, why not try it both ways and decide for yourself which you prefer?

That said, there is a difference between plant genetics and animal genetics. With plants, mutations (mistakes in following out coded instructions) can be expressed in the germ line. This is because somatic cells (where the mistakes take place) appear in the sexual part of the plant (the bud). Such mistakes are called bud sports. These can be great things. For example, the apricot is a bud sport of a peach. So, in summary, there is no theoretical limit to how many times or how many “generations” out you can clone a plant, but you may encounter a mutation along the way. Usually, such mutations are irrelevant, but occasionally they make a difference and that could be good or bad from the point of view of the grower — it all depends on the new characteristics arising from the mutation.

You will know it if you discover a bud sport. S

Q: Is there a particular number of clones I should be taking off of my mother plant before its characteristics are degenerated? Meaning, I’ve heard people ask before ‘what generation is the plant?’ Can’t I just continuously clone off the same mother forever?

A: There is no theoretical upper limit to the number of clones you can take from a mother plant and no limit to the number of generations out you can take clones from (e.g, a clone of a clone of a clone…). The question “what generation is this clone?” meaning, “ how far removed from the mother?” stems from a

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BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL KANDY KRUSH

Yield management: Make the most of what you’ve got How do you ensure that you deliver the right inventory, to the right customers, at the right price, at the proper time? When you’re trying to improve productivity and the bottom line, that’s the million-dollar question! Whether you’re selling candy or donuts or cookies your resources are fixed and perishable and your margins are paper-thin.

If you’ve got the know-how, yield management can make a big impact on profit margins. Yield management seeks to fine-tune pricing to ensure that items are sold at the highest possible price point. The idea is to strategically control inventory to maximize profit. Under this model, companies sell identical products to different people for different prices according to their willingness/ability to pay. Because it so successfully increases overall revenue, yield management is especially popular among those seeking to generate returns through increased revenue rather than cost cutting and downsizing.

Yield management took off (no pun intended) within the airline industry during the deregulation

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SEPTEMBER 2014 19

and seat wars of the 1980s. Since then it has become an effective tool in industries that sell perishable resources, have customers willing to pay different prices for identical resources, and have a fixed amount of product to sell.

This puts the medible food and beverage industry squarely in line to benefit from yield management strategies.

Developing effective yield management strategies Yield management is all about understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior. But how do you do that?

Unfortunately, it can be pretty complex. But with the right systems, processes, and tools, it is doable and worth the effort.

The following are some suggestions for implementing an effective yield management system.

Awareness program Yield management can only work when your whole team is engaged, aware, and onboard.

Thus, you should create a team that understands the strategy b e h i n d yi e l d m a n a g e m e n t.

Organize seminars and training programs for the team. Also, set up regular weekly meetings to forecast, determine, and review effective strategies.

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Analysis To design your yield management system, you will need to gather, maintain and review records from several different departments.

Relevant departments include marketing, operations and financial management.

The best way to ensure that you have complete and up-to-theminute data is to implement a system that will track, save, and integrate data from all of your departments and all of your processes.

Forecasting Using your analysis of data, create forecasts to predict the number and type of customers, pricing, plan promotions, and revenue. Forecasts also help with operational processes such as purchasing, stock control, staffing levels, and ensuring that supply meets demand. It is important that the data you analyze includes internal company data as well as external information such as weather, competition, fuel and energy prices, etc.

Determine market segmentation A s o l i d yi e l d m a n a g e m e n t system requires market segmentation. You will need to divide your broad target market into

subsets of consumers with common needs. Markets can be segmented according to various criteria.

Criteria might include geography, behavior (knowledge of or attitude toward product), occasions (Thanksgiving, etc.), and benefits (benefits consumers seek). Once you have determined market segments, you can create product differentiation strategies to target them.

Price management Pricing policies influence demand, so it is important to hit just the right note. As with forecasting, external factors will influence price and should be taken into account. Your goal is to charge the highest possible price to each segment — too low and you lose profit, too high and you lose sales.

Since you’re implementing a yield management system, you may be offering the same product to different market segments at different prices. Based on each segment’s expectations, you may decide to couple pricing variations with different portioning, packaging, or marketing.

Data matters Yield management techniques involve adjusting the allocation of resources to maximize revenue. That means you need

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highly detailed, accurate information about various aspects of yo u r pro c es s es , depar tments, and operations. It also means your information must be up-to-the-minute. The medible Cannabis industry is fast-moving — market conditions, production and delivery costs, and consumer preferences can all change rapidly and periodic reporting simply won’t do. Yield management can only be successful when you have comprehensive, accurate, realtime information.

Consider the situation of a grower I will call Berries USA. Berries USA has a limited number of blueberries to sell to its customers. The company must sell its entire inventory before it spoils, while at the same time pricing items to achieve maximum profits. Berries USA will have to determine what customers to sell to and at what price: big box stores buy more, but pay less, specialty stores buy less and pay more, and selling locally involves fewer costs. The company must also decide how much to “hold back” for off-season sales or holidays, how to package and price items for different markets, and if they want to change pricing or availability as time passes.

These are complex decisions that can only be made with access to accurate, up-to-date data about

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diverse operations from multiple departments. Berries USA will need to know how much inventory they have (and expect to have) at any give time, who their customers are and how much they’re willing to pay, packing and distribution costs, pricing trends, the cost-ofgoods sold, vendor performance, and so much more.

Making your data work for you Once you have all of the data you need, you need to understand what it means and how to use it to your benefit. As you’ve probably guessed, yield management involves some pretty complex calculations. These can be a little intimidating, but there are plenty of books and articles that can help you work through the numbers for your business.

In the Medible Cannabis industry, there is so much that is out of your control. But once you implement a yield management system you have the power to generate more revenue from a fixed amount of goods. That kind of control cannot and should not be underestimated.

Yield management is not easy, but its proven success cannot be ignored — especially in the medible Cannabis industry where products are both limited and

perishable. For our industry, any system that gets our products sold and gets us the best price possible is well worth adopting. Hopefully the suggestions I’ve provided above will serve as a starting point for building a solid and effective yield management system.

Yield management is a system where companies control inventory and pricing to ensure that items sell at the highest possible prices.

In such a system, identical products are sold to different people for different prices, based on their willingness or ability to pay.

Yield management has become an exceptionally important innovation in a variety of business sectors. However, while enormously effective for maximizing profit margins, it can only be applied in industries that offer perishable resources, have customers who will pay different prices for the same items, and have a fixed amount of product to sell. If you’re in the Cannabis industry, your business likely fits these criteria. So what are you waiting for? Develop a sound yield management system and make the most out of the resources you’ve got! S

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INCREDIBLE MEDIBLES HIPPY KK

Rolled-up apple pie Even though virtually anything can be infused with Cannabis, I’m always going through my recipes to see what I can add the Hippy KK canna-twist to in order to create something fresh. In our household, it’s an evening ritual to eat something sweet about an hour after dinner, which is shortly before bedtime, so Cannabis-infused dessert not only satisfies our sweettooth cravings, but helps with insomnia as well.

For this particular dish, which makes exactly six rolled-up apple pies with no filling leftover, each pie is infused with 100 mg. of THC and can easily be adjusted by decreasing or increasing the amount of hash used.

Yield: Six 100-mg. THC servings Prep Time: 85 minutes Ingredients: 1 20.-oz. can apple pie filling 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup butter .6 grams hash 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup water 1 tsp. vanilla 6 8-inch flour tortillas

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1 Assemble ingredients. Preheat oven to 350° F. 2 Spoon one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

3 Fold over edges and roll up like you would a burrito, place seam-side-down in baking dish.

4 In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, hash, sugars and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer three minutes, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

5 Pour sauce over apple pies and let stand 45 minutes.

6 Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden. Serve immediately as is or à la mode by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Leftover rolled-up apple pie (if there is any) is just as good cold as straight out of the oven. To increase the recipe, double all ingredients. And here, my friends, are my famous last words: DO NOT drive or operate machinery after consuming medibles and be sure to keep out of reach of children and pets. Here’s to hoping you have a safe and joyous Labor Day! S

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iCannabis: The Technology Issue • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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FUNDING: A N INTRODUCTION

By David Kennedy Illustration by Josh Clappe

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Crowdfunding is a relatively new phenomenon. The word was first used in 2006, and now, many entrepreneurs are jumping on the bandwagon. In 2011, the total crowdfunding market was $1.2 billion. For 2014, the total crowdfunding market is expected to near $10 billion.

Do you have a brilliant business idea that needs funding? Can’t get a loan?

Since 2008, banks have been hesitant to back startups due to the risks that are involved. Remarkably, a whole new method of fundraising has developed. We can now opt for the funds of our peers, not our fathers’ fallen coffers. This is true entrepreneurship in play.

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here are two primary types of crowdfunding: donation- or rewardsbased funding, and equity-based funding. Donors are brought together on what is called a platform, a website dedicated to directing visitors to your campaign. Let capitalism reign as the entrepreneur is brought to the table with prospective donors or investors. The only middleman is the platform you use. Success or failure is determined by both your effort and the marketplace.

Crowdfunding, or economic collaboration via the Web, by definition means the solicitation of funds from many small donors or investors in order to build a larger pool of money for causes, inventions, or businesses. In 2008, Indiegogo was prescient in the crowdfunding movement. And there is Kickstarter, founded in 2009, which operates on a different kind of platform, and it is hugely popular as well.

According to Forbes.com, there are now hundreds of crowdfunding sites, though not all of them are reputable. Here is a list of the topten sites according to traffic: The top-ten according to traffic data found on Alexa & Compete, an Amazon company: • Gofundme • Kickstarter • Indiegogo • YouCaring.com • Causes • Giveforward • Crowdrise • Fundly • FirstGiving • FundRazr Gofundme has become a very popular platform. So far, people have raised over 30

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$390 million for personal causes. Kickstarter is known for fostering creative projects.

Indiegogo approves campaigns for a broader approach toward musicians, charities, and other businesses. Crowdwise is used to fund charities. Each platform has its successes. For example, Kickstarter is currently funding a video game called Star Citizen. The initial goal was $500,000; the amount now raised is very nearly $50 million! An Indiegogo campaign asked for $650,000 for the movie Lazer Team to be funded — it raised $2,480,209.

These crowdfunding examples inspire us, but building a successful crowdfunding campaign takes a lot of effort… and a little bit of luck.

The first, and most common, form of crowdfunding is called donation- or reward-based funding. Using this model, crowdfunding is brought about by the solicitation of donors for your project. It can enable you to expand your cause or build your business through the accumulation of “gifts” and the offering of “perks” to your donors to generate enthusiasm around your product or brand. For example, Indiegogo is one of several powerful crowdfunding platforms. A joint study conducted between top universities in Canada and France has just been published by inc.com; it identifies two types of reward-based crowdfunding. The first is known as “Keep-itAll.” Here, the entrepreneur sets a fundraising goal and gets to keep all of the donations, even if the goal is not met. And “All-or-Nothing” is the second kind of funding. It usually involves higher monetary goals. “All-or-Nothing” entrepreneurs may choose this option for a number of reasons: statistics show that this method is more likely to draw (and convince) investors by reducing their risk if the goal is not met, there is a greater likelihood that the goal will be met, and the report also states that SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

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the “All-or-Nothings” tended to put out more information about their campaigns.

The second kind of crowdfunding is known as equity crowdfunding, or “hyperfunding.”

According to Forbes.com in March of this year, “To get your arms around this, last year the global online crowdfunding industry raised $5.1 billion for thousands of cash-strapped businesses, charities, and startups. In fact, according to Massolution’s 2013 Crowd Funding Industry Report, equity-based crowdfunding raises 40 times more per company than any other type of crowdfunding in the marketplace. Simply put, equity-based crowdfunding allows entrepreneurs to reach investors interested in purchasing equity in their startup or other privately held small business — in stark contrast to your average fundraising effort as seen on platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo where founders do not give up a percentage of ownership in exchange for the cash.”

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ust as there are two different kinds of rewards-based crowdfunding, there are three different kinds of equitybased crowdfunding. The first, Equity I, was defined by the Securities & Exchange Commission back in 1996. It allowed for accredited investors to access investment opportunities on password-protected websites.

The vast majority of issuers rely on Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Commission’s report, which allows them to raise an unlimited amount of capital from an unlimited number of accredited investors.

Equity II relies on Title II of the JOBS ACT, only enacted this last September. It will allow entrepreneurs to raise an unlimited amount of capital from unlimited investors, and it allows for these entrepreneurs to publicly

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advertise their need for funding. Judd Hollas, founder and CEO of EquityNet, stated that “entrepreneurs willing to publicly advertise their need for funding and who are also willing to take reasonable measures to confirm the accreditation status of potential investors are a good match for Equity II.” Equity III is expected to go into effect later in the year. The change will be dramatic. This rule, for the first time, will allow unaccredited investors to participate — 99 percent of all investors! By allowing equity funding platforms to offer and sell securities online, entrepreneurs will enjoy the ability to access potentially over 50 million people.

There is a third crowdfunding category that came into prominence in 2012 with the launch of the Lending Club — it’s called credit-based crowdfunding — The Lending Club and some others offer borrowers with acceptable credit the chance to be matched up with pools of investors who are willing to accept the credit terms.

So what is it like being an entrepreneur who embarks on the journey that is crowdfunding?

Spend a significant amount of time planning your campaign. Regardless of the platform, the results you achieve from it are proportional to the effort you put into it. And the effort you put into attracting buyers must be both an online and an offline venture. In short, be prepared to work your ass off.

If you are raising rewards-based funding rather than equity-based funding, Indiegogo or Kickstarter are a good place to start.

Indiegogo is a “keep-it-all”-based platform.

If you don’t meet your funding goal, and by paying 9 percent to Indiegogo, you get to keep what donations have been made. Kickstarter is an “all-or-nothing”-based platform. Simply

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Indiegogo is a “keep-it-all”-based platform.

Kickstarter is an “all-or-nothing”-based platform. put, if you do not raise 100 percent of your initial funding goal, you don’t get to keep what backers have pledged.

If you are raising investment money for your startup, i.e. equity-based crowdfunding, take a look at Crowdfunder or Circle Up. Crowdfunder.com has a monthly flat fee of a few hundred dollars. Circle Up works more like an investment bank; it takes a percentage (as high as 7–10 percent) of the money you raise.

Before launch, it is important to think about how you are going to get a potential backer’s attention long enough to tell your story. And experts recommend selling your product by telling a compelling story. But remember, a user of the Internet is used to shifting attention rapidly, and there is only a very short time for you to get your message through. Your initial pitch and ongoing messaging MUST grab your funder’s attention right away and hook them. You need to engage their minds and emotions at the same time. In rewards-based crowdfunding, try to develop truly compelling rewards for your backers that tie into your story. Ask yourself if you would go through the effort to get this reward yourself. Please note, when developing a rewards-based site, that the use of video often doubles the success rate. In equity-based crowdfunding, you will need to decide on what terms you are going to offer to your investors.

Be prepared to sacrifice some dignity; according to Forbes.com, the most common

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mistake that first time crowdfunders make is to inadequately engage their first level network of friends, family, and supporters.

They will be vital, especially in rewardsbased crowdfunding; you need to have people ready to start funding the launch of your campaign on day one. Statistics show that this is important. Campaigns that demonstrate early momentum and a significant percentage towards the goal attract a lot more attention.

This also fosters more interest throughout the campaign. “Nothing attracts a crowd more than a crowd,” says Alon Goren, CEO of invested.in. If you want to make your fundraising goal by the end of the campaign, he recommends focusing on raising 30 percent of it within the first two or three days.

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uring your campaign, schedule a number of pushes in your marketing strategy, such as during launch, intermittently throughout the campaign, and a final one to close at or above your funding goal. If you are running an offline fundraising effort, make sure that it ties into your online crowdfunding goals.

There have been many successful crowdfunding campaigns from which to draw inspiration. There are also many crowdfunding failures and they may offer the best lessons of all to the aspiring entrepreneur. According to the industry website Crowdfund Insider, as of August 2013, Kickstarter had an overall success rate of 44 percent. Indiegogo saw less

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than 10 percent of its campaigns reach their funding goals. In an Entrepreneur.com article, they list four famous crowdfunding failures.

The first involved the New York City Opera.

When it asked for donations for its milliondollar challenge using Kickstarter for a 22-day campaign, it reached only $301,019. The City Opera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy soon after. The second failure involved a device called the Ubuntu Edge Phone. The Indiegogo campaign ended $20 million shy of its $32 million goal; however, they did receive a lot of press coverage as they raised $12.8 million in just 30 days. This goes to show that even with a successful launch, you still have to follow through on pushes and outreach. The third failure involved former child actress Melissa Joan Hart. She hoped to follow the likes of several successful Hollywood movie Kickstarter projects, such as those used by celebrities Kristin Bell and Zac Braff. Hart’s Kickstarter campaign aimed to raise $2 million to make a romantic comedy. The project only got support from 315 backers. In stark contrast, Kristin Bell’s Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign reached its $2 million goal in less than 12 hours, making it the fastest growing Kickstarter campaign in history.

The fourth failure mentioned involved actress Zosia Mamet, daughter of Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright David Mamet. She used Kickstarter to raise $30,000 to fund a video music project to be done by her and her sister.

Entrepreneur.com states, “While her funding goal of $30,000 was significantly smaller than other celebrity projects, the tiny amount of 80 backers pledging only $2,783 suggests that the public wasn’t very interested in funding a pet project for two wealthy women.”

Entrepreneur.com identifies the five most common crowdfunding mistakes that

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CROWDFUNDING

W INNERS:  ACTRESS KRISTIN BELL ACTOR ZAC BRAFF

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LOSERS: THE NEW YORK CITY OPERA THE UBUNTU EDGE PHONE ACTRESS MELISSA JOAN HART ACTRESS ZOSIA MAMET

people make: 1) Starting off slow — looses momentum. 2) Assuming your supporters are altruistic — you must offer your supporters gifts that they want. 3) Putting the campaign on autopilot — you have to run it like a business every day. 4) Thinking everything happens online — press and event marketing still work. And 5) Forgetting to ask for a donation — successful crowdfunders tap into people’s desire to engage in philanthropy. You do not have to be deadly serious in order to tap a doer’s emotions. Nor should you get overly emotional about the dollars yet to be raised.

Make sure you draw on the success stories, and do not be discouraged. Spend a long time thinking, planning… decide on whom and how your message will be spread online. It would behoove you to gain the trust of bloggers and anyone else you can identify to spread your message before your launch. You want your message to go viral. Offline, before you launch a campaign, get active in social communities;

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brush up on your public relations skills and other outreach. The key is to identify your community of interest and figure out how to attract those who would have a natural affinity for your cause or product. Then figure out how that community likes to come together and how they would enjoy what you have to offer. Spend time with your community. Rule number one: maintain the relationship with your donors or investors. It should become an ongoing part of running your business.

And finally, the transaction itself: Instead of entering in a card number, encourage your patrons to use PayPal or some other form of electronic payment. In rewards-based crowdfunding, the average donation is about $25. You want to make it as easy as possible for your donors or investors to give to your cause.

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ach platform offers different ways for sponsors and investors to pay up.

WePay processes about $1.5 million daily. Amazon Payments should be considered; crowdfunders can target millions of active Amazon users who are directly tied to their payment system. Recently, Stripe joined ranks with two transaction processing systems — Stripe Connect and Transfer API. These two tools allow platforms to save and verify customer credit cards as well as the option for processing credit cards into a Stripe account and later transferring the funds to a U.S. bank account. BanBox is a transaction solution for equity-based crowdfunding. More and more, crowdfunding platforms are turning to Bitcoin. As you may know, Bitcoin is the first peer-to-peer payment network with no central authority, thus leading to lower transaction fees and greater freedom. Consumers can send and receive money from around the world, and so far, the

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tech industry’s reception to Bitcoin has been extremely positive.

In the interest of full disclosure, Sativa Magazine has decided to launch our own crowdfunding campaign using Indiegogo. We are very excited! We need additional resources to continue bringing you this publication. If you enjoy this magazine, please think of us when you decide to give. Crowdfunding is the newest way to get directly involved in the causes you support. We appreciate our readers! S

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ chancebarnett/2013/05/08/top-10-

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crowdfunding… https://www.forbes.com/sites/ chancebartett/2014/07/03/7-crowdfunding… https://www.forbes.com/sites/ ericwagner/2014/03/18/equity-croudfunding… https://www.vabulous.com/10-lessonslearned-from-running-2-back-to-back… https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235499 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229423 https://www.wired.co.uk/news/ archive/2013-12/28/crowdfunding-success… https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/ business/crowdfunding… https://www.indiegogo.com https://www.kickstarter.com https://www.gofundme.com https://www.ucaring.com https://www.crowdclan.com

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AND EDIT AND DRAW

Team Sativa has produced Sativa Magazine for nearly two years now, with a new issue being posted the first day of each and every month.

Our volunteer staff has worked tirelessly to produce a high-quality, informational and influential magazine that we can be proud of.

But, now it’s time for us to work a little harder.

And, we really need the help of our readers and fans to bring us through this next exciting period of growth. We need you!

We are preparing to publish our first print edition of Sativa Magazine and intend to raise capital to do so via a unique Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. We’ve come up with some cool thank-you gifts for those who support our cause, and — drumroll here — how would you like to appear in our crowdfunding video for this rockin’ campaign?

This first campaign will raise money to produce the video, and, fingers crossed, we are hoping that we will raise enough to produce a print edition as well. Everyone who supports our cause will have their photo included in our video, holding a piece of paper with a single word on it, which is meant to be played in sequence with other photos — up to 1,000!

That’s a lot of pictures. These images will

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AND REPORT AND

strobe throughout the video communicating our message. With your help we can really have some fun with it.

When you have a moment, please check out our campaign: Sativa Magazine, Indiegogo.

The first campaign may be a little rough, but we’ll make sure the second campaign is clean and very professional.

I have asked Team Sativa members to write a few words about what motivated them to join the team and what drives them to move forward in our quest to promote freedom and create jobs. Everyone that supports our efforts is playing a large role in creating jobs in the Cannabis industry.

For me, I believe this is my destiny — my sister’s name is Sativa. I was always a rebellious entrepreneur with a long history of being distrustful and wary of “authority” — of course I am involved in a movement to create jobs and fight for freedom!

We work for you.

Let’s work together.

How can we help?

— Michael Freedom Carter, publisher

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We Write

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PHOTOGRAPH AND CREATE SATIVA MAGAZINE IN LOVING MEMORY Although I am a non-consumer, the role I play to legalize and legitimize the Cannabis industry is personal.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 33. She had undergone a double mastectomy in the summer of ’77; I was ten years old. The day before I was to start fifth grade, she left for Houston, Texas to begin her in-patient cancer treatment at the world-famous M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. During that time, she began consuming Cannabis to relieve her pain. It would be over seven months before I saw my mom again, and 11 months before she would return home. A few days after her homecoming, my mom turned 34 years old.

Eight days later, she passed away.

I have no doubt that the death of my mother altered the path my life would take. Although I don’t consume Cannabis, I support those who do without passing a word of judgment.

Working for Sativa Magazine has given me the ability to use my voice and make a difference in ending prohibition and bring awareness to others.

Many people are surprised by my tireless

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dedication and passion for the Cannabis movement. All you need is a strong belief as to why Cannabis should be legal and thanks to my mom, my reasons began to form at a very young age. Cannabis eased her pain when no other prescription medication could. It quite possibly gave her the strength to make that trip home to see us kids one last time.

— Hippy KK

FOR TRUTH & FUTURE I’ve been working at Sativa Magazine since its beginning. Since that time, the magazine has gone through ups and downs. Some team members have left, while others have persevered and stayed the course. Through it all, the common thread that binds this hardworking group of people together is that we have a passion for Cannabis. We have a passion for this plant that may be the cure for various diseases and a boost to our anemic economy. One day, Cannabis may fuel our cars and heat our homes. Buildings may be constructed using Cannabis materials. However, the stigma lingers.

Sativa Magazine looks past the falsehoods ingrained in the public psyche and shines a

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light on the truth about Cannabis.

Want to know about the changing political climate of Cannabis? Check out Sativa Magazine. Want to learn about Cannabis stocks that you can invest in today? Check out Sativa Magazine. I could go on, but it would probably just be easier for you to read Sativa Magazine. With more states adopting legalization laws, it’s evident that change is in the wind. It won’t happen overnight, but I truly believe it is coming soon and Sativa Magazine will be a part of that process. I am honored to be a part of it.

— Josh Clappe

IT’S PERSONAL I am a part of Team Sativa because I have an unfaltering belief in the unlimited possibilities of the Cannabis plant. I am convinced that full legalization will play a huge part in turning around our economy and creating new jobs in an industry that is yet to realize its full potential. The medicinal and healing qualities of this marvelous and God-given plant are profoundly promising. The dedicated people of Team Sativa are committed journalists, graphic designers, and marketing gurus who work tirelessly to bring reliable information, fresh ideas and proven tools for ganjapreneurs to utilize to realize success in their Cannabisrelated businesses.

I discovered the remarkable medicinal value of Cannabis at a very young age. By the time I was 12 years old, I was suffering from a whopping case of PTSD, decades before it was even being diagnosed as such, due to multiple, unrelated, horrific and life-altering experiences. I was an absolute train wreck and filled with an all-encompassing rage that could not be tempered. I was 13 when I found

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the solution to my ailment in Cannabis. I was once again able to sleep at night and completed high school with a 4.0 GPA — and I no longer fantasized about suicide (or murder). If I had not discovered this miraculous plant I doubt I would be here today, healed and whole and passionate about helping others to benefit from the magic herb.

— Gloria Martinez

KARMIC BALANCE I began putting together Sativa Magazine after I had been unceremoniously dumped from my advertising agency job of 12 years as a way of keeping my skills sharp — and my anxiety at bay — while looking for my next gig. Little did I know that I was to become part of the nationwide glob of love that is Team Sativa.

Although most of the team has never met face-to-face, we exist in a virtual Google office building, except I like to think of it as less like an office and more like the cover of Music from Big Pink by The Band.

It takes a lot of moral fortitude to produce a publication like Sativa Magazine every month. We are all volunteers. Some of us have full-time jobs, some of us are retired, some just starting out. But regardless of our age or location or situation, we are here because we believe that what we are doing is the right thing to do. And we all have unfathomable respect for each other for staying up late and doing the extra draft and getting it right and making it look good. And that respect generates a tremendous amount of love.

So, yes, in the real world I’m back in the ad biz.

But I’m not giving up my membership in Team Sativa. It’s my karmic balancing mechanism.

— Cheryl Addington

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FREEDOM I joined Team Sativa because I believe in freedom. I think that is something we have supported openly as a team since day one.

Freedom to me is not working a nine-to-five.

As a business student, I’ve learned what I do and don’t want in a career: I don’t want typical and I don’t want a day-to-day robotic lifestyle. While that works for some people, it doesn’t fit my personality; Team Sativa is my chance. Before I joined, I wasn’t sure what I was passionate about (in a career). Through our journey I’ve learned freedom is the base of all my passions. I want to be free enough to make my own decisions as an employee and as a person; I want every human to have a choice to be truly happy. It’s beyond legalizing and beyond Cannabis. To me, Team Sativa means making a difference and changing what is “normal.”

It is changing, slowly but indeed it is changing!

Bringing the truth to those who already know and are interested is one thing but as a social media specialist I hope to spread the words of our magazine and our goals to those who doubt or simply are caught up in “the norm.”

In the land of the free, we are trapped in the words we are told and rarely break away from what we know as familiar. We repeat “I am free” over and over again, this is America, isn’t it? I think being free is more than a job and it’s more than words, it’s action. That’s how I see Sativa Magazine. We are active freedom writers trying to make a difference.

— Carly Hofer

SURVIVOR Writing for Sativa and Indica Magazines gives me the platform to help get the word out to other cancer patients that can benefit from

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using medical Cannabis. The national reach of these two online publications offers me the opportunity to help other cancer survivors throughout the United States to take a look at this natural form of medicine to help them in their lives. I’ve always believed in the medicinal properties of Cannabis. After I had kidney cancer when I was 14, they told me that it would most likely metastasize to my lungs. Here I am 42 years later and it makes me believe that I’m still here because of the CBDs and the medical properties of Cannabis. I think it assisted me in a bunch of ways.

Today I simply want to scream it from the rooftops that everyone ought to try medical Cannabis! We all deserve to have the freedom of choice to help us be as healthy as possible.

Modern cancer treatments are extremely hard on the body and Cannabis is a natural medicine to aid with cancer treatment and in many studies it has been proven to help wipe out cancer cells. I began reading Sativa Magazine online when it commenced in 2013.

It has helped me to understand how to use this natural medicine in a variety of ways to make living with cancer, just that much easier to deal with.

— Kandy Krush

STILL ON THE TEAM Originally I saw an ad for a graphic designer to help with a pro-weed magazine. I never thought twice about applying even though there were general doubts about the ad being legit. I talked with Michael soon after applying.

He was very concerned about my eagerness to work with the team. I’m typically not an excitable person so this was no news to me but I was quite interested to see how the idea of what was to be started would pan out. In the

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“I really do believe Cannabis can heal the nation — financially, socially, mentally, and physically.” beginning there was brainstorming and ideas, good ideas, being thrown all over the place.

We all wanted to pitch in and help to create something great. We were beginning to be a team. The communication the team had was not only creative but done in a very cool social way. I liked this and I liked the idea of fighting for something that should never have had to have a fight in the first place. Ah, if only it were like growing a tomato.

Now, as the team continues to make a great magazine again and again it’s quite a feeling of accomplishment. Not because of the way we all came together, not because of the fact that we are located all over the place, and not because we’re heading into a storm of new business opportunities within a newly forming industry, but we are all doing this for no financial reward. We are doing this because we believe in what we’re doing and we think it’s worth it.

And hey, maybe we get to construct awesome things while we’re at it.

We have lost people. It’s hard to dedicate time when time is such a high commodity, however, we’ve gained some people and kept some to keep us strong. My hope is that this magazine

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continues to flourish and stands strong with a basic set of values that we can all stand behind.

— Sativa Team Member

HEAL THE NATION There’s no doubt about it — the end of Pot Prohibition is near. But unlike with alcohol, I really do believe Cannabis can heal the nation — financially, socially, mentally, and physically. They (the critics) say they have never seen healthier “sick” people than the patients at a Cannabis dispensary, but isn’t that the point? In a society where a trip to the hospital can mean debt and where doctors dole out more addictive drugs than do cartel lords, shouldn’t we be looking for a less addictive and less expensive alternative?

I hope readers don’t get out of this that Cannabis is a cure-all miracle plant, but rather that it is safer and more natural than a lot of the genetically modified crap we are used to poisoning our bodies with. I have seen it quell the beginnings of an epileptic seizure. I have experienced it eliminate nausea, induce sleep, and get rid of cramps. I have witnessed it take away the heightened aggression and paranoia in a war veteran and replace them with relaxed, child-like happiness. I see all of the good it has done for all of my loved ones and I have seen all of the bad that its prohibition has done to them. For these reasons and more, I am proud to be a part of this movement. I am grateful to Sativa Magazine for the opportunity to be able to combine my passion for writing with my participation in this moment in history.

And I believe in this magazine’s ability to keep this movement rolling by providing a space for Cannabis enthusiasts to influence, create, advertise, teach, and learn.

— Diana Campos S

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u f d w o r C Cann

By Hippy KK Illustration by Emily Cain

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g n i d n fu is b a n Need to bankroll your awesome ganjaconcept?

Crowdfunding might be your perfect plan.

T

he Cannabis industry faces more trials and tribulations than any other industry. For the most part, it’s virtually impossible to obtain a loan or financial backing without the necessary funds coming from private individuals or solely from the ganjapreneur himself. Whether money is needed for a start-up business or an expansion of an existing cannabusiness, when it comes time for financing, it’s all about who you know, not how long you’ve been banking with a specific financial institution. However, there is an alternative way to raise necessary funding for cannabusinesses: crowdfunding. First, a

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brief description of what crowdfunding is and how it can be beneficial, then a look at what type of cannabusinesses might or might not benefit from crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding, or what might also be referred to as crowd financing and hyperfunding, is more often than not, a great alternative to investor funding for many ganjapreneurs.

Crowdfunding allows an unlimited number of supporters to contribute money towards a unified goal, such as helping to launch a new product or expand an existing business.

In exchange for financial support, those that have contributed to a crowdfunding campaign

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Ganjapreneurs are creative. They come up with some of the most off-the-wall ideas, ideas that actually make sense and have the potential to be quite successful if only they had the financial means to make their dreams become a reality. are offered some type of perk for their contribution. Crowdfunding is a great way for investors to get involved in the Cannabis industry; it’s the alternative route the industry needs to raise capital. For those that invest in a crowdfunding campaign, it gives them the satisfaction of knowing that they made it possible for someone in the industry to succeed.

Face it: ganjapreneurs are creative. They come up with some of the most off-the-wall ideas, ideas that actually make sense and have the potential to be quite successful if only they had the financial means to make their dreams become a reality. Not all cannabusiness are going to benefit from crowdfunding. For instance, a perfect example of a business that would benefit from crowdfunding campaign is Sativa Magazine. Sativa Magazine is an established company that has been producing a digital publication on a monthly basis for the past 19 months. This issue, September 2014, is our 20th publication. Being a team of volunteers, the staff members of Sativa Magazine work vigorously month after month for no monetary compensation, a supplemental income of gratification only. We have established a consistent readership following, and it’s now time to put the publication into print. However, we have very limited finances so we are in the process of organizing an Indiegogo campaign.

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Due to the financial risk, start-up businesses are more difficult to obtain financing for regardless of the industry. A cannabusiness such as a dispensary most likely would not benefit from a crowdfunding campaign nor would a medible company. To be more specific, because of the fact that the Cannabis plant or its derivatives are used in those two types of businesses, potential contributors may be hesitant to donate because of federal laws. Cannabusinesses that deal directly with Cannabis or Cannabis concentrates are less likely to benefit from a crowdfunding campaign. However, once Cannabis becomes legal on a federal level that could all very well change. Companies that have the highest potential of benefiting from a crowdfunding campaign within the Cannabis industry would be those that offer a product or service related to Cannabis, such as publications, grow supply stores, head shops, etc.

S

tarting a crowdfunding campaign is fairly simple, but you’ll need to put in extra effort to make it successful. Here are 10 helpful steps that will increase the chances of getting a cannabusiness funded from a crowdfunding campaign. Although all 10 of these helpful steps are important, pay particular attention to steps 1 through 3 when planning a crowdfunding campaign. Choosing the wrong

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platform could potentially leave a ganjapreneur without any raised capital if the set goal isn’t reached. So, be sure to research the various crowdfunding platforms that are described in David Kennedy’s article, Crowdfunding: An Introduction on page 28. Describe in detail, but succinctly about your campaign and what your financial needs are. If it’s too long, chances are potential contributors will lose interest and move on to another campaign. In other words, sell the idea but don’t overdo it! Number three is believed to be one of the most critical of all — the video. Be sure to keep it at two minutes or less and grab the viewers’ attention with both hands. This video will put you and the team behind your idea on a more personal level with contributors.

HOW TO LAUNCH A SUCCESSFUL CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN:

to only three or four main features, and use bullet points to share multiple details about the benefits you’re offering. Your description should give readers a clear idea of what your project is, why it’s so great, and why they should contribute.

Create an awesome video.

The video is a critical component of your pitch. It gives you the opportunity to make an emotional connection with your backers in two minutes or less. Let them see the real people behind the project by telling them about your team, what inspired your work, and why your project is special. If you have a working prototype make sure to show it here, because it allows the potential donor to see how their life would be improved if they had what you’re offering. Be careful not to focus too closely on the technical details, or you’ll lose the interest of some of your less technical backers.

Pictures say a thousand words.

Choose the right platform.

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the most popular, but there are dozens to choose from.

There’s a new a platform designed specifically for the Cannabis industry, WeCanna and they’re currently accepting submissions. Some sites accept projects from certain locations only, others only allow certain types of projects, and still others accept only nonprofits. There are also differences in fees and payouts. Some sites require you hit your goal to get paid, while others will let you collect no matter the amount contributed to your campaign. You’ll need to evaluate the options to determine the best fit for your project.

Write a compelling description.

You want to keep it short and concise. A good rule of thumb is to limit your summary

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Include pictures to give prospective donors a better idea of what you’re offering. It’s best if you have real photographs of a prototype or demonstration, but sketches or other design materials are beneficial too. If you’re crowdfunding for an app idea, you should add mockups or screenshots for best results.

Determine what your fundraising goal should be.

This should be based on what you will do with the funds earned. It also helps if you tell your audience what the funds will be used for, this will help them feel like they’re contributing toward a specific goal and gives them a sense of involvement with the project.

You want to set a reasonable goal so that you have a good chance of hitting it, without selling yourself short.

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Don’t prevent people from supporting you, even if it’s of nominal magnitude.

Offer multiple funding amounts.

Make it possible for someone to pledge any amount of money that they wish. You can allow people to contribute $1 for a small perk, or $50,000 for an awesome perk that’s well worth their donation and everything in between. Don’t prevent people from supporting you, even if it’s of nominal magnitude.

Offer attractive perks.

Your goal is to give people an incentive to contribute money toward your campaign.

Your incentives should match the multiple levels of funding amounts, which means if one person donates $500, then they should get a significantly better perk than someone who donates $10. However, be sure that every perk is enticing enough to deserve the amount you’re asking for it.

Plan well.

Follow through. Don’t tell your supporters that you’ll ship their perks by a specific date if you’re not certain you can follow through on the commitment. Many successful crowdfunding campaigns have ultimately angered their supporters because they promised something they ultimately couldn’t provide within the timeframe promised. Unexpected setbacks happen, so account for extra time from the start.

Use your social networks.

You should create a community around your project before launching your crowdfunding campaign. Generate some buzz about what you’re doing and gain supporters before you

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need their help. Once your campaign launches, tell your followers they can help make your project a reality by contributing toward the fundraising goal or by sharing the campaign with their friends and family.

Put your marketing and promotional skills to the test.

Most crowdfunding platforms have tens of thousands of campaigns running simultaneously. So don’t expect them to be the only source of awareness; you’ll need to give your campaign the attention it needs to succeed. Use every resource you have to get the word out and reach your funding goal.

Now, after reading all that, ask yourself, “is crowdfunding right for my cannabusiness?”

If the answer is yes, use the ten helpful steps in creating your successful crowdfunding campaign, and the best of luck to you. May your expectations exceed your goals.

As previously mentioned, Sativa Magazine has realized the necessity of making our publication available in print. Had crowdfunding not been an option, our goals would be delayed and printed issues of Sativa would not soon be available to our readers. We hope when our campaign becomes available, you’ll consider donating to our cause and help us make our dream a reality. We’re in the final stages of organizing the campaign, our goal has been set, incentives or “perks” are being prepared, and all contributions will be recognized and very much appreciated. S

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Growing in Soil?

Here’s a head start.

Find out more at: www.scientificsoils.com

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MADE FOR E Cannabis and crowdfunding

By Diana Campos Living in the Internet era definitely has its perks. The capabilities to exchange currency along with the ability to connect to the rest of the world from behind a screen are two features that make crowdfunding possible.

And, with billions of dollars flowing through websites like Indiegogo, Crowdfunder, and Kickstarter, crowdfunding has quickly become a popular way for anyone with a project or product to raise money online. While these platforms do not guarantee success, they do provide the tools and assistance necessary to create a successful campaign and the Cannabis community — finding little to no financial

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help from the government, banks, and wary investors — has certainly taken notice.

The legalization of medical and, more recently, recreational Cannabis in two states has created a new business sector that has many scrambling to either be a part of or cash in on, but not all high-deas have what it takes to make it past the planning stages. Here are four crowdfunding stories that — due to their originality, loyal supporters, and creativity — have not only surpassed their funding goals, but have wisely utilized their funds to make their ideas a success.

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EACH OTHER really do go together 1

Giant Stash Pillowcase

by Steelplant

Created by Washington-based urban graphic designer Ryan Christensen, the giant stash pillowcase project was able to raise $9,496 on March 6, 2014 — almost $1,500 more than their pledged goal of seven grand! The pillowcase itself — designed to look like a huge labeled resealable poly bag full of primo Sour Diesel buds —is an ingenious, yet fairly simple idea that was bound to catch the eye of stoners everywhere. Measured to fit an 18-inch by 20-inch insert, the pillowcase even comes with an internally sewn-in secret

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compartment for your real stash. But a single pillowcase with a projected retail price of $40 without the pillow might seem pricey, no matter how cool the design. So how was Steelplant able to collect more than enough to fund the Giant Stash Pillowcase?

For starters, Christensen was able to back up his creative project with both past experience and proof of materials needed to complete the project. But perhaps the most important factor was his clever marketing strategy. To further promote the Giant Stash Pillowcase, Christensen created a comedic video that plays

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Crowdfunding Cannabis • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • like an interview with an anonymous drug dealer. Speaking as a black silhouette with a dubbed voice, he starts by introducing himself: “My name is [bleeped out], and I sell giant dope sacks.” He goes on to say that although his grandma doesn’t like it, he doesn’t see anything wrong with “hooking people up” and making some cash in the process. To top it off, he claims he already has international shipping set up (the United States Postal Service) and that he needs people to “front” some cash (via Kickstarter)if they’re interested.

And it worked! Due to his entertaining weed dealin’ theme and well put-together efforts, Christensen now sells the Giant Stash Pillowcase on both Amazon and on his own website at www.steelplant.net . The pillowcase was so successful that he has even created the Cash Stash version — a pillowcase designed to look like a ziplock bag full of rubber-banded bills and guaranteed to provide instant “baller status.”

2

Weed the People

by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein

“Weed the People” is a documentary created

by Ricki Lake (of Hairspray fame) and her partner Abby Epstein about the use of Cannabis in the medical treatment of sick children. The film features a baby with an inoperable brain tumor that progressively shrinks with the use of Cannabis oils, an adolescent boy with Rhabdomyosarcoma whose mother changed the minds of doctors by slipping Cannabis oil through the child’s G-tube, and the founder of Aunt Zelda’s oil as she struggles to first find the correct strains and then safely ship the oils to her patients. With plenty of inserts from licensed doctors, parents who are willing to face jail time in order to save their children, and the

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creators themselves, “Weed the People” is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.

The film’s production was aided by receiving a shout-out in the Lounge section of High Times magazine’s website during its first week of campaigning on Indiegogo. With perks exchanged for specific donations — such as getting to tour O.penVape’s grow facilities, dispensaries, extraction labs, and headquarters for $420 or a poster of the film signed by one of the featured children for $50 — Lake and Epstein’s project was able to raise $114,347 from 616 funders at the end of June. Weed the People is projected to be released late in 2015 or early 2016. In the meantime, and as filming continues, the documentary’s social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube continuously work to promote the medicinal use of Cannabis oil and expose real life stories of patients as promised.

3

MyDx from The CDx Team

Otherwise known as My Diagnostic, MyDx is the first ever portable Cannabis analyzer for the public. Yes, you read that right! This handheld gadget allows its user to insert a small sample of marijuana into the device’s sliding tray, where the CannaDx sensor detects for specific molecules. When the device is connected to an Apple or Android smartphone, the MyDx app reports what kind of cannabinoids, terpenoids, and even if any contaminants, such as mold or pesticides, are present in the sample. This is especially helpful for medical marijuana patients who cannot risk additional health hazards as well as for those that seek higher levels of specific cannabinoids, such as CBD, for their ailments. Through these readings, the device can also tell what kind of strain the sample is and what kind of effects —

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from relaxed to distracted and everything in between — that particular strain will have on the user. The app can even be personalized to keep the user’s favorite strains on file. Finally, a scientifically-backed answer to whether that “OG Kush” you just purchased is actually Texas Train Wreck!

With an astonishing, but not surprising, $40 grand raised via Indiegogo, the CDx team planned to continue optimizing and then launch an additional three sensors that can be interchanged on the MyDx Multi-use Analyzer (selling at a retail price of $699). The company now offers the OrganaDx sensor which tests food samples for organic properties, the AquaDx which test liquids, and the AeroDx which tests for air quality. Each sensor lasts for an average of 6 months and can be replaced for $50 to $70 a pop.

Aside from the target sensor(s) and app, features for MyDx include handy digital extras such as Bluetooth connectivity, a GPS locator, and humidity and temperature sensors for testing.

4

Recreator Hemp Apparel

by Recreator

As legalization of the Cannabis plant creeps across the country, there is certainly no shortage of weed-related or hemp-made apparel. Even so, L.A.-based clothing company Recreator was able to double the amount of their pledged goal of $25,000.

Due to the clothing line’s end goal of having “every Recreator garment produced from ‘seed to stitch’ in the United States” (rather than importing the materials as most hemp clothing companies do), the clothing line was able to pull donations from hemp supporters and environmentalists as well as fans of the brand’s apparel. That said, their plans to

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manufacture stateside is a difficult task to say the least, considering the fact that the industrial production of hemp is treated no differently than marijuana cultivation and is thus illegal in most states. There is hope for hemp, however, what with California’s recent re-declassification of hemp as a drug alongside the passage of the Farm Bill — a bill that legalizes hemp research in states that distinguish the seedier and less psychoactive plant from marijuana.

The T-shirts themselves stand apart from other hemp clothing for multiple reasons. For all of its durability, hemp’s cellulose fibers are almost as difficult to dye as they are to destroy or wear out. Recreator works with dye houses that specialize in treating hemp fabric so that all of their shirts come in the option of black or white and their 70/30 (70 percent organic hemp, 30 percent hemp) shirts can also be red, green, or blue. The crisp, graphic-like designs are printed onto the shirts using water-based ink and are created by either artists from their Artist Program or through collaborations with filmmakers and musicians. The campaign’s highlight tee is undoubtedly the 100 percent hemp shirt (which is currently wrapping up production!) available in the design of a cartoon sketch of Jack Herer.

Pledges for specific Recreator Hemp Apparel shirts made on the company’s Kickstarter account back in March are expected to receive the first batch of the shirts sometime this month. Recreator’s Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages have been active in updating their audiences with statuses on the production process as the brand works on vamping up their website in time for the launch of a line that aims to be as all-American and all-hemp as it can be. S

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the Green Table Interview

502 Security

By Hippy KK Over the past 71 years, a Seattle-based security company has built a reputable business securing businesses and residences alike.

However, with the passing of Washington’s Initiative 502, this particular company decided to open a second security division, taking them into unchartered territory by offering their services to those in the Cannabis industry.

These new clients were fortunate enough to be granted a license from the State of Washington in one of the three categories licenses were issued: producers, processors and retail stores.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the Chief Operations Officer of 502 Security who has been employed with the security

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company since 2000. Wanting to know more about the company, especially since I knew a lot of security companies were no longer providing services to Cannabis-related businesses, I had a handful of questions for her.

But most of all, I wanted readers to know how to obtain their services.

Q: Are you strictly just in Washington?

A: Yes. We are just in Washington.

Q: How many employees do you have?

A: We have 50 employees.

Q: Where are you based out of in Washington?

A: Seattle.

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Q: Let’s say that I am a licensed producer in the State of Washington. How do I go about contacting you or finding your business, for that matter, in order to hire you to secure my facility?

A: As far as finding us on the Internet, we have worked with a Search Engine Optimization company (SEO) that would list us in the top of a search on the Internet by using key words.

We have also done a few trade shows and quite a few events in the Seattle area that have been put on various attorneys and some other folks that are trying to get people like us together.

Q: What type of security features do you offer?

A: We are very familiar with the 502 requirements and we also have quite a few contacts that we talk to with the state that do the state-required inspections on the security systems. We would take a look at the floor plan for the facility, and provide a bid on the security system based on the state’s requirements, which aren’t as many on the security side, it’s more on the camera side.

We would also provide the system that meets the state’s requirement on the camera system.

For the camera system, there are a lot of requirements on that.

Q: I am not all that familiar with the state’s requirements as far as security specifics.

Could you give me some insight as to what is required?

A: What we are running into is that somebody put in a camera system, and then the State goes in to do their inspection and it doesn’t meet the requirements, and that is basically for coverage requirements, as in how many cameras are need because you literally have to cover everything. Inspections are failing basically for quality and lack of coverage. You have to

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have everything covered. As for the quality of cameras, there are so many out there that you can buy that don’t necessarily work that well. So it’s trying to find a system that meets all the State’s requirements without breaking the budget. For instance, in some of the grow operations we’re seeing, you have to have a minimum of 60 cameras.

Q: 60 cameras? Why so many cameras?

A: You have to have cameras on all entry and exit doors and on every room inside the facility. So the more rooms you have, the more cameras. There has to be a camera on each side of every door. Everything has to be recorded 24/7.

Q: What is the purpose of having everything recorded?

A: The State of Washington wants to track everything. So they want to be able to see from seed to bud and beyond. For the grower, it’s seed to bud so they can track it for traceability.

If there’s an issue with that product and we have to do a recall, also for testing purposes.

The State wants to see every process, or step it takes to produce the Cannabis.

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Q: If I have a 10,000-square-foot facility, what is the potential cost that a state-required security system is going to run me?

an alarm system?

A: It could range from $50,000 up to $100,000.

It all depends on how many rooms you have.

It’s very important to remember, the more interior rooms you have, the more cameras will be required since a camera has to be on both sides of every door. Every 10 doors, adds 20 cameras.

Q: How many clients do you have so far?

Q: Does 502 Security finance the systems?

A: We do work with finance companies on that, yes.

Q: Do you monitor the cameras?

A: Yes, we definitely monitor the security cameras. So when the security alarm sounds, we are the ones that dispatch the police or guard response (depending on what the customer wants). The cameras that are recording, we don’t monitor those because it’s not real cost effective for someone to sit there and monitor a camera 24/7 to see if someone puts product in their pocket. Instead, what we do is, we have another different type of camera system called “WA Vision.” Say you have a long driveway, at the entrance of the driveway, you would install a camera and say from the hours of 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. you’re not supposed to have anyone on the property. You’d alarm the system at the entrance and if someone came in at midnight, it would take a picture and send it to our central station and then we would dispatch the police from there.

Q: Is that motion-sensored?

A: It is. We would receive about 6 still frames.

Q: What do you charge per month to monitor

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A: It starts at $35 per month depending on what the client’s needs are.

A: Just for the 502, we have about a dozen right now. Washington is moving very, very slowly into this. We have a lot of companies that we are working with, but they just haven’t done their build-out yet or some people just aren’t ready to make that move yet. They want to wait the first year to watch how others are doing it so when they are ready, they do it the right way.

Q: When putting together the business plan for 502 Security, what type of growth was accounted for over the next six to 12 months?

A: We are planning on a 3–5 percent increase in business.

Q: Is this an independently owned security company?

A: Yes, we are.

Q: Having an established business of 71 years, what made the owners want to get involved with servicing the Cannabis industry?

A: We did a lot of research on it, we talked to our attorneys, our banker, and we talked to other attorneys in the industry to try to figure out what were the pitfalls of it, if you will. If there was anything we could get in trouble for, and things along those lines. We felt that it wasn’t a risk to us and that there was a need out that we were able to fulfill. What we were seeing was that there was a major security company out there that said they wouldn’t do it, so that made other companies wary of doing it as well. We didn’t see the correlation, so we

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didn’t see it as an issue.

Q: Besides security set-up and monitoring, what other services do you provide the Cannabis industry?

A: Something else that is required by the State is badging. All employees on the site have to have an identification badge. So we do that as well. We offer intercom systems and guard response services. Sometimes, unfortunately the police aren’t the fastest to respond, so we have a guard service that we will work with. If the client prefers, we would dispatch the guard response who would in turn call the police once onsite and if the occurrence warrants such. Fire alarms are another service we provide, but not a lot of these clients will utilize that service from us. A lot of these clients are tenants, so their landlord will handle those types of services for their building. However, we have done a few fire alarms for our 502 clients.

Q: Do you plan to expand outside of Washington into other states?

A: At this point, no. Just from a service issue, we have to be able to service our existing clients.

Q: As a producer, processor or retail store, how do I go about hiring 502 Security for all my motoring/security needs?

A: A potential client would call or email us.

After the initial contact is made, we would schedule a meeting with you at which time, you would give us a floor plan of the facility and then we would give you a quote based on the floor plan.

Q: How long does it take to get that quote and

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is the consultation meeting free of charge?

Please walk me through the rest of the process.

A: Once we have the floor plan, we’ll turn it around in about three days. There is no charge for the consult. Once you approve the quote, we have to do CAD drawings of the security and camera systems so it’s on site when the final inspection is done. Then we install the system based on what we designed.

Q: Is the final inspection through 502 Security or the State of Washington?

A: The final inspection is done through the state.

Although 502 Security knows firsthand the state’s requirements, and with a 71-year history in providing security systems and monitoring makes them more than able to get clients passed through state inspections, 502 Security isn’t just for those who have been licensed through Washington’s Initiative 502, but the medical realm of the industry as well. The side of the industry where the requirements are much more relaxed, with fewer specifications than the state’s INI-502. 502 Security takes great pride in providing all of their clients with exceptional customer service, making it a top priority. So, for anyone in need of security services, 502 Security should be the first call to make. You have nothing to lose but a little bit of time.

Website: http://502security.com/ Telephone: (844) 502-4502 Email: sales@502security.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ pages/502-Security/578731435536428 S

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Crowdfunding Cannabis • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

how

POTENT is your

?

EXTRACTION 60

SEPTEMBER 2014

SATIVAMAGAZINE.COM

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Think your extract packs maximum wallop?

Here’s the real deal on THC potency.

By Diana Campos Illustration by Emily Cain

BUBBLE HASH

BUTANE HASH OIL (BHO)

THC content: 50–75 percent

THC content: 50–90 percent

Having originated in Pakistan, hash is essentially pressed trichomes that have been removed from the plant material of Cannabis.

This type of hash is made by using a screen system in which the leaves and buds are placed in the first of a series of mesh-bottomed bags that have been secured onto a bucket of ice cold water. The iciness of the water causes the mushroom-like trichomes to become brittle and fall off more easily. This resin powder is then collected, dried, pressed, and eventually smoked.

As the newest method of THC extraction on the scene, butane hash oil — or wax — is a controversial yet increasingly popular way to get high. In order to make BHO, a chemical solvent such as butane or carbon dioxide is “blasted” through any part of the female Cannabis plant, excluding the seeds (because they contaminate the final product with oils).

After extraction, the solvent is purged. It is within this entire process the dangers of BHO exists. Although there is no substantive evidence that inhaling an irritant like butane is necessarily harmful, the possibility of extracting (and thus concentrating) fertilizers and pesticides from the used plant material is.

Stories of homemade extractions blowing up stem from unprofessional practices, such as working indoors without ventilation or using

The end result ranges in color from a sandy beige to an oily black and is pressed into different shapes — coins, bricks, cakes, and balls. Until recently, hashish was arguably the most potent form of marijuana and was even known as “hippie crack” in the Netherlands.

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Crowdfunding Cannabis • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“dirty” butane and plastic.

The final product ranges from pale golden to dark amber in color. Consistency also varies from a gooey, honey-like substance known as wax to the whipped, pale yellow “budder” to the brittle glass-like shards known as “shatter.”

With some producers claiming as high as a 99 percent THC content, “dabbing” is surely the most potent way to ingest Cannabis.

BUTTER/OIL SEPARATION THC content: 45–55 percent Edibles are a delicious way to medicate for those who do not wish to smoke and a fun way to alleviate the munchies while simultaneously getting stoned for recreational users. They can be made by first infusing marijuana with butter — creating a product known as “cannabutter” in the Cannabis community — with cooking oils, or even milk. This is because THC is a hydrophobic cannabinoid that can bind with fats. When cooked slowly over low heat (so that the THC does not vaporize off), THC is converted from the plant material into the butter or oil. From there it is cooked into any recipe ranging from brownies to sodas and everything in between. When these foods or drinks are consumed, the THC-infused fat molecules bind with our own cannabinoid receptors to produce varying body buzzes or highs.

CO2 OIL THC content: 45–55 percent The fairly recent invention of the electronic cigarette brought with it yet another way for stoners to get high on the go. In a method known as supercritical fluid extraction, carbon dioxide (instead of butane) is forced through the flowers, fan leaves, stems, and/or other

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trim in order to extract their cannabinoids and terpenes as an amber liquid known as CO2 oil. This oil is poured into a cartridge that is reattached to vape pen and, well, vaporized.

It should be noted that CO2 oil can also be cooked or baked into edibles just as easily as it can be vaporized in specific vape pens. These two similar and versatile extractions can even be added to rolled blunts or joints.

TINCTURE THC content: varies Although Cannabis tinctures are not sought after for their trippy, couch-locking effects, they are perhaps one of the more valuable types of concentration in terms of medicinal Cannabis.

There are two ways to make alcohol-based tincture. The cold method is the simplest, calling for the Cannabis and high-proof alcohol to sit together in a glass container for several weeks after which the mixture is strained through a screen. The hot method involves baking the herb, grinding it into a powder, and then simmering the power with the alcohol (typically in a hot-water bath), producing what is otherwise known, after straining, as Green Dragon tincture.

The jarred tincture is commonly used by placing one to several drops under the tongue. The THC content on average varies too greatly to pinpoint specific percentages, but it is not uncommon to see low numbers. This is because the methods used to create Cannabis tinctures extract significant amounts of other cannabinoids such as CBD, CBN, CBC, CBG, and THCV. These less psychoactive cannabinoids alleviate many medical problems from anxiety and inflammation to seizure occurrences. S

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