Sensi Magazine - Los Angeles (July 2018)

L LOS O S AANGE N G E LLEESS

W NNOORRMMAALL TTHHEE NNEEW

7.2018 7.2018

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ISSUE 7 // VOLUME 1 // 7.2018

FEATURES 20 Mamajuana

Stressed-out moms? Nope. Mamas have a newfound outlet.

NATIONAL TEQUILA MONTH Celebrating in true form

66

28 Power Lunching with a

50

Michelin Star (Two!)

Steep your palate deep into this CBD-infused tasting.

SP EC IAL R EP OR T

Oh, Canna(da)

How Trudeau put Canada’s cannabis laws at the forefront, making them a leader in the industry.

58 Go Ask Alice

A Super Troopers hater’s guide to the stoner movie.

every issue 11 Editor’s Note 14 The Buzz 16 CrossRoads

THE FUTURE IS NOW

24 AroundTown

GET OUT!

32 TasteBuds

A TISKET, A TASKET

36 LifeStyle

MOMS + CBD A new love affair

DESIGN THAT MOVES YOU

40 HomeMade

SUMMERTIME RECIPE

44 HighProfile

DEMYSTIFYING CANNABIS

66 Here We Go

TACOS Y TEQUILA

Sensi magazine is published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2018 SENSI MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

sensimag.com JULY 2018 7

i am

VITALITY

(n.) The state o f bein g.

t: 1.833.ARTEMIS www.iamARTEMIS.com ig: @iamARTEMISca

sensimag.com JULY 2018 9

sensi magazine ISSUE 7 VOLUME 1 7.2018

FOLLOW US

EXECUTIVE Ron Kolb CEO, SENSI MEDIA GROUP ron@sensimag.com

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EDITORIAL Stephanie Wilson EDITOR IN CHIEF sensimediagroup

stephanie@sensimag.com

Dawn Garcia MANAGING EDITOR, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA dawn.garcia@sensimag.com

Leland Rucker SENIOR EDITOR leland.rucker@sensimag.com

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10 JULY 2018 Southern California

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Embracing Exploration

editor’s

NOTE

Southern California is one of those places dreamers flock to. With the cool of

Hollywood to the relaxed vibe extending to the very edge of San Diego, our coastlines, mountain ridges, art, diversity, food (so much food!), and open mindedness is why we all stay. As a native Angeleno, I’ve watched this gorgeous region transform over the decades. With a reinvigorated sense of energy, the heart and soul of the beautiful Southern California ideal is coming back to life. That life is visible in everything from the design to restored architecture, restaurants popping up faster than you can say “I’m hungry”, city tourism seeing a hearty surge in foot traffic, sustainability now second nature, and of course, the evolution of cannabis in our everyday lives.

Whether I am working in film or writing and editing, the stories unfolding here every second of every day are ones worth telling.

That’s where I come in! I want to share intriguing stories, encourage you to explore everything there is to offer, and be a part of changing the way people view not just cannabis users, but those curious about the lesser known uses for it. In other words, this is an adventure and we’re all going on it together.

This is my very first issue as an Editor for Sensi and from the onset, it’s been exciting as well as a process of discovery. As someone with a background in lifestyle and culture, the world of cannabis is one I’m learning to appreciate. It’s a world the vast majority of us are only now beginning to truly understand and my goal is to make this “new normal” actually feel genuinely normal. That said, the pages of this July issue are about one simple thing: EXPLORATION. Through learning about what is happening from Los Angeles to San Diego, to giving new meaning to the term “wellness,” and delving into the cultural phenomena that makes up where we live, this month I encourage you all to get curious. There are some incredible events happening all throughout this state, a healthy dose of activism, a welcomed invitation to get outside, a call to embrace one another, and of course, doing so with open minds. This is the beginning of something beautiful and I’m honored to be a part of it. So, that’s it—Hi! Lovely meeting you.

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M ANAG I NG E D I TO R

SENSI SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

sensimag.com JULY 2018 11

12 JULY 2018 Southern California

sensimag.com JULY 2018 13

THE NEW NORMAL

sensi

buzz

DRINK

A CALIFORNIA TALE Every year the California Gray Whale makes a 12,000-mile migration from the warm lagoons of the Baja peninsula to the cool waters of the Arctic. A brand new spirit in the market, Gray Whale Gin by Golden State Distillery, founded by Marsh Mokhtari, is a Sebastpol based distillery whose bottle design speaks volumes about their story and celebrates this amazing migratory pattern of the gray whale. With ingredients that come from all over this glorious state: juniper from Big Sur, sea kelp from Mendocino Coast, limes from Baja California, fig tree from Sonoma, mint from Santa Cruz, and almonds from Central Valley, this gin is unlike any you’ve ever tasted. With botanicals to offer an herbaceousness not often found in your standard gin, this ode to the Golden State captivates from the onset of the bottle opening. Having won the Hot Brand and Media Award at this year’s WSWA Convention, you can expect to see them swimming into the marketplace before you can finish the sentence, “Of all the gin joints….” goldenstatedistillery.com.

READ

Fascism: A Warning

By Madeleine Albright “A personal and urgent examination of Fascism in the twentieth century and how its legacy shapes today’s world, written by one of America’s most admired public servants, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state.”

With a modern political climate that feels more like satirical fiction than reality, former Madame Secretary of State Madeleine Albright releases her book, “Fascism: A Warning.” Written for our times, Albright gives insight into the shakable foundation of our present day democracy and the looming influx of fascist ideals that are in working contrast and yet undeniably present. Albright draws on her own experiences living as a child in a war-torn Europe and her distinguished career as a diplomat questioning every assumption.

14 JULY 2018 Southern California

FREAK FLAG

ODDITIES EXHIBITION Tapping into Education Cosplay

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, it’s a…Giant Tube Worm? This July, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, is launching Oddities: Hidden Heroes of the Scripps Collections. This comic-inspired exhibit highlights the astonishing adaptations (aka superpowers) of ocean species. From super vision and invisibility to protective armor and electric powers, real marine creatures have amazing abilities that stretch even the wildest imagination.

The interactive exhibit showcases examples of some unique creatures, explains how they have inspired everything from cinema and pop culture to medicine and engineering, and gives you the opportunity to test some of the unique adaptations through creature cosplay. In other words, whether you’re joining the squad at Comic-Con or exploring the Oddities, let your freak flag fly this month.

DANCE

Cali Conscious Surf Reggae Never Felt So Good

Hailing from Huntington Beach, Cali Conscious is a barefoot beach reggae band whose contagious love of life, the environment, and music transcends into every note and lyric they sing. This month you can see them perform all throughout SoCal from the Reggae on the Mountain Festival in Topanga to the Dana Point Reggae Boat Festival, Duke’s in Huntington and Thursday Beach Eats in Marina del Rey. Front man Justin Ratowsky has his own beautiful originality and honesty that draws you in and makes you move the moment the band begins. With a newly released single, “Columbus”, his positive message and call for us to be responsible and kind to one another and the earth is told in a danceready, soul-stirring stream of beats and songs you’ll be happy you came upon. caliconscious.com

RALLY

Pride San Diego: SheFest Showing Pride and Supporting Women in San Diego

In a world where unity is more important than ever, we live in a time where love, equality, and respect have become an integral part of our present vernacular. (And its about damn time!) While each respective city celebrates PRIDE, San Diego will join the ranks and have their annual PRIDE celebration this month during SheFest and PRIDE Fest. SheFest is a woman centered event that celebrates and supports the talents and contributions of women while fostering meaningful connections within the LGBT and larger San Diego community. The Rally honors the spirit of Stonewall and is a time to recognize and honor leaders who are working hard to preserve our gains and meet the many challenges still facing our community. The Festival is one of the most inclusive events in town and the summer party you won’t want to miss!

From kickass food to live entertainment, this will be one hell of a fun week!

July 7, 13–15. Tickets available at sdpride.org.

—Dawn Garcia

sensimag.com JULY 2018 15

{crossroads}

by R I C A R D O B A C A

THE

IS NOW Trends we’d like to see more of in legal cannabis.

16 JULY 2018 Southern California

So much this.

San Francisco Chronicle when my friend (and fellow canna-

Like any Gen Xer co-opting Millenialspeak, I’m certainly

bis journalist) David Downs pointed me in the direction of a

guilty of employing this modern linguistic device when

retail marijuana shop called Barbary Coast.

sharing something I wholeheartedly agree with on social

“Once you walk in, you’re inside the shop, of course,” he

media. In another era we might have said Exactly or I totally

said. “But keep going back, and let me know what you think.”

agree, but ultimately the meaning is the same: YAAAAS.

I headed over on my own, bought some of Kiva’s infused

So while there are countless heady conversations and de-

chocolate-covered coffee beans and walked to the back of the

bates to be had about the present and future of legal, regu-

dispensary, where a friendly gentlemen checked me into an ad-

lated cannabis—and other substances that should not be

joined lounge connected to the shop. The space was elegant and

deemed illegal—it’s summertime, and I’d like to celebrate

lush, and the leather booths were filled with lone professionals

some of the big wins we’re starting to see, some of the

on laptops, double-dates canoodling, and work meetings get-

trends born out of legalization that are beginning to develop,

ting shit done—not unlike the scene at Philz Coffee down the

some of the news stories that occasionally come across our

road—only these customers were hitting vapes, rigs, and joints.

feeds that inspire an RT with an exclamation, So much this!

So while there is still much work to be done, here are a few 420-friendly trends I’m jazzed about.

(LEGAL) SOCIAL CANNABIS USE Adult-use cannabis became the law of the land in Colorado in December 2012, when Gov. John Hickenlooper signed

It was beautiful, especially given the public consumption struggle we’ve witnessed in Colorado. But it was also painfully normal—boring, even. It felt like an elevated coffee shop or bar environment. The place wasn’t hot-boxed, but the scent of weed was certainly present. It was normalized, and as beautiful as it was, it was also frustrating knowing how much legislators and prohibitionists are fighting this kind of progress back in my home state.

Amendment 64 into the state’s constitution. Yet here we are nearly six years later, and it’s still illegal to consume marijuana almost anywhere in the state.

POST-LEGALIZATION SOCIAL EQUITY PROGRAMS

It’s just embarrassing, and even an enlightened attempt to

These kinds of headlines give me my favorite kind of

create the world’s first permitted cannabis consumption spac-

goosebumps: “San Francisco to Dismiss Thousands of

es—Denver County’s voter-approved Initiative 300—has yet

Marijuana Convictions,” National Public Radio; “Top New

to make a real impact in widening legal spaces for social use.

York Lawmaker: Expunge Convictions if Cannabis Goes Le-

So imagine Coloradans’ chagrin when they read about can-

gal,” The Associated Press; “In These States, Past Marijuana

nabis consumption lounges opening up in Northern California

Crimes Can Go Away,” HuffPost; “Details on Plan to Expunge

(San Francisco) and Southern California (West Hollywood) less

Some Vermont Pot Convictions,” CBS affiliate WCAX.

than six months after the state’s Proposition 64 was imple-

Think about it: Those four recent headlines from trusted,

mented. And as a lifelong Denverite, allow me to say to my

mainstream news organizations just took us coast-to-

friends and readers in Cali: We’re not hating, we’re just jealous.

coast-to-coast-to-coast, referencing local initiatives across

I was in the Bay Area earlier this year speaking at a Na-

the US that will expunge cannabis convictions from people’s

tional Association of Hispanic Journalists gathering at the

records now that marijuana is legal where they live. sensimag.com JULY 2018 17

This is right. This is just. This is fair. This is the future, and

based middle path ended up laying the groundwork for

thank goodness these nonviolent marijuana offenders will

much of the cannabis journalism you read today. (If you’re

no longer have to deal with the significant repercussions of

curious about those early days, check out the documenta-

having a weed citation or arrest on their criminal record.

ry Rolling Papers, which is still streaming on Netflix.)

Of course, not enough states are pushing these kinds of

And so it makes me proud to see mainstream media or-

laws, and some progressive programs appear to be falling

ganizations report responsibly on cannabis, especially

short. (Funding For Social Equity Piece of Retail Marijuana

since most of them were still repeating the garbage gate-

is Slow in Coming—Worcester (Mass.) Telegram) But still,

way-drug narrative after Washingtonians and Coloradans

California and Vermont are on the right side of history, and

became the first to legalize it in 2012.

other states will soon follow suit.

SANE, FACT-BASED REPORTING IN THE MEDIA I’m a pretty average guy when it comes down to it, but if

Enter André Picard, the health columnist at The Globe and Mail, the most widely read newspaper in Canada with roots dating back nearly 175 years. Here’s what Picard columnized on late-May 2018, as Canada prepared its federal implementation of legal, regulated recreational weed:

I have a legacy, it will likely involve the impact my col-

“As Canada prepares to go live with pot sales in a few

leagues and I had on the way cannabis is discussed and

months, what can we learn from four years of practical,

reported on in the mainstream media.

hands-on experience in the western United States?

I started The Cannabist from inside The Denver Post’s

“The first takeaway is that all the fretting about the im-

newsroom in 2013, and while we refused to repeat the

pact on children and teens is largely unwarranted. Before

many lies of prohibition, we also ignored the blind activism

legalization, 17 percent of Grade 10 students in Washington

of publications like High Times—and that modern, fact-

State said they had smoked pot in the previous month. Four

18 JULY 2018 Southern California

THIS IS JUST. THIS IS RIGHT. THIS IS FAIR.

THIS IS THE FUTURE.

years of legal doobies later, 17 percent of Grade 10 students say they have smoked pot in the previous month.�

While some journalists and columnists still spread fear-

As the headline of his column hints: The kids will be alright.

And so long as journalists report on what is known, instead of what they were told as children, so will they, I hope.

based narratives with no basis in the legal market, Picard looked to the most experienced municipalities in legal cannabis and told his readers about what they have experienced, based entirely on government (state and federal) data.

RICARDO BACA is a veteran journalist, thought leader and founder of The Cannabist.

His content agency Grasslands works primarily with businesses and individuals in the cannabis and hemp industries on thought leadership, publicity and marketing projects via thoughtful, personalized content campaigns.

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sensimag.com JULY 2018 19

20 JULY 2018 Southern California

A A A M M

JUANA A tale of Moms in dire need of a little less stress.

by DAW N G A R C I A

The terms cannabis and CBD are words quickly taking on a rather broad meaning—AT LEAST TO THE MAJORITY OF US STILL LEARNING ABOUT IT. IS IT A DRUG? IS IT MEDICINAL? IS IT GOING TO ACTUALLY HELP? TURNS OUT THE ANSWER SEEMS TO BE THAT: 1) TECHNICALLY IT ISN’T EASILY DEFINED BY BOXED TERMS LIKE “DRUG”, 2) YES. IT IS MEDICINAL, AND 3) IT HAS HELPED MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER. Recently, as I was researching the properties and benefits of CBD. I came upon some interesting statistics. It seems of

out there like myself just now discovering the benefits of CBD, let’s break down exactly what CBD is:

all the people using CBD oil and edibles, a good majority of

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a phytocannabinoid. A phytocan-

them are women (and many of those women are parents),

nabinoid is a naturally occurring chemical compound found

which led me to the question: Why? So I reached out to a few

in the cannabis plant. These compounds use the human

dozen moms in Southern California to get some answers.

body’s endocannabinoid system to “talk” to just about every

The chief explanation behind why moms are now turning

major organ in the body, helping to restore balance and ho-

to dispensaries and asking their doctors about prescribing

meostasis in the body despite fluctuations in the external

cannabis and CBD oil seems to be unanimous: anxiety and

environment. CBD is not the same as THC (the part of the

stress. It seems in today’s world of social media fatigue, con-

cannabis plant that produces feelings of euphoria).

tinual days filled with check lists that contain more tasks than

Much like the studies that have come out showing that

we could possibly accomplish, raising children (and partners

utilizing CBD oil can help fight addiction (watch Sanjay Gup-

depending on the day), trying to be superheroes can get over-

ta’s Pills vs. Pot report on YouTube), it can stop seizures, help

whelming. I can attest to needing something to take the edge

autism, help cancer patients, anxiety, chronic pain, and an

off as well. Moms need a release and alcohol just isn’t making

overall sense of focus. It’s actually more challenging to find

the cut. Why? Because we all still have to function and not look

reasons NOT to use CBD. Rather than turn to addictive op-

like an episode of a reality TV show gone wrong.

tions like opiates, we’re in search of something cleaner, nat-

After doing some research and getting real with moms in

ural, and proven to work. Some of the commentary by the

SoCal, I wanted to first share the reasons behind their quest

women I spoke to allowed me insight into not just what

to improve the quality of life for themselves and their chil-

women are battling in their own lives but the reasons they’ve

dren, and then give you some options. First, for the newbies

sought out natural options. sensimag.com JULY 2018 21

Ali R. is a cancer patient and in tandem with her chemo, this is what she says: “I’m using it for my chemo and I find it also helps my anxiety - the woman I go to works with cancer patients and is recommended by staff at the Cancer Center. I feel pretty comfortable with that.”

In addition to lessening the intensity of post-chemo treatments, CBD also has helped mothers manage postpartum depression. According to Postpartum Progress, 85% of PPD sufferers do not get professional treatment, not dissimilar to those with regular Chx & Blnz is a full-service accounting and business consulting group focused on assisting cannabis companies with bookkeeping/accounting, tax services, audits, compliance, first-time business setup for start-ups, product/service consulting and financial analysis software to give business operators the information they need to make decisions with confidence, and manage with success.

Our staff include licensed CPAs, professionals with advanced degrees in Masters of Business Taxation from USC, Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Project Management.

depression. Mom, Jessica C., used cannabis for postpartum depression (15% of mothers in the US experience postpartum). It helped her through it and now when the stressors of life rear their head, CBD has proven incredibly beneficial to help with her anxiety.

“I feel like it has helped me tremendously. I highly recommend you get your dosing correct. It’s trial and error but once you get it down…it’s wonderful medicine if used correctly!”

More women, mothers particularly, have a growing run-in with anxiety which in turn manifests into other physical stressors that make you feel just plain lousy. While anxiety affects everyone, women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety attacks. On that note, the age of women using CBD teeters in the 35-to-49 demographic.

Kristen K. – “I use a full spectrum CBD oil (internally and externally) that does have a small amount of THC in it (.3 percent is the max amount legally allowed in the US, so that’s the one I get because I can have it shipped to me! I prefer this over the stuff I get at the dispensary).

“I’ve suffered from anxiety for probably 20 years now and I have two autoimmune conditions that I was treating with Vicodin for years. I’m now completely pharmaceutical free and am able to manage my anxiety so much better.”

So while this is a clear shift from the topics we’re used to (speaking as a mom), it turns out women are the dominant users of cannabis and CBD oils. In that same vein, moms are also looking far more closely at how this natural remedy improves the lives of our children including curing ailments our children suffer from. Personally, I’ve just started trying it. Whether anxiety, ADHD, or chronic pain as in my daughter’s case, it’s time to dive into educating ourselves on the healing power this beautiful plant offers.

While we learn more, talk more, explore more, and make a concerted effort to better our lives in every way, may this be the beginning of a long-standing conversation of talking to women of all ages about how cannabis and its properties are giving us a far greater quality of life.

22 JULY 2018 Southern California

sensimag.com JULY 2018 23

{aroundtown}

by DAW N G A R C I A

GET OUT! Movie Nights, Food Trucks, Music on the Mountain, and more.

Southern California is home to 23.8 million residents! That

LOS ANGELES & SAN DIEGO

means nearly 24 million of us will be soaking up sunshine, look-

Street Food Cinema is more than an outdoor movie experience,

ing for interesting things to do, and basking in the endless sum-

it’s bringing together the best in pop culture films, gourmet street

mers we get to call our everyday. So while the weather might be

food and progressive new music. Street Food Cinema reinvents

heating up, we found a slew of things you can do to enjoy the

the traditional moviegoing experience—al fresco style.

perfect weather, be entertained, and keep it interesting! Whether you want to sit under the stars and watch movies while you sip that bottle of wine you’ve been saving, dance to some killer reggae while having the freedom to enjoy that new strain you picked up at your local dispensary, or get cultured with some of the immersive art experiences, we invite you to explore, have fun, play, and by all means—socialize!

Foodies and Film Southern Cali is home to the film industry, but it also happens to

Los Angeles JULY 7

My Girl

Musical Guest: Jeffrey Lyman Glendale Central Park JULY 14

Romeo and Juliet

Musical Guest: The Rare Occasions Brand Park Library JULY 21

Grease

be where getting outdoors is part of our lifestyle. This summer,

Musical Guest: The Roaries Heritage Square Museum

as we launch into some full-swing fun, there are some extraor-

JULY 28

dinary outdoor movie nights to venture to. We found the perfect excuse to watch movies outdoors, listen to great live music, ac-

Space Jam

Musical Guest: Joesphine Crystal Springs Park

E.T.

Musical Guest: Arms Akimbo Will Rogers State Historic Park

500 Days of Summer Musical Guest: DJ Ivy Westrift Golf Course

The Princess Bride Musical Guest: TBA Pan Pacific Park

Frida

Musical Guest: TBA Eagle Rock Rec Park

cess tasty bites, and enjoy the kind of leisure we all love.

Keep in mind some venues allow you to bring in picnic baskets, outside food, wine, and vapes. Check before purchasing tickets. There are plenty of food trucks to choose from: vegan to carnivore, sweet to savory.

San Diego JULY 14

Mean Girls

Musical Guest: Mrs. Magician Boulevard Center, North Park JULY 28

The Goonies

Musical Guest: DJ Decon Ruocco Park, Downtown

24 JULY 2018 Southern California

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEACHFRONTCINEMA.COM

ORANGE COUNT Y Beachfront Cinema is the premier outdoor movie experience, which takes place on the sandy shores of Huntington Beach.

Beach Front Cinema also features plush, jumbo-sized beanbags, food vendors, live bands, beach bar, contests, games, and some of the most amazing sunsets on the West Coast.

JULY 14

Jaws

Musical Guest: TBA Huntington State Beach

Music Fests for the Soul Music is the language of us all and this month, we have three truly incredible LOS ANGELES Eat|See|Hear is an outdoor experience curated by the folks at Showtime. A summer-long celebration of movies, food, and music, Eat|See|Hear is LA’s original traveling outdoor movie series going to rotating venues around the city. Featuring a wide mix of outdoor movies, live music and yummy food trucks.

JULY 7

Rear Window

Musical Guest: Capyac Autry Museum in Griffith Park PHOTO COURTESY OF STREET FOOD CINEMA

JULY 14

The Warriors

Musical Guest: Girl Friday LA State Historic Park JULY 21

Ocean’s Eleven

Musical Guest: Priscilla Renea Centennial Square at Pasadena City Hall JULY 28

Blazing Saddles

Musical Guest: Sam Valdez Autry Museum in Griffith Park

music festivals you’ll want to indulge in.

Homegrown Reggae Festival Band Highlights: Pato Banton, Cali Conscious, Arise Roots. Reggae on the Mountain also features 30+ food and craft vendors as well as a beer and wine garden. Come enjoy the sunshine and pure reggae vibes in beautiful Topanga Canyon!

July 14–15. 1440 N Topanga Cyn Blvd, LA Free parking and shuttle available.

Tickets at REGGAEONTHEMOUNTAIN.COM.

Chalice Festival Band Highights: Ludacris + Bone, Thugs & Harmony. Chalice Festival, Southern California’s premiere cannabis, music, and art celebration, is returning for a fifth year in July. For the first time ever, those in attendance (21 and up) will be able to consume and buy legal recreational marijuana on-site.

July 13-15. SBC Fairgrounds. Victorville, CA Tickets at CHALICECALIFORNIA.COM.

sensimag.com JULY 2018 25

Love Long Beach Love Long Beach 2018 is the 5th edition of the annual two-day festival, spreading the magic of all that is Long Beach. DJs, music, arts and crafts, food court, vendors, yoga, sound healing, and much more! Kid and family-friendly, all ages are welcome! Mega fun for everyone. To accommodate the festival’s growth, we secured a new City-approved location at Shoreline Aquatic Park.

July 28-29. Shoreline Aquatic Park, Long Beach Tickets at LOVELONGBEACHCELEBRATION.COM.

4th of July Events Some last-minute ideas for where to see some fireworks for free.

Grand Park DTLA Hear live music on stage, play games, buy drinks and food, and watch 9 p.m. fireworks at 4th of July Block Party in Grand Park. Read the prohibited items.

More Free Fireworks Los Angeles Cerritos High School (9pm) Marina del Rey (9pm)

GRANDPARKLA.COM

Hamilton High School (9pm)

Exposition Park Los Angeles

San Diego

4th of July Community Festival and Fireworks Show has carnival rides, food trucks, live music, and fireworks (about 9 p.m.) at Exposition Park near L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

EXPOTITIONPARK.CA.GOV

Rose Bowl Pasadena Enjoy entertainment and spectacular

Bernardo Heights Middle School (9pm) Poway High School (9pm) California Center for the Arts (9pm) Moonlight Ampitheatre (9pm) Kennedy Park (9pm) Imperial Beach Pier (9pm) Bradley Park (9pm) Mira Mesa Community Park (9pm)

fireworks at 9 p.m. at AmericaFest in the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Orange County

ROSEBOWLSTADIUM.COM

Peralta Park in Anaheim (9pm)

Queen Mary Long Beach

Dana Point Harbor & Doheny Beach (8:45pm)

Family-friendly All-American 4th of July aboard the Queen Mary includes carnival games, arts & crafts, tours, entertainment, and 9 p.m. fireworks.

QUEENMARY.COM

4th of July Parade Santa Monica 4th of July Parade has bands, dancers, horses, kids, and cars starting at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and going south for a mile down Main Street. Video.

26 JULY 2018 Southern California

SANTAMONICA.COM/EVENT/FOURTH-JULY-PARADE

Centennial Park in Santa Ana (9:10pm) Fullerton High School (9pm) Huntington Beach Pier (9pm) Crown Valley Park in Laguna Niguel (9pm) San Clemente Pier (9pm) San Juan Capistrano Sports Park (9pm)

sensimag.com JULY 2018 27

CBD OIL GETS THE MICHELIN TREATMENT When you’re ready for your food to do more than excite you.

by DAW N G A R C I A

LOS ANGELES IS HOME TO AN ARRAY OF THE MOST di-

verse cuisine

CRAFTED BY AWARD-WINNING

CHEFS THAT PUSH THE BOUNDARIES, INVOKE ALL YOUR SENSES, AND QUITE HONESTLY, MAKE YOU LONG FOR MORE! THIS MONTH, I TOOK THAT CULINARY CURIOSITY INTO DOWNTOWN LA’S Spring

Restaurant.

Spearheaded by two-star Michelin Chef Tony Esnault and his partner and wife, Yassmin Sarmadi, I went in for what is suitably named the “Power Lunch”. With a continued passion to delve deep into the art of cuisine, he is a chef with a wonderful conscientiousness, utilizing ingredients that enhance the natural state of his dishes and give diners a bite they’ll never forget.

The Power Lunch is the embodiment of said attributes. course CBD infused menu. In true form of his natural inclination to learn, grow, experiment, and research, this menu is like nothing you’ve ever tasted. In addition to a color palette that awakens the senses, this menu incorporates a water soluble CBD-elixir, as well as cold-pressed organic CBD coconut oil, giving you and the entrées that extra boost you need for a much more serene state, both physically and mentally.

As you enter the restaurant you’re immediately transported into a space emitting a sense of wonder, openness, warmth, cultural inclusion, and a natural state of bringing the outdoors in. With vaulted ceilings in a grand atrium glass structure, the light peers in gleaming down with a welcoming brightness lending to an exceptional afternoon.

28 JULY 2018 Southern California

PHOTOS BY DAWN GARCIA, MATT ANDRIS, AND EMI ROSE

Chef Esnault has created a thoroughly immersive three-

The Power Lunch menu

nating in the soup are rich yet light, herba-

Mixed Green Salad • Chilled English Pea Soup •

ceous yet understated, and done with a

Spring Risotto, Branzino • Mary’s Chicken Breast

delicate balance.

Cannabidiol has been part of the human diet for thousands of years, regulating internal stability, and keeping mind and body happily balanced. This was something Esnault experienced himself first hand thanks to a moment of kismet when he met Will Kleidon, Founder of Ojai Energetics, for the first time. Having had experienced the restorative qualities, Esnault and Sarmadi decided it was something far too groundbreaking and essential to not share.

“Whether guests seek CBD for any ailments or simply want to add it as an aid to their daily regime,” says Sarmadi, “they will undoubtedly marvel at the accessibility and benefits it brings just by enjoying this menu.”

Yassmin couldn’t be more right. When I arrived I was thrilled at the thought of enjoying the cuisine but a little unsure of what to expect with the CBD addition. For days, I had been suffering with a persistent migraine and I was eager to see if the Power Lunch would help make it disappear. Ordering a bite of everything, dishes arrive, one by one. The leaves of green stacked atop another arrive, served with a refreshing vinaigrette and carefully placed drops of CBD oil is bright and a perfect start. The soup is a two-step process.

A rustic bowl arrives with pea tendrils and vegetables awaiting the pour of the chilled soup and before your eyes, an artistic display of nature unfolds. The flavors culmi-

Next up are the risotto and Branzino. The risotto arrives in a bowl displaying shades of green and texture with small, visible drops of CBD. This risotto is cooked flawlessly as the Meyer lemon gives the creamy parmesan a wildly enticing lift, rounding out each component with the subtlety of the CBD drops. The branzino is where I feel Chef Esnault really showcases his playful nature. Displayed in the espelette is an extraordinary heat that makes this already scrumptious fish a cut above. The fire creeps up on you without ever overpowering the clean taste of the fish and paired with the myriad of bell peppers and piquillo, it contrasts the spicy with an air of sweet.

Dessert is always a delightful way to round out a meal and while both are incredibly noteworthy, I fell in love with the presentation and fascinating taste of the panna cotta. As the meal concluded and I really sat back to appreciate the journey I just embarked on, I found that my headache? It had disappeared completely. I felt far more at peace, pleasantly full, and blissful. I never felt the high most get from other forms of cannabis, instead I felt a sense of calm and that is priceless.

Thank you to Chef Esnault and the wonderful knowledge Yassmin imparted. I walked in knowing little of what to expect and left feeling enlightened and eager to return.

The Spring CBD Power Lunch is $37 per person every Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Visit SPRINGLOSANGELES.COM.

sensimag.com JULY 2018 29

30 JULY 2018 Southern California

Your cannabis community from idea to consumer and everything in between.

/GANJAROAD

@GANJAROAD

sensimag.com JULY 2018 31

{tastebuds}

by DAW N G A R C I A

A TISKET, A TASKET Picnics of Paradise Along Highway 1

Few things are quite as Americana as a good ole-fash-

In search of paradise, we met incredible locals, made

ioned picnic. The thought of a vintage wicker basket stocked

new friends, explored the terrain, and most importantly,

with refreshments, exquisite bites, a checkered blanket

found astonishing stops to lure you in.

spread out on the sand or the green, a portable Croswell turntable playing Ella Fitzgerald, and if I’m being honest, clothes that emanate days passed that tie it all together, well it’s downright nostalgic. Sure, we do live in a far faster world, but nothing calls out California living quite like a picnic with the people you actually enjoy being around while basking in the near-perfect weather conditions the rest of the world envies. So in an effort to appeal to places that feed your needs, we took a 500-mile trek from Orange County to the Central Coast in an effort to give you some sublime options for a worthy getaway and a much-needed moment of pause.

32 JULY 2018 Southern California

Crystal Cove Perfect for anyone with a hankering for movie classics like Creature from the Black Lagoon and all things old-school, Crystal Cove is a nationally protected park and pretty impressive piece of Hollywood history. It is a 12.3-acre coastal portion of the 2,791-acre Crystal Cove State Park. The federally listed Historic District is an enclave of 46 vintage rustic coastal cottages originally built as a seaside colony in the 1930s and ‘40s, nestled around the mouth of Los Trancos Creek. It is one of the last remaining examples of early 20th century Southern

California coastal development which makes its sandy shores

When you’re ready to restock your basket with some

the ideal backdrop for the perfect picnic. Whether you grab a

delicacies from the area, a culinary curiosity should lead

cocktail at Beachcomber first or finish up with a shake from

you to a small gourmet shop called A Matter of Taste. They

Shake Shack, this is a look at true days of ole.

carry jams, dishes, spices, cooking utensils, etc. I had a

El Matedor State Beach A beach that most thought was private (in spite of popular belief, there are no private beaches in California), this is one of Malibu’s beaches that seems almost too good to be true. Separated by beautiful sea stacks, there are three arches along the shores. If you’re in the mood for a traditional picnic, head on down the steep hill and settle in for a view you’ll never forget. Should you be feeling a little rebellious?

The second beach just past that first arch is a hidden topless beach for the more risqué picnic-goer. Hidden by the formations, if you time it just right you can move in between the cavernous openings while the shoreline shifts.

Cambria | San Simeon California really is a gorgeous state with more terrain and possibility that continues to unfold. From the tip to the very ends of the state line, there are small towns you may not have even known were there. Cambria is one of those towns. A quaint beach town, Cambria has something you’d expect to find in a small town states away. Cambria is made up of a population of just over six thousand people.

(In Los Angeles, that’s the population of a few square miles of any given neighborhood.) But this region also has the distinct pleasure of being home to some of the most beautiful coves, the illustrious Hearst Castle, a sweet history, agriculture, and some of the best pies around! On to where to fill your basket. A lovely stop for a breakfast picnic is to pick up local pastries at Linn’s Bakery. Linn’s is known for

quick sampling of their chai latte (delicious!), then stepped out to find Montello Fine Foods, where olive oils and balsamic vinegars are made with love. Next stop is San Simeon. San Simeon was once home to the famed Wiliiam Randolph Hearst where his abode Heart Castle is—now a national treasure. The beach stop along Highway 1 is stocked with picnic tables aplenty while just beyond is a gorgeous beach with pebbles, sand, and signs of nature.

Cayucos Cayucos is a city along the Central Coast that is small and inviting to those who want some peace and solitude, with a dash of beautiful. For this little gem of a place, we decided on an adventure on the water. But first, we picked up local fare and then headed to Good Clean Fun to meet with owners Steven and Weston Hennigh—two of the most skilled men in town. We ordered salmon tacos and salads from Ruddell’s Smokehouse, beers brewed by Weston himself, wine by Cayucos Cellars, killer hot sauce from Cayucos Hot Sauce Company, and cookies from Brown Butter Cookie Co. Before long we were out on the water like pros! Venturing a couple of miles out, we grasped onto nearby kelp and spent a few blissful moments in complete serenity while the still ocean lulled us in our individual kayaks. This is also a great place to do some kayak fishing. Where were we heading?

Byron’s Beach. The beach is named after a local man who once took up post living on this little slice of heaven. In other words, this is worth the seafaring journey.

gourmet pies and its restaurant, but the muffins are a delight. Try the raspberry with cheesecake filling and blueberry crisp muffins (they have gluten-free muffins too) and then head to Moonstone Beach. After a lovely breakfast, take a stroll, enjoy the area, and consider visiting Harmony Cellars for an afternoon tasting. A large wooden barn houses barrels of wine ready to be bottled with someone at the helm to begin your tasting flight. Each wine has notes worth mentioning. This is a favorite in the area as is a visit to Stepladder Creamery for a farm tour and some unbelievable goat cheese. sensimag.com JULY 2018 33

Avila Beach Avila Beach is a town recently brought back to life after a tragic oil spill on its coast. As a result of having to completely rebuild, this little California spot got a reinvention of sorts. As you drive towards San Luis Obispo in search of their gorgeous wines and beautiful terrain, it’s the brightly colored vistas, cute little hotels, and beachside community that draw you to Avila. The views are breathtaking, the town itself is divine, and the multitude of things to do, wonderful. There are a slew of dining options to pack up and take to the sand including Beach Hut Deli, Avila Valley Barn, and Ocean Grill (a must eat, the pizzas are phenomenal!). Once you fuel your hunger, grab your blanket, picnic basket, sun hats, and walk down the stairs onto the warm grains of sand. Afterwards, consider taking up surfing with Avila Beach Surf School or renting an electric bike at Pedego Electric Bike Shop.

Picnics may seem like a simple answer but the way the warmth feels against your skin, the smell of ocean wafting through the air, a chance to pause while partaking of our culinary breadth, it’s a welcomed way to spend a day. Picnics aren’t reserved for anyone in particular and can be a romantic, playful, unifying activity that is rather endearing.

Grab your friends, your kids, your lovers, your picnic baskets, throw caution to the wind, and experience the simple joy of a passionate picnic along the pristine California coast.

A few ways to make it a little more picturesque? Dress the part, buy fresh sunflowers,

PHOTO BY KAITLYN RODRÍGUEZ

bring an old printed book, and learn to embrace the serenity of the moment.

34 JULY 2018 Southern California

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{lifestyle life }

by DAW N G A R C I A

In an age where architecture and design have taken on a far more approachable stance for the modern consumer, the shift in conversation to things more eco and cost conscious has taken center stage. While consumers have gotten savvier, asking for more bang for their buck, they’re looking for something new, sustainable, design-centric and affordable. signer cars, at least for the more environmentally aware consumer. Today’s market, driven by the trendsetting millennials, has created something beneficial for all: sustainable living that doesn’t sacrifice design or aesthetic. It may be the first time in a long while since the market crash in ‘08 that buyers

36 JULY 2018 Southern California

PHOTOS BY MATT WIER

Gone are the days of million-dollar starter homes and de-

can start seeing more clearly through the fog of insanely

be a tightrope walk. Hofmann however, has managed to create

priced homes and an ever-fading idea of the American Dream.

something rather spectacular in both theory and implementa-

In fact, as we continue to be exposed to design options even

tion. Taking into account that consumers are tired of spending

when we feel the looming reality of decision fatigue, the good

insane amounts of money on things versus experiences, Living

news is there are brands out there that care about the user

Vehicles opened my eyes to a million possibilities.

and the user experience. This can be said of Living Vehicles.

In search of understated elegance and modernism, Living Ve-

Envisioned and implemented by Matt Hofmann, Living Ve-

hicles is among those brands taking an active role in being a part

hicles is much more than a mobile home with cool gadgets and

of a new movement of redefining what home means. With more

sleek design. While in recent years “Tiny House” has become a

and more of the population leaning towards electric vehicles—

part of our daily vocabulary and “affordability” is no longer a

being aware of their carbon footprint and not wanting to be teth-

taboo term, finding ways to appeal to a higher echelon of buy-

ered to a steep mortgage—this opens us up to really exploring

ers while offering a new idea of what “living” really means can

what options we have. With architecture in mind, Hofmann

sensimag.com JULY 2018 37

worked with his team to design a functional, design-centric living vehicle that not only travels wherever you go but can just as easily be the place you call home indefinitely.

As the sustainability model continues to rise to the forefront of design, architects whose quest to make our lives more functional while still appealing to our desire for aesthetics and modernism, have come together to show us what’s pos-

o k o S r Show nynoau #sokoca

sible. The first time I saw Living Vehicles was at the Dwell on Design show this spring in Los Angeles. A place where innovators come together to bring new product and fascinating concepts into the general marketplace, anyone can find something to fall in love with. Situated in the back of the grand open space was a mock grass yard with a hammock near the entry of this eye-catching aluminum home, with rows of trees in pots, streaming lights, a deck, and the entrance to a Living Vehicle. When I stepped onto the deck stocked with barbecue and a dry bar, I knew this would be one “mobile home” that would beg me to change my perception of mobile living. Inside, I’m greeted by designer Matt Hofmann. His demeanor is one of cool approachability and he couldn’t be a kinder human being. He exlpains the reasons behind each design saying: “I wanted to create something that wouldn’t limit anyone.”

Through the double, weather-tempered glass doors, I entered into the dining room/ second bedroom. The dining area is u-shaped, with a kitchen table that comfortably seats 6 and then conveniently turns into a bed later. The sitting area has a sleek design—from the tufted cushions, to the movable bed above it (which also sleeps 2), to the gorgeous wall design with an in-laid flat screen TV. The utilization of space is unquestionably smart design. To the right of the dining area is a full kitchen with refrigerator, island, stove, dishwasher, pantry, and even a space for a stereo/sound system.

This isn’t a tight or crowded space. In fact, the efficiency of design lends to the intrigue!

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38 JULY 2018 Southern California

As I moved through the home, I came upon an elegant spa bathroom and outdoor shower (lined with beautiful rich paneled wood). Around the corner and through the sliding wooden door, I found myself stepping into the master bedroom. With options for a queen bed or a couch with a queen pullout, this living room/master bedroom rivals any modern home. Past the bed there is a washer/dryer combo.

It’s hard to argue why any of us spends millions of dollars on a 2,000-square-foot space (at least in California).

This is one of the most sophisticated, beautifully designed untethering home options on the market. Made with weather-resistant materials (aluminum among them), this nearly 8,000-pound livable space offers home buyers and free spirits a genuinely viable option. For those that want to live life less bound to one place and be immersed in sleek design, Living Vehicles are engineered with freedom, functionality, affordability, and luxury in mind. And when you see the modest, $150,000 price tag of this home, fully loaded, you’ll agree.

This is a definite alternative to Tiny-House-lovers who want something they can easily take anywhere. How easily? For about $800, this 30-foot home can be hitched to most any vehicle. The beauty of Living Vehicles is that you can even build out—so imagine two or three of these as your new home! Now picking out a plot of land doesn’t seem so daunting, and settling in with a home you can take with you wherever you go, well, it doesn’t seem so outlandish anymore.

Made locally in Santa Barbara, there’s something rather appealing to supporting design that is so thoughtful, engineered with longevity and environmentally conscious appeal. Living Vehicle is the culmination of Matthew Hofmann’s decade of experience designing small spaces for the modern world. Consider joining the movement towards a more intentional way of living and learn more about Living Vehicles at LIVINGVEHICLES.COM. sensimag.com JULY 2018 39

{homemade}

by C H E F RYA N R O N D E N O

SUMMER RECIPE

SavoryBiscotti

Fancy figs? We’ve got you!

Yields 2 to 3 dozen

With summer now in full swing, our love of cooking tends to be awakened. Having the pleasure of dining with one of America’s favorite chefs, Chef Ryan Rodeno, we were thrilled to ask him to give us an easy, refined summer recipe. This savory fig biscotti will feed the masses, appeal to your inner culinary master, and give way to our more seductive senses.

40 JULY 2018 Southern California

with Gorgonzola Cheese, Roasted Figs, and Honey INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp black pepper • 2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting • 1 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp salt • 1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese, finely grated • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted • 3 large eggs • 1/2 cup whole milk • 1 lb gorgonzola blue cheese • 10 figs, sliced • 1/2 cup chives, snipped • orange blossom honey

DIRECTIONS STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, parmesean cheese, and black pepper in a large bowl.

STEP 2: Whisk 2 eggs for 15 minutes or until pale and doubled in volume. Add flour mixture, plus milk and butter. Mix until soft dough forms.

STEP 3: Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and cut into quarters. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flat log (about 12 in. long, 2 in. wide and 3/4 in. high).

STEP 4: Transfer logs to 2 baking sheets. Whisk remaining egg and brush some over each piece. Place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, being sure to rotate halfway through.

STEP 5: Keep logs on sheets to cool for about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325ยบ.

STEP 6: Place logs on a cutting board and, using a serrated knife cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices cut-side down in a layer on baking sheet.

STEP 7: Bake additional 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets on racks for about 15 mins.

STEP 8: Slice figs on a sheet pan and drizzle honey on each.

Roast for 15 minutes in a 400ยบ oven. Set aside.

760-632-9674

STEP 9: Slice blue cheese and place 1/2 oz on each biscotti. Arrange figs on top. Garnish with snipped chives. Enjoy!

CHEF RYAN RONDENO has a passion for French, Italian and Regional American Cuisine. Every day, he introduces his clients to new cuisine, focusing on local, sustainable dishes with bold flavors.โ จChef Rondeno continues to revamp his own style of cooking with the love of New Orleans cuisine and fresh California flavors.

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sensimag.com JULY 2018 43

{highprofile}

by DAW N G A R C I A

Ojai founder and CBD innovator Will Kleidon reveals why the most important vegetable we ingest should be hemp.

DEMYSTIFYING CANNABIS

44 JULY 2018 Southern California

When you first talk to Will Kleidon, Founder and CEO of

Terpenes are most bio-available when inhaled, whether

Ojai Energetics, you immediately know that you are talking

through the cavity in our mouth or nose, crossing the blood/

to someone whose passion and love of what he does ex-

brain barrier where they go off, facilitating themselves into

tends into every part of his life. His knowledge is unparal-

different places they have an affinity for. They are very poor-

leled, his joy utterly infectious, and the innovations he’s im-

ly absorbed when digested just like fat-based cannabinoid

plementing into the marketplace–downright impressive.

oils. Our formula of water-encapsulated cannabinoids en-

My introduction to Ojai Energetics came when I ventured

ables the rich oil to enter our blood stream the second it

into Downtown Los Angeles’ Spring Restaurant. I went

touches our mouth (and any part of the mucosa membrane).

there to try their CBD-infused Power Lunch, a meal Chef

I discovered that we can actually change the way the canna-

Esnault and Will collaborated on. Using two patent-pending

binoids in our elixir affect the user when combined with dif-

formulas: CBD elixir and coconut oil infused with full-spec-

ferent terpenes. If you were to eat fat-soluble CBD, it would

trum CBD rich hemp oil, the lunch is a progressive approach

take 30 minutes for the cannabinoids to enter the blood. By

to a nutrient-rich, mindful meal.

Talking with Will—a native Californian himself—was enlightening, intriguing, and genuinely insightful.

that time, the terpenes inhaled won’t interact with the cannabinoids because the ship has sailed, so to speak.

The terpenes in citrus for example, such as L-Limonene, target dopamine receptors as

What prompted your interest in learning the pairing properties of CBD and cuisine?

well as receptors in the gut. When our oil is paired with citrus in a dish, the timing syncs up as the terpenes are actually inhaled through

There are a couple facets to it: one being

the mouth while the person is chewing. As a

that hemp and cannabinoids such as CBD

result, the CBD and other cannabinoids are

have been part of the food supply for millen-

absorbed in their mouth at the same time.

nia as vital micronutrients. This includes di-

It was a blast working with Chef Tony’s

rect and indirect consumption from ancient

savant palate of creating diverse plates that

Roman recipes, smoothies in India, and the

pair with our elixir, and then reverse engi-

most common method of consumption: eat-

neer the terpenes present in each dish. We

ing animals that were fed hemp as fodder.

then present diners with a description of how each plate

I had an insight a few years ago that terpenes—the

affects their bodies differently. We are the only company

things that make plants smell and taste the way they do,

that can encapsulate the CBD-rich oil to make it soluble

the most prevalent compounds in essential oils—actually

without synthetics. You never want to consume na-

direct cannabinoids to different systems in the body. They

no-synthetic compounds or synthetically modified com-

are like little tug boats for the cannabinoid receptors. When

pounds regularly, as they have been shown to have sub-

that insight happened I called Dr. Michelle Sexton, one of

stantially negative effects as reported by the top minds

the leading experts on terpenes and cannabinoids, and she

researching this including Stanford’s Med School. In that

confirmed that her research was verifying this.

vein, we only use certified organic ingredients grown re-

The cannabis plant has some of the most diverse presence

generatively or beyond organic standards like biodynamic

of terpenes in the entire plant realm. This is why some strains

practices and fair trade, which is vital and why Chef Tony

of cannabis, typically Indicas, are associated with sedation and

and Yassmin work with us and vice versa.

couch lock because they are high in myracene, whereas Sati-

Hippocrates famously stated, “Let thy food be thy medi-

vas are considered uplifting and cerebral due to high L-Limo-

cine and thy medicine thy food.” I believe people are moving

nene and A-Pinene terpenes. The cannabinoids are essentially

back towards that and that’s why we focus on demystifying

identical, however the terpene profile vastly changes the user

hemp by showcasing it as a vegetable. A vegetable that our

experience and how the cannabinoids affect their body.

ancestors consumed regularly for thousands of years! sensimag.com JULY 2018 45

How did you develop your water-soluble oils?

What are the benefits of using CBD in food?

I serendipitously met a chemist right after I founded Ojai En-

Every vertebrae animal has a system called the endo-

ergetics in 2014. He told me that he had been playing with mak-

cannabinoid system that has receptors in every other sys-

ing CBD water-soluble. The reason this is important is that reg-

tem of the body from skeletal to digestive, reproductive,

ular CBD-rich oil is very poorly absorbed by the body because

nervous, cardiovascular, etc. Even at a cellular level, the

they are fat soluble. In fact, 90 percent of the cannabinoids such

endocannabinoid system has receptors. The job of the en-

as CBD are destroyed before they make it into our blood stream.

docannabinoid system is to regulate homeostasis for the

If you eat 20mg of full-spectrum, fat-soluble CBD oil, only 2mg

entire body and buffer oxidative stress. It’s like the conduc-

make it into the blood to be utilized, but you pay for all 20mg.

tor for the symphony of our bodies, ensuring they are all

The water layer on our mucosa membrane prevents fat

working together in harmony for optimal health.

soluble compounds from making it into the blood as once

Our bodies produce cannabinoids called anandamide

they are in, fat soluble compounds travel freely and pass

and 2-AG internally. Just like we produce B-12 in our gut, it

the blood brain barrier. Because of this the body will try and

isn’t sufficient without a dietary intake and it is no different

filter out any unrecognizable or toxic compounds before

with cannabinoids. Because we artificially cut out these vi-

they are allowed in. The body then secretes bile and nano

tal micronutrients from our diets in the 40s, it is vital that

encapsulates the oil in little bubbles of water where they

modern humans reintroduce this to our system. With a

can then pass through the mucosa membrane, into the

steady intake of phytocannabinoids, we can get our health

blood, where they move out of the water bubble and in and

back to where it needs to be.

around the body freely. The body is not super efficient at

The three most common issues faced by modern hu-

this and by the time this happens, 90 percent of the canna-

mans are poor quality of sleep, anxiety, and pain. In most

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46 JULY 2018 Southern California

With the majority of regulations lifted in California, what do you hope for the future of cannabis?

ers and representatives of high THC cannabis who support our bill to ensure that all ships rise and the entire diversity

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though, California had legacy language

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regarding growing and processing hemp

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sensimag.com JULY 2018 47

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48 JULY 2018 Southern California

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sensimag.com JULY 2018 49

, Oh Canna(da) Is our neighbor to the north poised to surpass us as the leading cannabis nation?

by LEL AND RUCKER

50 JULY 2018 Southern California

,

It’s happening. OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBOR HAS PASSED LEGISLATION THAT WILL ALLOW CANNABIS TO BE PURCHASED LEGALLY BY ADULTS. WHEN THAT DAY ARRIVES, PROBABLY IN OCTOBER, CANADA WILL BECOME THE FIRST G-7 COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO DO SO. WITH LESS THAN A TENTH OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, CANADA IS LEVERAGING ITSELF TO

become a major player

IN THE INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS LANDSCAPE.

Nine American states and the District of Columbia have legalized, or at least decriminalized, cannabis possession and use, and 29 have some kind of medical program. But the big difference here is that Canada is attacking legalization at a national level, says Dan Nelson, who watches financial trends as CEO of Wikileaf, a popular Canadian online guide to cannabis news, information, and prices. “This removes the vast amount of ambiguity around the market which you see practically everywhere in the States as they roll things out, with each state setting its own rules and framework.”

Since they are free to export product to any country with which Canada does business, Canadian companies are signing deals to export their cannabis and beat America to the global market. Germany, for instance, which legalized medical marijuana in March last year but has faced serious shortages of product ever since, has partnered with two large Canadian growers to supply its patients.

One of Canada’s largest medical producers, Aurora Cannabis, agreed in May to buy MedReleaf, the third-largest cannabis producer, pushing Aurora’s marketing value to more than $7 billion, with the ability to grow pot on more than a million acres of farmland. That valuation is slightly larger than Canopy Growth, Canada’s second-largest producer, which has filed to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the first pot stock to do so.

PreveCeutical Medical Inc., a Vancouver-based health company working on preventative medicines using plant-based products, has partnered with an Australian company to provide cannabis for its medical cannabis research. CEO Stephen Van Deventer says he would like to work with American companies, but it’s still too risky. “Even though a state might be legitimate, federal laws are illegal, and until federal law changes, there’s no point in taking those risks.”

American businesses, facing regulatory hurdles and limitations on outside investment, are now looking to be listed on the Canadian stock markets. Investors, perhaps hoping to latch on to what might become the Amazon or Google of cannabis, are buying stocks at a healthy pace. Even Canadian beer companies, fearful of the effects of cannabis legalization on their business, are investing in cannabis companies to hedge their bets.

Nelson adds that the situation offers Canada a unique opportunity to become a major player in a multibillion-dollar industry, something few Casensimag.com JULY 2018 51

nadians could have dreamed even a few years ago. “In the

ized lettering with little use of color and have no “brand ele-

past, Canada has tended to play little brother to the US on

ments,” celebrity endorsements, or testimonials.

most major industries,” he says. “But we’re already seeing a

The bill allows any adult to purchase cannabis and possess

lot of this kind of leadership in Canada begin to take shape.”

up to 30 grams (slightly more than an ounce) in public. People

“It’s such an interesting time,” says Sarah Bain of Nesta, a

will be able to choose from flower and cannabis oil products,

private equity firm that works with Canadian cannabis com-

but there will be no edibles for the time being. Most distribu-

panies. “Historically, when there are major industries, Canada

tion will be under the jurisdiction of the individual provinces’

is rarely at the front,” she says. “Mining is one. But we’re usu-

liquor boards. Unlike US states, which impose hefty excise

ally the cousins of the United States and Europe. Now we’re

and sales taxes, Canada plans to keep the rates even lower

being invited to invest and talk to other countries.”

than it does on alcohol. The bill imposes strict national penal-

Marijuana legalization was a cornerstone of the 2015 cam-

ties for driving under the influence and purchasing for minors.

paign of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party.

Beyond that, as provinces begin to release their own rules,

Polling over the years indicated that Canadians have favored

there seems to be as much variance as in US states. Alberta and

legalization, but Trudeau was the first politician to tap into

Quebec, for instance, will allow sales to 18-year-olds, but the rest

that support, endorsing legalizing personal use of cannabis

have set 19 as the age limit. Quebec and Manitoba banned home

for adults throughout his campaign. He made good on his

grows, but the other provinces will allow a four-plant per person

promise by introducing Bill C-45, titled simply “Cannabis

limit. Only the Northwest Territories has said no to online sales.

Act,” into Parliament on April 13, 2017.

British Columbia, which includes Vancouver, will license

The reasoning behind the Cannabis Act is outlined suc-

sales through government-run liquor stores and private re-

cinctly in its own straightforward language. “The objectives

tailers. Vancouver already has an existing “gray market,”

of the act are to prevent young persons from accessing can-

with about a hundred “medical clinics” around the city with

nabis, to protect public health and public safety by estab-

loose rules where adults can get good weed at low prices with

lishing strict product safety and product quality require-

no questions asked. “It’s essentially like having a bootleg bar

ments and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious

without a peephole to get in during Prohibition,” says Leslie

criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal

Bocskor, an American investor who recently returned from

framework. The act is also intended to reduce the burden on

that city. It’s not uncommon to encounter people smoking

the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis.”

joints while walking the streets. Residents there fear that

The Cannabis Act was passed by the House of Commons in the spring, and despite opposition from some Na-

these shops will be closed and replaced by higher-priced legal cannabis outlets.

tive American groups and still-reluctant lawmakers call-

In Newfoundland, grow facility Tweed will be able to sell di-

ing for a delay, the Senate passed the bill in June. The way

rectly from its location in Smith Falls, Ontario. Loblaws, one of

it’s set up, the government will supply all cannabis

the country’s largest supermarket chains, will be allowed to sell

through licensed growers, and leave sales, distribution

recreational cannabis over the counter at 10 of their locations in

and personal-use regulations to the 10 individual provinc-

Newfoundland and Labrador. Some provinces will allow tobac-

es and three territories, which are similar to our states.

co and coffee shops to apply for retail licenses; others won’t.

The country got a head start by allowing medical canna-

Legalization is going to look a lot different than it does here.

bis nationwide beginning in 2001. The medical system today

Derek Riedle distinctly remembers the time when his think-

is robust, with more than 200,000 current patients, all who

ing began to evolve about the possibilities for the Canadian

get their medicine by mail through the National Post. “As a

cannabis market. It was Nov. 8, 2016. “That night, as the New

Canadian patient, I can sit in Toronto, buy from a cultivator

York Times electoral college meter started to tip toward the red

in Vancouver, pick online what I want and have it mailed to

states and Donald Trump, we started getting calls from Ameri-

my house,” says Canadian George Naumovski, who now

can investors who were beginning to get nervous,” he explains.

lives in and operates two dispensaries in Illinois. “Going

“Jeff Sessions hadn’t been chosen but was already being touted

across state lines is not an issue.”

as attorney general. That alone started causing panic.”

To establish product safety and restrict access to children,

Riedle, who runs Civilized, a website and company with an

the government has imposed stern limits on advertising and

emphasis on adults who use cannabis as part of their life-

branding—strict enough that a Bloomberg headline sniffed

style, said he, like many Canadians, was envious when Amer-

that it will “take the fun out of legal weed.” That’s not much of

ican states began legalizing in 2012. “It was fascinating that

an exaggeration. Every product label has to display health

there were states that were to the left of Canada, and that

warnings much like those on cigarette packs, follow standard-

didn’t sit right with us. And then it completely flipped,” he

52 JULY 2018 Southern California

“Historically, when there are major industries, Canada is rarely at the front… Now we’re being invited to invest and talk to other countries.”

—SARAH BAIN, NESTA

says. “We all anticipated a Clinton presidency, and chaos ensued after Trump and Sessions took power. They absolutely squandered what good will the United States had.”

Nobody will argue, at least for the near future, that Canada, and Toronto’s Bay Street (its equivalent to Wall Street), will become the center of the international cannabis financial markets. The earliest the United States is likely to even consider legalizing cannabis nationwide is after the 2020 presidential election, which gives Canada even more time to grow its presence. “Because of our treatment of cannabis at the federal level and our market not opening up, I bet you we’ve given that up,” says Bob Hoban, a Denver lawyer whose firm works with cannabis companies worldwide. “The center of the cannabis financial world is now Toronto and always will be.”

But there are caveats. The Canadian markets are flooded with cash, but now all those well-funded companies have to ramp up and perform on a global scale, some of them for the first time. “The guys up there have raised a lot of capital, and they have huge facilities, with millions of square feet to grow,” says Naumovski. “Now they have to execute, to grow and process quality product. There are a lot of factors.”

Bocskor, who lives in Las Vegas, has been watching Canada’s growth carefully. He admits there’s still plenty of money to be made. “The market is chugging, and the regulatory

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framework functioning,” he says. “Growth is positive.

The overall experience is excellent.”

But he sees ambiguity in Canada’s rollout, too. For instance, how the government is handling—or not handling—the Vancouver “gray market” gives him pause. “That tells me that

nia market is just getting started, and it could eclipse Cana-

there’s a problem there,” he says. “It’s not bad that it’s unregu-

da and other legal US states as it matures.

lated. But it shows a cognitive dissonance between the mes-

When federal legalization happens here and the US mar-

sage coming from the government and what’s happening on

kets open up, the balance of power could shift as quickly and

the ground in Vancouver. It’s a disconnect, and people are

dramatically as it has in the last couple of years. “It’s a great

paying attention to it.”

win for Canada, in terms of this point in time,” Bocskor says.

And there’s California to consider. Canada has about two

“I really hope they can meet all their goals and deadlines. But

million less people than California, a state which allows

it’s a heavier lift than they thought it was going to be. What I

outside investment and is seeing more interest, even from

want to make sure that people understand is that soon

Canadian companies, since it legalized Jan. 1. The Califor-

enough, the US market will be the only game in town.”

54 JULY 2018 Southern California

sensimag.com JULY 2018 55

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Go Ask Alice

A Super Troopers Hater’s Guide to Stoner Movies,

by ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

58 JULY 2018 Southern California

"You shouldn' t be allowed to write about stoner movies," SAID MY FRIEND AND FORMER ROOMMATE AFTER I TRIED—AND FAILED—TO WATCH SUPER TROOPERS WITH HIM, WHICH ISN’T EVEN FAIR. I NEVER JUDGED HIM FOR THINKING BULLETPROOF PENIS CUPS, CHEEKY SHENANIGANS, AND BEAR BUGGERS WERE FUNNY. (OR MAYBE I DID, A LITTLE.) And he’s probably right. I haven’t liked stoner movies since I went with a date to see Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams in high school, which went about as well as Super Troopers did with my roomie. I mean, I laughed with everyone else when we played Cheech and Chong’s “Sister Mary Elephant” record back in junior high (we could recite all the lines, even), but all I could think about during Nice Dreams was how much I hated being harassed by guys like those two.

My date thought the film was hilarious. The last thing he was interested in was my feminist take on it—and, after that, me.

He was cute. I might hold a little grudge against the genre.

I’m a nerd. A snob. Too critical for my own good. Never able to let loose and have fun. Friends, boyfriends, husbands, and my kids told me this every time I refused to watch another version of a maniacal journey involving super-stoned guys who won’t grow up, but whom we’re supposed to find lovable, sometimes involving a nudgey hot girl who disapproves of their copious weed smoking, and always riding on jokes involving dicks and scatological functions along with a few good chase scenes (preferably involving cops).

Those flicks aren’t my jam. I can’t let my brain rot through Dazed &

Confused when it could be getting lost in Carl Sagan’s fascinating original docu-series Cosmos or Akira Kurosawa’s mesmerizing magical realism film Dreams, or watching my all-time favorite movie, The

Graduate, which I do every year, religiously.

OK. I could lighten up.

But I can’t be the only person who loves to get high and watch a film that expands my mind, even frivolously, and represents cannabis with dignity, without Seth Rogan or references to God’s vagina.

sensimag.com JULY 2018 59

Raising the Whole Standard of a Nation

from having sexual relations with white people in mov-

In 1930, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors

ies, have gotten even less screen time, and respect, than

of America laid down the Hays Code, censoring every-

cannabis has in cinematic history.)

thing from sex to profanity to drug and alcohol use in

As these things tend to go, real self-enforcement didn’t

movies because “entertainment and art are important in-

kick in until public pressure forced the industry’s hand.

fluences in the life of a nation.”

In 1934, Shirley Temple, “America’s sweetheart,” replaced

The code was enacted out of duress, after Hollywood

Mae West, “the sweetheart of Sigma Chi,” as Hollywood’s

scandals on and off screen drew the ire of religious and

box-office darling. For the next couple of decades, direc-

temperance groups with names like Legion of Decency.

tors and producers insinuated and teased, but, for the

Censorship had become a cumbersome states’ rights is-

most part, followed the rules.

sue, with some states banning D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a

Nation for its obscene racism and others declaring Mar-

Married couples slept in separate beds. Adulterous women were punished. Movie stars didn’t do drugs.

garet Sanger’s Birth Control an offense to public decency.

To avoid federal oversight, which appeared imminent,

1968: The Year of the Stoner Film

the MPPDA drafted a Jesuit priest and an industry jour-

Fifty years ago this year, the Hays Code was officially

nalist to write a set of moralizing self-regulations, based

rescinded and replaced with the MPAA film rating sys-

on Catholic theology, to help the industry represent “cor-

tem (G for general audiences, M for mature content, R for

rect standards of life.”

restricted, and X for sexually explicit). Movies got fun

“Correct entertainment raises the whole standard of a

again—really, really fun. X-rated Midnight Cowboy won

nation,” the code stated. “Wrong entertainment lowers

the Oscar for Best Picture in 1969 … and then there was

the whole living conditions and moral ideals of a race.”

1970’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (I blush).

(Which race the code was referring to is clear in the

Enforcement of the Hays Code had been unraveling

all-whiteness of my own favorite films. People of color,

throughout the 1960s, but Mrs. Robinson was still pretty

shut out of Hollywood and prohibited by the Hays Code

edgy when I was 3 years old in 1967, watching The Gradu-

This Nerd’s Top 5 Stoner Movies (post-1968) Annie Hall (1977)

Diane Keaton was the first leading lady I ever saw smoke weed. It still didn’t make Woody Allen tolerable, but my love for her made me love this film.

9 to 5 (1980) Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton smoking weed in the “Just Say No” ‘80s is just too good, and their #metoo message was decades before its time.

The Breakfast Club (1985) I made my kids watch this at way too early an age. It’s still painfully relevant. Can’t we all smoke weed and get along?

60 JULY 2018 Southern California

Almost Famous (2000) This movie came out when my kids were in preschool.

I wanted to be spliff-smoking Penny Lane so bad that I ran out and bought a version of that coat. I still feel like a badass when I wear it.

Rolling Papers (2015)

What self-respecting nerd doesn’t include a documentary? This one covers the birth of an industry in a fun, lighthearted way.

ate on the drive-in screen from the back seat of the station

sense of the weird places consciousness reached that

wagon while my parents drank martinis in front. (Don’t

year. (Not that I’ve done this or anything, kids.)

judge. I think all of that might have been legal back then.)

Without the girdle of the Hays Code, celluloid psyche-

Mad Men, on Edibles, with Sitar

delia exploded. Cannabis, and a lot of other drugs, landed

Because I wrote a cannabis cookbook and am just fin-

firmly in the American cinemascape as both muse and

ishing up writing a history of cannabis food (once a

new-age plot hook. The stoner movie was born.

nerd, always a nerd), my favorite 1968 stoner movie is I

There was The Beatles’ fantastical animated Yellow

Love You, Alice B. Toklas, the film that put the pot

Submarine, which Beat writer Ken Kesey said “looks bet-

brownie on the map. It was the first major motion pic-

ter stoned, but that’s true of all movies,” and 2001: A Space

ture to make cannabis an integral part of the plot—the

Odyssey, the sci-fi classic that spawned conspiracy the-

first stoner movie.

ories about Stanley Kubrick faking the moon landing and

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, with its breezy, sitar-laden

the first movie to be marketed directly to a new and

soundtrack and campy hippie jokes, was considered

quickly expanding stoner class.

something of a lightweight in the year of Yellow Subma-

Both movies were celebrated with special 50th-anni-

rine and Head, but I like it. It has exchanges like this one

versary releases in theaters across the country this year,

(and I know my deep nerd is showing):

but they were hardly alone in emancipating drugs and

Nancy: Beautiful. Is that Ginsberg?

consciousness on the big screen during that banner year

Guru: No, Tennyson.

between the Summer of Love and Woodstock, and the

In the film, Peter Sellers plays Harold Fine, a dissatisfied L.A. lawyer who leaves his shrewish secretary-fian-

films played to appreciative audiences.

If you’ve ever eaten a mega-dose of cannabis-infused

cée (because why else did women become secretaries?)

chocolate mousse, which is kind of like eating acid, and

Joyce for dreamy flower girl Nancy after eating “groovy”

watched The Monkees’ Head or Walt Disney’s Alice in

brownies, which Nancy says were made from a recipe in

Wonderland, both released in 1968, you get a pretty good

Toklas’s “freaky” cookbook.

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(They weren’t, and the recipe for improperly named “Haschich Fudge” that made Toklas’s 1954 cookbook famous was actually for majoun, a Moroccan confection made from dates, figs, nuts, and cannabis that Toklas’s friend, Beat artist and writer Brion Gysin, had learned to make while living as an expat in Morocco. But I’m talking over the movie.)

Harold shares the brownies with his parents, who laugh hysterically as his fiancée rips off his clothes and begs him to take her in a scene reminiscent of Reefer Madness.

(You’ve seen that one, right?)

The brownie trip changes Harold’s life. He leaves Joyce at the altar, grows his hair long (seemingly overnight), lives for a while with Nancy in his car, then moves back home and gets annoyed about her friends and free love, gets back together with Joyce, and leaves her at the altar again. The movie ends with Harold running out of the synagogue, yelling that there’s got to be something beautiful out there.

I’m a sucker for movies that end with people running from the altar, I get it. But I Love You, Alice B. Toklas made me think, about what the world was like 50 years ago and what it’s like today. About whether or not there really is something beautiful out there, and what it might be.

That, to me, is what a great stoner flick is all about.

62 JULY 2018 Southern California

sensimag.com JULY 2018 63

64 JULY 2018 Southern California

sensimag.com JULY 2018 65

{HereWeGo}

by DAW N G A R C I A

Tacos y Tequila!

Tuesday, July 24: Tequila Day (during Tequila Month—who knew?)

July is National Tequila Month! This agave-driven spirit is one of our favorite ways to top off a killer taco, end a super long week, and celebrate Hispanic culture. To honor this tasty beverage, we wanted to learn a little bit about it. For starters, in spite of popular belief, it is isn’t part of the cactus family. In fact, the blue agave plant belongs to the Agavoideae family, which is closely related to the lily plant. It also happens to be good for you.

Tequila is made up of agavins, an indigestible sugar that moves through the body without being used for energy. The complex molecular structure of agavins can prevent them from spiking your blood sugar, which means these little molecules also stimulate your metabolism. Tequila also can lower cholesterol and stimulate digestion. Not that we needed any more reasons to enjoy a margarita but hey, it helps!

So the story behind tequila is it was initially known as mezcal wine, but now shares a name with a small town west of Guadalajara in Jalisco. Turns out Jose Antonio Cuervo owned the first license for manufacturing tequila. As part of the deal, laws were put into effect stating that “real tequila” can only be produced in Jalisco (limited to the regions of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas). This allows connoisseurs to know when they’re drinking the real stuff. Like a fine wine, tastes vary based on terroir, offering tasting notes from aromatic to herbaceous, smoky to smooth. It’s not just a great thing to line up on the bar top.

In fact, in Mexican tradition, it’s meant to be sipped—but we won’t judge you for taking shots!

With a renaissance of flavor from blancos to añejos, this month we encourage you to have some fun. Get your friends together, visit your favorite bar or create your own flight at home, pair it with your favorite dishes, and raise your glasses to Mexico for introducing us to this kickass libation. And— since the official day is on a Tuesday—we think it’s the perfect excuse to make this Taco Tuesday one for the books.

In the spirit of the day, post your best tequila pics on Instagram and tag #NationalTequilaDay and #SensiHereWeGo. 66 JULY 2018 Southern California