Sensi Magazine - Southern Colorado (April 2019)

SOUTHERN COLORADO

THE NEW NORMAL

4.2019

CBDo or CBDon’t That Is the Question

Pot in Pans Why the History of Eating Cannabis Matters

E L CE E T A R B ME I T D O O E A G K I L S E T TA S

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ISSUE 4 // VOLUME 3 // 4.2019

FEATURES 30

SP EC IAL R EP OR T

CBDo or CBDon’t?

When it comes to cannabidiol, confusion reigns supreme. We’re going back to basics to clear it up for you.

36 Pot In Pans

Why the history of eating cannabis matters.

16 POPPIN’ OFF Cause for Celebration

THE GOOD LIFE Tastes Better with Friends

22

every issue 09 Editor’s Note 10 The Buzz 16 CrossRoads

OUR RIGHT TO PARTY

22 TasteBuds

BORN TO CELEBRATE

50 HereWeGo

HEALTH. CARE.

Sensi magazine is published monthly by Sensi Media Group LLC. © 2019 SENSI MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 7

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editor’s

NOTE

A short list of some of the reasons to celebrate this month—on

4/20 and beyond. I wanted to list 42 of them but only had room for half, because there’s a whole lot to celebrate in this edition. So let’s get started:

Canyon Cultivation // MICRO DOSING

1. Allll music, with so many concerts taking place all over this season.

Dabble Extracts // MEDICAL CONCENTRATES

2. That includes the third-annual Tmrw Tday Culture Fest in Negril, Jamaica, kicking off April 30. Sensi’s managing editor Dan McCarthy outta Boston will be there. Follow @SENSIMAGAZINE on Insta for that tropical travel inspo.

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RECREATIONAL DISPENSARY

Greenhouse Payment Solutions // PAYMENT PROCESSING

Herbal Healing // COMPLIANCE Incredibles // WELLNESS Industrial Hemp Recycling //

3. The munchies and 4/20 celebrations giving us excuses to eat allll the food.

4. The mere fact that cannabis is legal here.

5. The fact that we know we still need to protest—and have the right to do so.

6. The sense of community coming together that’s so palpable this time of year.

7. All month long, national press outlets will cover cannabis in all its glory—and most of the stories will be positive, exemplifying what we like to call the New Normal.

MMJ & HEMP WASTE MANAGEMENT

8. That leads to more and more people coming out of the cannabis closet.

Lux Leaf // EDUCATION

9. Including revered bastions of high society, such as the Emily Post Institute. The mere existence of Higher Etiquette by Lizzie Post is a stunning milestone in this march into the mainstream.

marQaha // SUBLINGUALS AND BEVERAGES Monte Fiore Farms //

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10. Yoga With a View coming down from the hills and into town for a cannabis-paired, yoga-fueled brunch feast at an art gallery on 4/20 itself.

11. All the fun events on the regional calendar this month.

12. Maven Clinic: basic healthcare access for women, by women, online, on demand, and affordable.

13. Sensi’s new better paper quality, which debuted a few issues ago and still makes me feel all warm and tingly whenever I pick up a magazine.

14. Earth Day. 15. CBD, explained, in this issue. We try to keep it simple.

Sharp Solutions // TRANSPORTATION

16. THC. The elevating effects are always worth celebrating.

Third Day Apothecary //

17. Sensi’s third anniversary party, taking place at EXDO Event Center on April 17. Come hang. We’re fun.

MEDICAL CULTIVATION

18. Other Sensi-sponsored celebrations happening coast to coast, all month long.

19. Pot in Pans by Sensi contributing editor Robyn Griggs Lawrence is out this month. I’ve read it, you should, too. You can pick up a copy from Robyn herself at said anniversary party.

20. Sensi’s nominations in both the Las Vegas Cannabis Awards and the New England Cannabis Awards. We’re honored.

21. You. You’re pretty awesome. Thanks for reading.

Stephanie Wilson E D I TO R I N C H I E F SENSI MAGAZINE

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Feelin’ Ourselves

The rule of thumb is that if a magazine sticks it out for three years, it’s got a good chance of being around for the long haul. And not to brag (but totally to brag), Sensi is celebrating its third birthday this month up in Denver, and y’all are invited. Come toast to the occasion with us. Sensi Night, High Holiday Kickoff. EXDO Event Center in RiNo on April 17.

Follow the Sensi Media Group FB page to stay on top of allll the info—and to RSVP. See you soon.

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Honoring the Earth Imagine a world without clean air and clean water, filled with burning garbage and thick smog; a world where sewage, deadly insecticides, and other toxic chemical are dumped into our waterways. Sadly, this was the scene all across America in the late 1960s—a time when industrial pollution was almost entirely unregulated. It wasn’t until 1969, after witnessing the devastation caused by the Santa Barbara oil spill, that Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson decided to actually do something about it.

Seeking a way to promote public awareness about the disastrous effects of pollution, he created Earth Day—a holiday designed to encourage environmental activism and education.

The very first Earth Day was held as a teach-in on April 22, 1970. By the end of that year, the Environmental Protection Agency had been established, and Congress had passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts had been passed. (The Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973). In the years that followed, Nelson continued to promote Earth Day events around the country—an impassioned environmental effort that, in 1995, earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Over the past few decades, Earth Day has become an inspiring instrument of change across the world. The event’s 20th anniversary in 1990 mobilized nearly 200 million people from 141 countries. Today, Earth Day is the largest secular civic event in the world, with close to 200 nations now participating in the global celebration. Each April, around 17,000 different grassroots organizations hold concerts, marches, nature walks, tree plantings, trash collection and recycling drives, 12 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

upcycling workshops, educational forums, and much more— all in the name of creating a cleaner, healthier planet.

These days, our Earth needs us more than ever. The environmental protections we’ve spent two generations fighting to establish are facing unprecedented attack—both by an irresponsible administration hell-bent on rolling back regulations and dismantling protections on national parks and coastlines, and by corporations that continue to drill, frack, and dump with no regard for how it affects life on our planet.

That’s why it’s imperative that we, as concerned citizens, get involved and do our part.

There are so many ways for us to help, even if it’s on a small scale: use alternative transportation, ditch the disposable cups and bottles in favor of reusable ones, decrease your landfill waste, or join a community garden. As the slogans say, “Think green,” and “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” By being mindful of your daily choices, you will also begin to cultivate a different relationship with the Earth.

So this Earth Day, get out there, find an event near you, connect with some like-minded eco-friendly folks, and start making a difference—you’ll be glad you did. For more info, visit EARTHDAY.ORG .

–April Price Words of Wisdom:

The Earth is What We All Have in Common.

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Earth Day 2019 falls on Monday, April 22. Here are two of ways you can celebrate in Southern Colorado—or anywhere you may be.

Earth Day @ Garden of the Gods The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society invites you to join them for some solar observing and other astronomy hands-on activities at the regional hot spot the Saturday before the official day honoring this third rock from the sun on which we live. The nonprofit organization, dedicated to the enjoyment of the nighttime sky, is hosting its annual daytime event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center. More info: NIGHTSKY.JPL.NASA.GOV

Earth Day 24,901 Mile Challenge @ Everywhere This virtual event is pretty simple on the surface: It wants to see how many times all the participants can circle the equator of the planet during the month of April. That’s just 415 participants committing to run at least two miles a day during the month of April. Sign up for yourself and commit to think about ways to help the planet during your walks, strolls, jogs, or sprints— you do you, just do it for the planet. THEVIRTUALRUNCHALLENGE.COM

The 2019 Earth Day 5K & 10K With 15 percent of every $20 registration going to Wild Earth Allies, this is a great second option for a virtual race in honor of Mother Earth. Your journey can be completed any time in the month of April, but there’s something special about completing it on April 22 itself. Head to eventbrite. com and search for 2019 Earth Day 5K to find the details accounts@nuvuepharma.com 14 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

about how to register, and then grab a friend and get moving.

It’s good for you, it’s good for us all.

–Stephanie Wilson

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{crossroads }

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

YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY The complicated artform of the cannabis event.

16 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

Ideating, producing, and hosting events is a legitimate art-

and New Orleans, at the last few New West Summits in

form. Throw cannabis into the mix—a newly legalized sub-

Oakland, at O’Cannabiz in Toronto, and we even hosted a

stance with ultra-restrictive rules governing all aspects of

renegade cannabis event at SXSW 2018. Outside of these

dissemination and consumption—and the artform requires

piggy-backed events, we’ve also produced thoughtful

an even higher level of skill, forethought, and refinement.

stand-alone events for clients—including a cannabis-in-

So how does one throw the perfect cannabis event?

fused farmers market that celebrated mainstream exhib-

Truth is, perfection doesn’t exist in the event production

itors alongside educational and experiential opportunities

space. Events are living, breathing, multi-tentacled beasts

for our client, a leading marijuana-infused topicals brand.

that rely on a team of collaborators, and while we event

Of course the proof is always in the pudding, and so

producers strive for perfection, it’s more of a lofty goal

here are a some tips to consider before starting to plan

than it is a concrete possibility.

your next cannabis-infused dinner, 420 event, industry

That’s why the best event producers plan ahead for the missed deadlines, the sick staff, the wayward subcontractors, and the venue limitations that are inevitable.

networking gathering, or renegade party.

PENCHANT FOR PREPAREDNESS

But how does one throw the best possible cannabis

There is no such thing as being too prepared for a can-

event—the kind of outing that celebrates an important

nabis event. Be it a simple happy hour at the office or a

milestone, subtly communicates a brand’s messaging,

large-scale activation at a conference, your guests’ expe-

pampers its attendees while also leaving a memorable

riences—as well as the quality of your sleep in the nights

impression? Here are some tips to consider—but first,

leading up to the event—will directly relate to how pre-

a bit about my background with creating meaningful

pared you and your team are.

events and activations.

So whether you’re self-producing or hiring an events part-

You see, long before I was lucky enough to stumble

ner, do yourself a favor and nail down your vision and ob-

upon the cannabis industry, I was embedded in the music

jectives a few months out; secure your vendors one month

industry as the longtime pop music critic for the Denver

out; have a functional run-of-show document at least two

Post. I got into the event production game early by creat-

weeks out; and check in with all hired staff, vendors, and

ing a multi-venue music festival, The Underground Music

subcontractors in the days leading up to the event.

Showcase, which continues to pack Denver bars, clubs and parking lot stages every summer. My work (and curiosity)

STAYING LEGAL AND RESPECTFUL

also took me coast to coast in those years, from the CMJ

Because we’re specifically talking about producing can-

Music Marathon in Manhattan to the Coachella Valley Mu-

nabis events, you need to fully comprehend the local rules,

sic & Arts Festival in California—but my annual highlight

regs, and laws surrounding the distribution and consump-

was regularly South by Southwest, the behemoth music

tion of marijuana. In these early days, event producers

festival taking over Austin, Texas, each Spring Break.

don’t have a lot of leeway in most localities—but there

I learned the art of the renegade party at SXSW. While

are generally options in each market, and if you’re not 100

the big event brings the masses together, the renegade

percent confident on local laws, call a local attorney to

parties add to the vibe. And as I would board my flight

protect yourself and your clients.

back to Denver each March, exhausted and likely hungov-

At Grasslands, we’re also careful to communicate clear-

er, I would think back to the festival’s most memorable

ly with the venue owner, ensuring that we’re on the same

moments—and oftentimes those experiences were pro-

page for which spaces are friendly for consumption and

duced by NPR, Pitchfork, IFC, or even Taco Bell.

which aren’t.

I’ve since produced a number of renegade music parties at SXSW, but my team at my marketing agency Grasslands

RESPONSIBLE DISTRIBUTION

and I have also produced our signature networking event

I’ve discussed the need for responsible distribution of

The Grasslands Party at multiple MJBizCons in Las Vegas

cannabis before in this column, but it’s worth repeating, sensimag.com APRIL 2019 17

HAVE AN

incredible 420 CELEBRATING 5 YEARS OF CANNABIS FREEDOM!

BE GRATEFUL BE RESPONSIBLE ENJOY!

18 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

given this subject matter. But let’s say you’ve checked with the attorneys and are confident your infused appetizers or THC-packed gift bag are legal, now it’s time to distribute the marijuana products responsibly.

This is simple communication, and it will set all of your guests up for a better experience. For your servers passing the appetizers infused with 5 milligrams of activated THC apiece, they need to communicate that to guests before the platter is offered to them. For the door staff handing out gift bags at the end of the night, they need to communicate the presence of THC to exiting guests, as that will change the handling and storage of the bag once

WHETHER YOU’RE SELFPRODUCING OR HIRING AN EVENTS PARTNER, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND NAIL DOWN YOUR VISION AND OBJECTIVES A FEW MONTHS OUT.

they get back to their car or home.

You never want your event to be the cause of someone’s bad experience with cannabis, so an informed, communicative staff is a necessity.

SUBTLE BRAND ACTIVATION It’s rare a company throws an event without intention. If you’re footing the bill or joining a party as a sponsor, you’re going to want to measure your return on investment (or ROI) after the fact—and that includes an idea of how many people encountered your brand and its messaging throughout the event.

Brand activation is a tricky one at cannabis events. It’s easy to go overboard, thinking that more is more and branding anything and everything. But my events team and I at Grasslands are of the belief that simple, subtle brand activation is a more meaningful method of connecting to your target audience.

An easy example: A thoughtfully assembled deck projected on a prominent wall is more powerful than a hard copy of that same deck (or brochure) in the gift bag. With the projected deck, your branding and messaging becomes a part of the decor and experience, something that embeds itself into guests’ psyches as they continue to see it throughout the event—whereas the hard copy brochure is a likely unwanted piece of marketing collateral that may or may not make it back to the office.

RICARDO BACA is a veteran journalist and thought leader in the legal cannabis space and founder of Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency, which handles public relations, content marketing, social media, events and thought leadership for brands and executives in legal cannabis, hemp and other highly regulated industries.

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 19

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{tastebuds }

by J O H N L E H N D O R F F

BORN TO CELEBRATE The app for what ails us is good company and great food.

We come into this world mouth-first. The very first thing we do after making our entrance is shout for mom’s sweet

THE HOST CATCHES A BUZZ Once I started hosting, I realized it wasn’t some al-

milk. That’s the way our party starts, with people and food.

truistic, kumbaya, self-sacrificing thing you do to better

My recall doesn’t stretch back quite that far, but my

humankind. For those who get “it,” hosting makes them

earliest flashbulb memories are around a table. I’m at a

happier than being a guest despite the hassles. Various

table in the kitchen or dining room at home, or a picnic

studies have shown that social connections are as im-

table at a lake, or a restaurant booth. Birthday cake or

portant as kale and Pilates for your health, and the brain

Thanksgiving turkey or a slippery ear of buttered corn on

chemicals it releases are a decent buzz.

the cob is in front of me. Mom, dad, siblings, odd relatives

Celebrating is not partying. You can celebrate while sip-

and odder friends are always in the picture. Very early on,

ping mezcal, vaping cannabis, and eating poutine, but not

I understood that celebrating with food was fun.

by yourself or with strangers.

I learned a lot about food from my mom, who reserved labor-intensive family favorites—like egg croquettes, stuffed cabbage and lasagna—for special occasions. My big tent philosophy of entertaining came from my older sister, Barbara. She loved visiting global cultures that revere food and family and consider celebrating as essential as breathing. She figured that food is everyone’s first language.

When I was in high school, Barb had a party celebrating the fact that I was visiting her family in Florida. She invited students, teachers, and friends from various cultures. We talked about peace and war and music and nibbled simple, high-flavor finger food. For me, it was a new kind of fun.

I gleaned that the welcoming spirit of the host determined the quality of the celebration. Barb showed me that gathering the tribe regularly is so important it overrides the usual objections to hosting, i.e., my house is too small and too dirty and I can’t afford fancy hors d’oeuvres.

22 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 23

Entertainment is passive. You get entertained. The dictionary definition of “celebration” is to pay attention to a life event with a gathering of related folks.

Celebration is participatory, and, at its best, slightly magical. You learn as much about your family and friends at the table as you do from 23andMe. I have always been a celebration instigator. My 25th birthday at a Boulder restaurant featured seafood crepes and balloons filled with nitrous oxide.

Nothing was ever more fun than planning a birthday party for my son featuring cake and odd foods he loved. For Thanksgiving last year, I hosted the feast crowd in my tiny apartment, and it was like the old days. I like that every-chairfilled, elbow-to-elbow atmosphere with too much food and drink on the table and all the technology turned off. It was an actual—not virtual—event.

THE PLAGUE OF ‘EATING ALONE TOGETHER’ Some may feel we work too little and celebrate too much, but I am not among them. We celebrate and vacation too little and we are a poorer nation for it.

I have spent four decades as a food writer, eight years as a dining critic and a lifetime going out to eat. I watch other people at dinner and learned that sadly, many people don’t know how to celebrate…or are simply unwilling.

I see a lot of “eating alone together.” Everyone around a table at a birthday dinner is looking down at their phones. Eye contact is minimal. As they leave, they don’t look like they’ve been celebrating. They look relieved. They look at their phones. I’ve always felt sad for them.

I chalk it up to an epidemic of loneliness and a sea change caused by technology. The numbers don’t lie: • Open Table reports that restaurant reservations by solo diners rose 80 percent from 2014 to 2018.

• A Cigna survey of 20,000 US adults found that nearly half of people have feelings of loneliness.

24 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

• Only 53 percent of Americans say they have meaningful, daily, face-to-face interactions with other people. Statistics show that nearly 30 percent of US households consist of one person.

We also drive alone in cars, vote by mail and get food, beer, entertainment and groceries delivered, further reducing our social interactions.

Social media is great for keeping far-flung relationships alive, but it makes it less likely we’ll have the eyeball-to-eyeball contact that cements personal bonds. You can end up blowing out the candles on your cake with family on Facebook Live and Siri singing “Happy Birthday.” Besides, the anonymity of cyberspace makes it easy to be mean and may explain some of the increasing brutality of our political discourse and polarized cultural life.

Studies show that having dinner with family teaches children how to talk and behave and seems to support healthier eating and body weight, and much less early use of tobacco, drugs and alcohol. Teens get better grades and better sleep. I bet it works on adults, too. Celebrating together with food seems to civilize most of us.

HOW TO BE A HEAVENLY HOST As a host, I ponder the logistics from dietary restrictions to my favorite, the party’s background soundtrack music. My gig as host is to pay attention to everyone around the table and to draw them into the buzz.

Celebration food doesn’t need to be artisan, just profoundly tasty. Parties give us a pass to eat things we deny ourselves the rest of the time. I try to pull together treats that sound so damn good in the invitation that the guests can’t refuse. Social media and texting makes it easy to invite folks but, exponentially easier for them to cancel at the last minute.

Whether at home or a restaurant, you need to address the 800-pound “virtual” gorilla in the room. I try to make it a device-free gathering as much as possible. We turn off and hide our cell phones. If they sit on the table the sensimag.com APRIL 2019 25

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sight entices us with tweets, posts, likes, and texts. That temptation rips us out of the moment and away from the company. My modest hope is for everyone to experience emotions, not emojis.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO CELEBRATE When my sister Barbara passed away a couple of years ago, it was definitely not a funeral or a memorial service. This was a real celebration of life with farflung family and friends. The crowd laughed, wept, made music, told tales and, of course, ate. Heartfelt tributes were offered by the newcomers, strangers and “others” from many nations who celebrated around Barb’s tables. It was exactly the kind of love-in with comfort food that she would have loved.

At the end of the day, relationships are all that really matter. I don’t feel “lucky” because I have an incredible extended village of family, friends and neighbors in my life. I’ve selfishly made them a priority.

Two of my best friends from college in Montreal ended up in the Denver area.

In recent years we’ve managed to align our lives in order to meet for dinner once a month or so. The three of us together is a celebration and a reminder just how difficult it is to find people who uplift you. After a parade of life challenges kept us from connecting for many months, we started to wonder: Can we keep doing this? Is it still important enough? The three of us resolved to move mountains to maintain the connection as long as we can.

So, raise a toast to your family, in whatever form it takes. Let your friends eat cake with you. Invite a stranger to lunch and bridge the great divide.

JOHN LEHNDORFF writes the Nibbles column for the Boulder Weekly and hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU.

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 27

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CBDo or SPEC IAL REPORT

30 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

CBDon’t?

When it comes to cannabidiol, confusion reigns supreme.

We’re going back to the basics to clear it up for you.

by L E L A N D R U C K E R and S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N

Disclaimer: The following conversation didn’t happen—NOT EXACTLY, NOT WORD FOR WORD AS IT APPEARS HERE. BUT IT’S ROOTED IN REALITY. CBD IS ON EVERYONE’S MINDS, BUT INFO ABOUT IT IS ON NO ONE’S RADAR. IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS ALONE, WE’VE FIELDED CALLS AND QUERIES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AS FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY REACH OUT FOR ADVICE. The questions below are on the lips of curious consumers who have heard they need to be taking CBDs but

Yes, it’s confusing. Here’s a handy cheat sheet: Cannabis sativa: plant species.

they don’t quite know what this means. We’re here to

cannabis: a subspecies of Cannabis sativa containing

help. First thing’s first: it’s CBD, not CBDs.

more than trace amounts of THC. It remains federal-

Jane Doe: What is CBD? CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant.

Jane: So it’ll get me high?

ly illegal, classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug, in the same category as LSD and heroin. The government claims cannabis has no medicinal purposes and a high potential of abuse. hemp: a subspecies of Cannabis sativa with no more

No, that’s what non-psychoactive means. You’re think-

than 0.3 percent THC by weight. When the federal gov-

ing of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. That’s the com-

ernment outlawed “marihuana” in the 1930s, it did so us-

pound associated with feelings of euphoria.

ing broad language that banned all Cannabis sativa—in-

Jane: But you said CBD comes from cannabis.

Isn’t that what weed is called nowadays?

cluding hemp. The prohibition of hemp just came to an end last December, with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill.

You are correct. Cannabis is how people refer to what

Jane: What does this have to do with CBD?

used to be called “marijuana,” a word with racist under-

CBD is found in Cannabis sativa varieties, so it can be

tones best removed from the modern lexicon. Cannabis

derived from both cannabis and hemp. But not all types

is short for Cannabis sativa, the scientific name of the

(or strains) of either necessarily have any CBD content at

plant species that includes both cannabis—the kind that

all. Some have a high percentage of CBD. Growers breed

gets you high—and hemp, the kind that doesn’t.

plants to maximize or minimize the cannabinoid content.

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 31

32 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

Because cannabis remains federally illegal, CBD de-

Jane: So what are the effects of CBD?

rived from a plant with more than trace amounts of THC

There are all sorts of claims out there. But are any of those

is illegal as well. This doesn’t apply in the 10 states where

claims backed by science or data? Not really. A highly infor-

recreational cannabis is legal. However, it is illegal to

mative deep-dive into CBD published by Vox sums it up per-

take it across state lines—but don’t let that stop you.

fectly: “Anyone who tells you anything definitive about what

As hemp broke free from prohibition late last year, the

CBD—or THC for that matter—does to your body is lying.”

DEA reclassified hemp-derived CBD with less than 0.1 per-

Cannabis prohibition, ongoing since 1937, outlawed more

cent THC from a Schedule I to a Schedule V drug—one with

than personal use; it blocked scientific studies of the plant’s

a low potential of abuse, similar to low doses of codeine.

medicinal properties and potential. Today, there’s a huge

Jane: Are you saying the effects of eating a CBD cookie or two are the same as taking a dose of prescription cough syrup? That’s intense.

void where research should be. That void has to be filled

No. Keep in mind, this classification is from the same agency that still claims cannabis is as dangerous as heroin—that highly addictive drug responsible for a growing number of overdose deaths each year as its popularity grows in the wake of the opioid epidemic. The DEA claims cannabis is just as bad. As heroin. This despite the fact that you are as likely to die from a cannabis overdose as you are from a unicorn attack.

But I digress. No, eating CBD cookies won’t have the same effect as taking a codeine-laced prescription med, despite what the DEA would have you believe.

(The DEA rescheduling allowed for the first cannabis-derived medicine approved by the FDA for the treatment of a rare seizure disorder to enter the marketplace through typical pharmaceutical channels last fall. There are now two cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals on the market.)

with the very basics that can be built upon. There’s not even an official cannabis seed bank or strain database in existence from which scientists can pull reliable information needed to conduct the studies from which we are so desperate to learn the results. The process is basically just getting started, and it’s going to take awhile. Decades even.

That said, there is strong anecdotal evidence as well as some small studies that point to medicinal properties and health benefits. Secretions from the flower of the cannabis plant contain more than 100 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids—CBD and THC among them—that interact and bind to receptors within our body’s endocannabinoid system, which regulates basic functions like sleep, cognition, and stress. Cannabinoids such as CBC, CBG, CBN, THCa, THCv, and so on are said to provide relief to an array of symptoms and ailments—migraines, insomnia, stress, Crohn’s, PTSD, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, cramps, cancer, and more.

Like magic. Until science tells us otherwise.

CBD is a miracle compound, said to fix whatever ails you.

Or not. Depends on which you trust— science or marketing.

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 33

34 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

Jane: Me too! I think I read the same article.

So, what’s the best kind of CBD? Oh my. There’s only one kind of CBD. But there are all sorts of factors that affect its quality and your experience. Some factors to keep in mind: 1) Is it derived from hemp or cannabis?

2) If it’s derived from hemp, where is the hemp from? The US imports a lot of hemp from China, where the list of approved pesticides is far from safe. You don’t want to be ingesting that.

Jane: So what does taking CBD do?

3) Is it a CBD isolate? Was the CBD isolated from the other plant compounds during the extraction process?

Again, studies are limited, but the ones out there show

This is an important factor for anyone who’s sensitive

that CBD is anti-inflammatory. It also can provide relief

to THC or who may be subject to drug testing

from anxiety and stress, induce calmness, and may even

4) Or is it full spectrum? The opposite of an isolate,

counterbalance anxiety brought on by THC in some can-

full spectrum refers to an extraction method that’s

nabis users. That’s part of something known as the en-

sometimes called “whole plant extract.” These include

tourage effect, but we’ll save that for another day.

all of the cannabinoids found in the plant.

Jane: That’s it? All this hype for something that may reduce anxiety and inflammation?

Yep. There’s a whole lot of anecdotal evidence about it being an effective treatment for other ailments, but there’s not a whole lot of science. Yet.

5) How will you ingest it, or get it into your body? Are you smoking it, putting some drops of a tincture under your tongue, drinking a beverage infused with it?

6) How much are you supposed to take?

There are millions and millions of CBD products being sold

We can thank the prohibition for getting us here—to

today, with more coming out every day. The market is large-

a place where a plant byproduct, federally illegal for all

ly unregulated, although the FDA does prohibit marketing

but the final 10 days of 2018, was a $350 million industry

CBD as a dietary supplement. New York State officials re-

in 2018. And that’s by conservative estimates. The Hemp

cently imposed rules blocking restaurants from serving

Business Journal puts that number closer to $1 billion.

CBD-laced menu items and drinks. Other than that, CBD is

I blame savvy marketing and risk-taking entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on the post-prohibition “green rush.”

regulated a lot like the vitamin and supplement industries, which is to say not at all. Companies can’t make claims

CBD is everywhere right now—even in the gift bags at

about health benefits, but can make claims about what’s in

the Oscars in the form of infused chocolate and luxe lo-

the product without any data to back it up. Last month, NBC

tions. You can smoke it, you can ingest it, you can drink

Miami collected an array of CBD products and sent them

it, you can vape it. You can spray it on your face, rub it on

to a third-party lab for testing. The majority had much less

your body, or pay a massage therapist to do that for you.

CBD than the labels claimed. Some had none at all.

You can drop a bomb and soak in a bath of it, you can

Jane: How much CBD should I be taking?

chew gum made with it, you can give it to Fido as a treat.

What you can’t do is ignore it. CBD dominates headlines, piques interest, generates anecdotal testimonies to its healing powers, and is marketed to you by a growing range of companies introducing new infused products and new brands in hopes of capitalizing on the buzz. They don’t all have your best interest at heart. Be skeptical.

Jane: But…I should be taking it, right? I’ve heard I should be taking it.

No one knows. This whole CBD thing is an experiment, and we are all the subjects. If you use or are just curious about CBD today, you are at the consumer end of a great trial that includes users, growers, producers, sellers, and now government. Until more extensive research is done— which will take awhile—you’re pretty much on your own to find the right products and dosages that work for you.

You’ve got to separate the hype from the reality. You’ve got to be willing to experiment, which can get pricey. If you

According to articles on the internet, you definitely should.

spend $50 on a bottle of CBD pain cream and it provides no

It’s a miracle compound, said to fix whatever ails you. Or

relief, will you be eager to try a different brand? It’s up to

not. Depends on which you trust more: science or market-

you. And your wallet. If the whole thing stresses you out,

ing. Personally, I’m a sucker for marketing.

try taking some CBD. It’s supposed to be good for stress. sensimag.com APRIL 2019 35

36 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

POT Why the History of Eating Cannabis Matters

IN PANS

by R O BY N G R I G G S L AW R E N C E

From ancient India and Persia

TO TODAY’S EXPLOSIVE NEW MARKET, CANNABIS,

THE HOTTEST NEW GLOBAL FOOD TREND, HAS BEEN PROVIDING HUMANS WITH NUTRITION, MEDICINE, AND SOLACE —AGAINST ALL ODDS–SINCE THE EARLIEST CAVEPEOPLE DISCOVERED ITS POWERS. This is an excerpt from my book, Pot in Pans: A Histo-

alized they could control the commoners by prohibiting

ry of Eating Cannabis Food, which will be released this

a plant that they relied on for food, fiber, medicine, and

month as part of publisher Rowman & Littlefield’s Stud-

mind and mood alteration. For the hard-working class-

ies in Food and Gastronomy series, featuring “the best

es, who often lived in hopeless poverty, cannabis was

in food scholarship, harnessing the energy, ideas, and

magical for its ability to act as both stimulant and sop-

creativity of a wide array of food writers today.”

orific and its promise of gentle relief from the drudgery and humiliations of daily life—a far cry from the sinister

We write history books, in part, so we don’t repeat our

reputation foisted upon it by centuries of propaganda.

mistakes. The history of cannabis food, rich and deep, is

We are reaching the end of a centuries-long story, born in

marred with the stains of prohibition, propaganda, and

the Mazanderan mountains in ancient Persia in the 12th cen-

persecution—abysmal mistakes we’ve only just begun to

tury and used throughout history in racist campaigns to prove

rectify. This history is a long way from being written—

that cannabis makes people violent, insane, and uncontrol-

though many like to say we’re now on the right side of

lably horny (parents, hold onto your white daughters!). The

it as centuries of fear mongering finally start to unravel.

legend of Hassan-ibn-Sabbah, the Old Man of the Mountain

Finally, but still painfully slowly, cannabis is taking its

who plied his disciples with splendid food, fine women, and a

rightful place as a unique culinary ingredient that has

hashish confection so they would assassinate his enemies—

proven through the centuries that food is medicine.

popularized in the West by explorer Marco Polo—would forev-

Locally, nationally, and globally, we’ve reached a pivot-

er associate hashish with assassins and sinister business.

al moment in the history of a plant that has been beloved

In the 1930s, during his successful drive toward canna-

by the masses, reviled by the elite, and shrouded in con-

bis prohibition, US Federal Bureau of Narcotics chairman

flict and secrecy for centuries. Cannabis has been out-

Harry J. Anslinger masterfully fomented Americans’ rac-

lawed and demonized since the powers-that-be first re-

ist and increasingly moralistic national mentality with a sensimag.com APRIL 2019 37

38 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

propaganda blitzkrieg that included a book and motion

remained readily available to those who wanted them. In

picture titled Marihuana: Assassin of Youth—based upon

the early and mid-1970s, several countries and US states

his discovery of the Old Man of the Mountain legend. In

decriminalized cannabis, but this attitude change was

testimony before Congress and in newspaper interviews,

short-lived, squelched by marijuana’s association with dirty

Anslinger said marijuana, a frightening “new” drug used

hippies and the counterculture. The Nixon administration

primarily by Mexicans and African Americans, could

doubled down, sending military helicopters to scorch can-

turn upstanding, middle-class kids into helpless victims

nabis farms from Orange Hill, Jamaica, to the mountains of

and raging monsters. His campaign resulted in cannabis

Colombia’s Cauca region and declaring cannabis a Schedule

being effectively outlawed through draconian taxes and

I drug with no medicinal value, alongside heroin and LSD.

regulations in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.

Down through the ages—through multiple prohibitions on every continent, imposed by sultans, colonialists, and a pope—cannabis had managed to somehow

You Can’t Keep a Good Plant Down For a century now, cannabis has

survive, and even thrive. But never had it faced an en-

existed in most parts of the world

emy so formidable or iron-fisted as the United States in

only because humans’ love for it

the mid-20th century. When US Treasury Secretary An-

is so great that they’re willing

drew W. Mellon appointed Anslinger and tasked him, for

to sacrifice being persecuted,

whatever reason—and speculation is rampant—to wipe

imprisoned, having their teeth

out cannabis, he intended the war to be global. Through-

pulled out, and even being put

out the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st, the

to death for cultivating and

United States used its considerable influence to force

nurturing it. The irony of prohi-

cannabis prohibition around the world, leaving people

bition, of course, is that the lucra-

in countries where it had been used and enjoyed for cen-

tive black market made it worth

turies scratching their heads in confusion—and finding

the risk and only drove breeders to

ways around the laws.

develop ever-mightier plants delivering

In Canada in the 1930s, when Royal Mounted Po-

whopping amounts of psychoactive tetrahy-

lice officers told an elderly woman they had to eradi-

drocannabinol, or THC. In the face of adversity, cannabis

cate the hemp plants she grew to

was no shrinking violet. The plant grew stronger, better,

feed her canaries, she chased

faster, and more potent—unstoppable, no matter how

them away with a broom.

much paraquat the DEA threw at it.

cannabis

If the history of cannabis proves anything, it is that you

continued to be a key

can’t keep a good plant down. A cabal of global elites is no

ingredient in the tra-

match for this one, which in its cunning evolved to provide

ditional “happy” soup

humans with nutrition, fiber, medicine, and, if you believe

served at weddings

many ethnobotanists, the ability to make huge mental and

and celebrations, just

spiritual leaps as a species. Had it not been for the latter—

In

Indonesia,

as it always had. In-

all due to the presence of that THC molecule—this would

dia managed to keep

be a boring book about a multifaceted, utilitarian plant that

on the right side of the

served humans in many different capacities for centuries.

United States while quiet-

This is not that.

ly allowing people to drink

This is a story with many layers, spanning many conti-

bhang, a traditional holy drink

nents, held together by the thread of an Islamic confection

made from cannabis. By the 1970s,

created to inspire a band of 12th-century fedayeen, which

the Netherlands had adopted a policy of tolerance to-

was ported throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, and

ward retailers and users while making cannabis cul-

beyond, invoking hilarity and hostility wherever it went.

tivation and production illegal, creating a “back door”

Inspired by this legend, Western intellectuals and literati,

problem that no one wanted to replicate.

and then the masses, discovered and enjoyed cannabis,

It was more than clear by the 1970s that the global war

hashish, and majoun (a Moroccan candy mixed with can-

on drugs was a failure. Violent cartels were ravaging South

nabis) for much of the mid-19th century and into the 1930s,

and Central America, and heroin, cocaine, and cannabis

when Anslinger shut that down. sensimag.com APRIL 2019 39

40 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

This is the story of how Brion Gysin, an ex-patriot artist and writer in Tangier, discovered majoun, typed up a recipe, and sent it to Alice B. Toklas, an ex-pat writer in

in legal states. They can buy water-soluble cannabis-infused liquids and powders to stir into beverages or add to any recipe for immediate gratification. With such a wide range

Paris, to include in a cookbook published in New York

of culinary opportunities and resources literally at their

and London, causing a minor scandal in the mid-20th

fingertips, only the laziest or most unimaginative eaters

century and leading to a major mix-up in a major motion

are choosing the brownie.

picture that morphed majoun into the pot brownie, and

We stand on a precipice. Once criminalized, cannabis

turned the pot brownie into a Western icon forevermore.

is now being rapidly commodified, and there’s no putting

It’s the story of the rowdy band of artists, rebels, and intel-

that genie back in the bottle. Analysts predict cannabis

lectuals who partook of majoun’s charms and an activist

will be a global industry worth $57 billion by 2027—in-

who made the pot brownie a symbol of compassion.

vestment firm Cowen and Company suggests that will

Down through the ages, the cannabis plant has gath-

reach $75 billion by 2030—numbers that are respectful

ered about it a charismatic and eclectic assortment of

enough to prevent cannabis haters like US Attorney

protectors and advocates, from the Hindu lord Shiva, who

General Jeff Sessions (the 21st-century’s answer to An-

was said to sustain himself for long periods by eating

slinger) from prosecuting companies working within le-

cannabis, to Brownie Mary, whose insistence on baking

gal state infrastructures. Money talks.

cannabis-laced brownies as medicine for AIDS patients

Money’s talking. Scotts Miracle-Gro and Monsanto are

in San Francisco, despite several arrests, drew huge pub-

circling. Food conglomerates are dipping toes, preparing

lic sympathy in the 1990s and eased the way for Califor-

to jump in when—and everyone now agrees it’s a matter

nia to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.

of when—federal cannabis prohibition ends in the Unit-

And that, really, may have been the beginning of the

ed States. Hemp is legal, and a bill has been submitted to

end of the pot brownie. Several states and countries fol-

Congress to legalize psychoactive cannabis. Cannabis is

lowed California in approving cannabis for medical use,

now the second most valuable crop in the United States

and in 2012, Colorado and Washington voters took the

after corn. Chefs, foodies, and nutritionists are playing

game-changing step of legalizing all adult use. More

with this new functional food ingredient, finding cre-

states followed, then Uruguay, then Canada. Canna-

ative uses for every part of the plant, as the world’s atti-

bis-infused edibles grew into a robust and well-regulat-

tude toward cannabis normalizes.

ed industry with no room for crumbly chocolate cakes

This may sound far-fetched, particularly to peo-

that had miserable shelf lives and were impossible to

ple who live in places where cannabis remains illegal,

imprint with the new THC warning stamp some states

where citizens—inordinately, people of color—are rotting

began requiring.

in jail because of a plant. It will never be okay that (most-

In most cases, pot brownies have evolved into

ly) white men in suits rake in millions of dollars on can-

shelf-stable, easier-to-dose chocolate bars, one skew in

nabis and cannabis products while others go to jail over

a wildly popular category of cannabis-infused products

the very same plant. As we celebrate the strides we’ve

that no one saw coming in the early 2010s. In addition

made toward liberating cannabis, we must never forget

to a range of chocolate products from gourmet truffles

that this progress has been made on the backs of those

to peanut butter cups, today’s cannabis consumers can

willing to pay the price before us.

enjoy infused potato chips, gummies, hard candies, raw cacao butter, soda pop, caramel corn, coffee, tea, cookies, pies, and nuts—all readily available at cannabis stores

ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE (@cannabis_kitchen) is the author of Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook and the upcoming Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis (Rowman & Littlefield, $34).

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 41

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44 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

GREENHOUSE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

Payment Management Problems?

GREENHOUSE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS CAN HELP SOLVE THAT, AND MORE.

About 10 years ago Chris Mills, now the CEO of Green-

says. But other banks have to know everything, especially

house Payment Solutions, was approached by a guy from

on the East Coast. “In Massachusetts, those banks have to

a finance company to help out a business that needed

have five conference calls, and want you to explain how

credit-card processing. “I walked into the business, and it

everything works,” he says. “They have to vet your process.

looked like a cool coffee shop,” he says. “I looked around

And then they charge around $5,000 per account.”

and asked what kind of business this was. They told me it was medical marijuana and gave me the full tour.”

Greenhouse Payment Solutions has offices in Denver, Columbus, Boston, Las Vegas and Phoenix, and is con-

After credit cards there were shut down, he stuck

sidering Pennsylvania. The company is currently working

around, which ultimately led to Greenhouse Payment

with 400 clients in 27 states, including a one-million-dol-

Solutions. “I said, ‘We better try to figure this out.’” Today,

lar-a-week dispensary in Massachusetts, some high-vol-

Mills says, there are certain legal “workarounds”—some

ume stores in Las Vegas, as well as smaller shops. He says

bad and some good—that a cannabusiness can use for

that Greenhouse Payment Solutions is working now to

payment processing. “But workarounds are complicated

find banks in Oklahoma, because the cannabusiness

for the customer to understand,” he says.

there is expanding quickly following medical legalization.

He works now with a cashless ATM system, which has

There are eight people in the company’s core group,

been the most reliable. “It doesn’t get shut down,” he says.

and 24 working nationwide. “We don’t just do payment

“Customers can use their cards. Some people like it. Some

processing,” Mills says. “We help you have a voice at the

don’t. But it works.” The bigger issue is that, before any

bank. We are advocates for clients, really.”

payment solution can work, there has to be a bank account involved. “That is really the first headache,” he says.

Change is coming slowly but surely in the cannabis industry, and that can help companies such as Green-

There are eight small banks and credit unions in Col-

house Payment Solutions. But it’s still contentious. “We

orado that have set up bank accounts for cannabis busi-

are at the point where we have Big Pharma coming in,

nesses, but they charge from $1,500 to $3,000 just to have

the liquor companies coming in, big, billionaire investors

an account. “And they are backlogged,” Mills says. “There

buying stuff up,” Mills says. “All these corporate traditional

are people that filled out the papers to open an account,

guys still don’t want someone smoking cannabis on their

but they still don’t have an account because the banks

ad or have a marijuana leaf on product packaging or

are backlogged 50 people deep, and they don’t open that

business cards. So there’s a lot of head-butting going on.”

many new accounts per month.”

In some of the newer legal cannabis states, banks aren’t concerned about the movement of cannabis business funds because they are getting electronic deposits, he

For more information, visit:

GREENHOUSEPAYMENTSOLUTIONS.COM sensimag.com APRIL 2019 45

46 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

STARBUDS

Customer Service and Budtender Training are Keys WITH MORE PARTNERSHIPS ON THE WAY, STARBUDS IS SET TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND.

Starbuds, with 12 dispensary stores across Colorado

to learn everything there is to learn about different prod-

selling flower, concentrates, tinctures, vapes, edibles,

ucts, get samples and try it themselves, so they are able

topicals and CBD, has a 4,000-square-foot grow operation

to talk very intelligently about all the different products.”

in Denver. But that’s not enough to keep up with demand.

Ruden says that they are seeing a broadening of their

With so many stores to stock with products, and so

customer base. “We are seeing people in their sixties,

many products to stock, the company purchases most

seventies, and eighties,” he says. “We don’t have a typical

of its cannabis wholesale, according to owner and for-

customer. It’s really just everyone over 21. We see it all,”

mer tax attorney Brian Ruden.

Ruden says that the momentum toward legalization is

Starbuds gets its edibles from popular brands in Col-

on our side. “I feel like we passed the tipping point. Full

orado, including high-end cannabis products from Kavi-

legalization nationally is inevitable,” he says. Would Star-

ar—makers of Kaviar Moonrocks and Kaviar Cones, strong

buds consider jumping into hemp? “Our focus is what we

cannabis products made of a combination of flower, oil

are doing now, and expanding on that,” he says. “While I

and kief. In December, 2018, Vertical Companies, a large

am a huge proponent of hemp and CBD, that is not our

brand owner in the industry, formed a joint venture with

core competency. So that’s not where we are going.”

Starbuds to launch Kaviar in California and Arizona. Pootie Tang flower, one of the strains grown by Starbuds, has been voted one of the best sativas in Colorado.

Starbuds employs about 150 people, most in the dis-

For more information, visit:

STARBUDS.US

pensaries and the rest in the relatively small grow. Ruden says Starbuds stores have opened in Maryland and Oklahoma, and the company has a joint venture to open stores in Canada, Jamaica, and all over the US. “Literally every state that has cannabis, we are looking to open stores,” he says.

Are they trying to be the Starbucks of Cannabis? “I wouldn’t say that. But yes.”

The emphasis is all based around customer service, the customer experience and offering a large selection of products. “That is our focus,” Ruden says. “And we want to be opening stores ourselves and with new partners in new states. That is our business plan.”

When budtenders are hired, the first training is a classroom setting in the corporate office. Then budtendersto-be transition to on-the-job, on-site training by shadowing the store manager. “We also are big with training budtenders,” Ruden says. “We give them the opportunity sensimag.com APRIL 2019 47

48 APRIL 2019 Southern Colorado

sensimag.com APRIL 2019 49

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