Sensi Magazine - Emerald Triangle (October 2019)

EMERALD TRIANGLE

THE NEW NORMAL

Surfrider fights the tides of climate change

SAVE OUR WAVES Psychedelic Feminism

The cosmic power of plant medicine

Cannabis Appellations

Plant, people, and place

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MATTOLE VALLEY CRAFT BOURBON

10.2019

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ISSUE 9 //VOLUME 1 //10.2019

FEATURES 32

SP EC IAL R EP OR T

Pot or Not?

How the 0.3-percent THC rule is fraying the American hemp industry.

38 Psychedelic Feminism

Cosmic Sister is working to create balance and diversity through sacred plants—an earth-centered antidote to patriarchal malware in the matrix.

THC OR KNOT? The latest hemp hysteria.

CHANGING CLIMATE, CHANGING OCEAN Humbolt Surfrider fights for healthy waves.

24

32

every issue 9 Editor’s Note 11 The Buzz 16 NewsFeed

UNDERSTANDING PLANT, PEOPLE, AND PLACE

20 TasteBuds

MATTOLE VALLEY GROWN AND AGED

24 AroundTown

THE CHANGING TIDES

28 TravelWell

GREENER PASTURES

50 HereWeGo

THE SCIENCE OF STOPPING TO SMELL THE ROSES

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

ON THE COVER: Photo of surfer at Shelter Cove by Sean Jansen

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sensi magazine ISSUE 9 / VOLUME 1 / 10.2019

EXECUTIVE FOLLOW US

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

Tae Darnell tae@sensimag.com PRESIDENT, SENSI MEDIA GROUP

Alex Martinez alex@sensimag.com CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

EDITORIAL sensimediagroup

Stephanie Wilson stephanie@sensimag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF

Doug Schnitzspahn doug.schnitzspahn@sensimag.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Nora Mounce nora.mounce@sensimag.com MANAGING EDITOR, SENSI EMERALD TRIANGLE

Leland Rucker leland.rucker@sensimag.com SENIOR EDITOR

Robyn Griggs Lawrence CONTRIBUTING EDITOR sensimagazine

A RT & D E S I G N Jamie Ezra Mark jamie@emagency.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Rheya Tanner, Wendy Mak, Josh Clark em@sensimag.com DESIGN & LAYOUT

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BUSINESS & A D M I N I S T R AT I V E Kristan Toth kristan.toth@sensimag.com HEAD OF PEOPLE

Lelehnia DuBois lelehnia.dubois@sensimag.com PUBLISHER

Daniel Bridge daniel.bridge@sensimag.com Shannon Golightly shannon.golightly@sensimag.com Tad Sarvinski tad.sarvinski@sensimag.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Amber Orvik amber.orvik@sensimag.com CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR

Andre Velez andre.velez@sensimag.com MARKETING DIRECTOR

Neil Willis neil.willis@sensimag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER

Hector Irizarry distribution@sensimag.com DISTRIBUTION

M E D I A PA RT N E R S BooneyAcres@gmail.com www.BooneyAcres.com LCA18-0002181

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Marijuana Business Daily Minority Cannabis Business Association National Cannabis Industry Association Students for Sensible Drug Policy

ADVISORY BOARD Coldwell Banker Sellers, Sandi DeLuca // REAL ESTATE

Canna-Envy //

DIY CANNABIS

CHANGES AHEAD

editor’s

NOTE

Though I’m the first to complain when people speak in bumper sticker, the platitude “change is the only constant” is one of my road-tested mantras. It’s true! We

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RECREATIONAL CANNABIS PRODUCTS

struggle, we learn lessons, and we struggle again. We’re not al-

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lowed to keep hard-won revelations as we race across the calen-

ECO-RETREAT CENTER

dar of life—except that one about change. No matter the new

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environmental terrors or miracles of technology unveiled,

Humboldt Patient Resource Center // DISPENSARY

Humboldt Redwood Healing // Humboldt SWAG //

COMMUNITY

BRAND MANAGEMENT

Humboldt Vape Tech //

VAPE ACCESSORIES

Kathleen Bryson, Attorney // KC Financial Services //

LAW OFFICE

change is relentless.

In this issue, we fearlessly celebrate change in a variety of facets. First, we look at the most obvious kind change raising anxiety (and sea levels) across the planet—the climate crisis. Many are already feeling change via scorching rays of sunshine, raging wildfires, and destructive hurricanes. What’s next?

In early 2017, I remember listening to S-Town, a wildly popular podcast by Serial. My girlfriends and I were transfixed with the

ACCOUNTING

story’s whip-smart redneck protagonist, John B. McLemore. A

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complex character, McLemore was a chemist who suffered from

BUSINESS MANAGMENT

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TOPICALS

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crippling depression that ultimately led to his suicide. He would spend days scouring the internet to warn others about climate change. Though it seemed McLemore suffered from undiagnosed psychological conditions, many attributed his manic behavior to stress about climate change. Really? I remember thinking.

Two years later, fixation with climate change is its own public

Southern Humboldt Business & Visitors Bureau // TOURISM

mental health crisis. Incidence of “climate-anxiety” or “climate-grief”

Sunnabis //

any traumatic event, the human instinct is often to avoid terrifying

REGENERATIVE CANNABIS FARMING

ULEVA //

HEMP PRODUCTS

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CO2 EXTRACTION

are very real medical conditions facing adults and children. As with headlines; after all, we still have to go to work, raise children, and keep our heads above water. But with faith in the inevitably of change, I hope the same faith in humanity is our salvation.

Our cover features a beautiful image of Shelter Cove by photojournalist Sean Jansen and a story on climate change and surfing by local activist Jen Savage. Learn about the Humboldt origins of Surfrider Foundation and catch her tips to save our waves. A little change can do us good.

With love + luck,

Nora Mounce

M ANAG I NG E D I TO R

SENSI EMERALD TRIANGLE

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 9

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Small Town, Big Laughs World-class comedy hits Humboldt County

PSA: Let me suggest that you stock up on edibles, oils, tinctures, and flowers before the second weekend of October because a powerful storm is moving toward Humboldt.

Forecasters predict the shelves of every local dispensary will be swept clean when the Eighth Annual Savage Henry Comedy Festival hits Eureka. If past festivals are any indication, consumption will hit an all-time peak as the classic pairing of laughter and smoke fills the air.

Normally, only a large metropolitan area could host a festival of over 130 comedians performing across 14 venues. Nevertheless, the funny is coming straight at us from performers near and far. “It’s a unique opportunity to catch the next crop of up-and-coming comedians in your own backyard,” says local comedian Evan Vest.

It’s long been suspected that the entire Savage Henry Comedy Fest was created as an excuse for the comics to play in the glorious annual Whiffle Ball game. Originally conceived to keep the comedy horde out of trouble during the daylight hours, the ball game has grown into a celebrated tradition featuring wisecracks at every play.

Fortify yourself now for the October 10–12 festival happening at various venues throughout Eureka and Arcata.

The public is also invited to spectate at the whiffle ball debacle on October 11 on the Lost Coast Brewery field in Eureka. Come saturate yourself with jokes until you can no longer take any situation seriously.

–William Toblerone Tickets and schedules are available at the Savage Henry Comedy Club at 415 5th St. in Eureka and at EVENTBRIGHT.COM .

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Camp Swing

Jump, jive, and wail under the redwoods this fall.

Just a few miles inland from Mendocino’s iconic coast sits the shady, almost secret hamlet of the Mendocino Woodlands. Built by the the Work Progress Administration, a New Deal agency in the 1930s, the redwood camp has welcomed adults and youth for camping, outdoor recreation, and environmental education since 1938. Today, the great redwood halls and board-and-batten cabins welcome all kinds of campers, from elementary school field trips to Bay Area yogis seeking reprieve from city life.

Among the campers, a particularly special group visits the Woodlands each fall to jump, jive, and wail in the redwoods during Camp Swing. This October 18–20, Camp Swing participants of all ages and skill levels arrive at the Mendocino Woodlands with hard-shell suitcases packed with tweed blazers, practical heels (if there is such a thing), and maybe an extra bottle of hooch. A celebration of the music, dance, and fashion that made the Swing Era famous, Camp Swing is the perfect time to dust off your 12 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

The Second Happiest Place On Earth

dancing shoes or step out of your comfort zone and give a ball-toe-pivot a try.

Shufina English founded Camp Swing in 1997. Having grown up in Mendocino as the child of back-to-the-landers, English knows the magic and history of the Mendocino Woodlands. “People used to host ‘boogies’ there in the ‘40s and ‘50s,” says English. Wanting to pair the origins of swing with the history of the camp, English got the idea to “wrangle up some teachers” and host a dance retreat. She explains that most swing dance events are focused on watching a superstar teacher or dance pro, which is decidedly not the vibe at Camp Swing. “Competitions are exciting to watch, but we just want to hang out and dance and drink,” English says with a laugh.

In addition to a Saturday evening costume party (vintage attire encouraged) English and her team also host a cabin-decorating contest and ad-

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ditional activities—think hiking, a social hour, and games—throughout the weekend. Some of the veteran swingers just show up to dance at night and enjoy the peaceful redwoods by day, while beginners eager to learn

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can attend a variety of workshops. Camp Swing instructors—some of the most talented swingers in the country—teach classic swing dances like the Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and the Charleston. (Don’t know what those are? Get yourself to camp!)

After 23 years of swing dance at the Woodlands, English is perhaps most proud of the lifelong friendships that have grown from Camp Swing.

“There’s been relationships that started at camp, babies have come out of it… we’ve had two marriages,” she says. English credits the beauty of Mendocino and the rural Northern California lifestyle for the enduring good vibes of the annual October camp. “In the mornings, sunlight is coming through the redwood forest,” she says. “It’s October, so it gets a little chilly at night, but in 23 years, we’ve only had rain twice.”

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English stresses that Camp Swing is definitely about a love for dance, but even more, “a fantastic opportunity to see Mendocino affordably,” she says. “It’s a classic NorCal experience.”

–Nora Mounce

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{newsfeed }

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

UNDERSTANDING PLANT, PEOPLE, AND PLACE We spoke with local farmers and French winemakers to understand why cannabis appellations matter.

On a warm July morning in Humboldt County, California’s Benbow Valley, 5-year-old Mirabella plunges her hand into the earth. The blue sky shimmers over hills densely forested

Wendy Kornberg, Doug Cook, and their daughters, Coral and Mirabella

with madrone, manzanita, and oak. Down the path flow the emerald waters of the Eel River, where she’ll go swimming later in the day. Mirabella scoops a handful of dirt, adds compost and chicken manure, and lifts her cupped hands to the sky: “This is how I make soil,” she explains. Her 9-year-old sister, quick-minded Coral, makes a different blend: more compost, less chicken manure. They learn this from their parents, Wendy Kornberg and her husband, Doug Cook, who

genetic factors that render distinctive agricultural products.

run Sunnabis, a state-licensed family farm. Nearby, cannabis

Appellations are fundamentally related to what the French

plants (varietal 24K#6) bloom under the Humboldt sunshine.

call terroir, meaning not only soil but the overall native envi-

WHY DO APPELLATIONS MATTER?

ronment, which is not to be frelaté (corrupted or modified).

In 2018, the California Department of Food and Agri-

The root of appellation, from the Latin appelāre, means “to

culture (CDFA) established the CalCannabis Appellations

invoke, to summon.” Around the world, consumers under-

Project to expand on county-of-origin regulations and

stand appellations to mean a place of origin with unique

create a statewide Cannabis Appellations system by Jan-

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soil gives an appellation product its unique geographic expression, which consumers are willing to pay for.

At Sunnabis Farms, Wendy Kornberg admits to being “a research junkie” when it comes to soil. She points to her 8,000-square foot “proving-ground” garden, where she will conduct an A/B test by growing a portfolio of varietals across different soil managements: biologic and Korean Natural Farming (a method that uses indigenous micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi to produce fertile soils). She plans to get feedback from consumers through QR codes. uary 1, 2020. With two months to go, working groups are still actively grappling with what the guidelines will be.

Unlike the wine industry’s American Viticultural Area (AVA), which is largely a geographic designation, an appellation is a legally defined and protected indication of not only where an agricultural product comes from but also how it’s produced. Bordeaux wine, Roquefort cheese, Cham-

CONSUMERS UNDERSTAND APPELLATIONS TO MEAN A PLACE OF ORIGIN WITH UNIQUE GENETIC FACTORS THAT RENDER DISTINCTIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. pagne—these are all appellation products because they express their native environment through food and drink.

“Appellations express the character of a place,” explains winemaker Pat Knittel, who bottles both North Story wines and Wrangletown Cider in Arcata.

To understand the complexity and potential of

Stacey and Lone Barker own Local Worm Guy, voted Best New Business in Humboldt County in 2019. They work with several cannabis cultivators to optimize sustainable farming techniques for “living soil.”

“Worms enrich the soil biology and maintain soil moisture,” explains Lone. “Everything is part of the nutrient cycle, and worms, who eat from half to two times their weight every day, are a natural way to convert a biomass into nitrogen-rich, calcium-rich, plant-ready nutrients.”

In Holmes Flat, Sunshine Johnston lives and farms at Sunboldt Grown. The daughter of back-to-the-landers, Johnston grew up in cannabis and today, she is one of the leading dry cannabis farmers in California, along with her neighbor, Chrystal Ortiz of True Humboldt. Both farmers utilize sustainable cultivation practices without the use of irrigation.

Johnston understands her environment in dialectical terms: “The landscape creates us, and we create it, too.”

As state regulations shake out, what might appellation guidelines say about soil regulation in the future? “You want to build soil, not throw it away,” says Johnston. “Cultivate microbiota that are native to your region.”

appellations, we studied each component of a working cannabis farm and how it relates to the genetic expression of a place.

SOIL The soil in which plants grow is a key aspect of appellation products, from cannabis to wine. “The soil is alive,” says Sophie Kumpf, a third-generation winemaker and owner of Kumpf & Meyer in Alsace, France. In her approach to farming, she seeks to “interfere as little as possible in the natural process.” In France, it’s common knowledge that native sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 17

In France, Catherine Riss is the owner and winemaker at Domaine Riss in Reichsfeld, Alsace. “In Alsace, terroir has a lot to do with the geological composition of the soil. Terroir is complex,” she explains. “It’s the soil, but also the slope, the sun exposition, and the varietal.” Her vineyards are on two soil types: sandstone terroir and slate terroir. Whether it’s wine or cannabis, she sees the future of appellations as “local and sustainable.”

LIGHT Terra Carver is executive director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA), representing more than 270 Humboldt County growers and partners, and participates in the working group that will define appellation guidelines for California’s cannabis industry. Carver believes cannabis farmers are positioned to become leaders in sustainable agriculture, particularly sun-grown. “We want to take her [cannabis] back outside,” says Carver.

In Garberville, Kristin Nevedal, founder and executive director of the International Cannabis Farmers Association (ICFA), notes that though most of California’s legal cannabis is grown indoors, it’s impossible to classify by metrics of quality related to appellation. “Indoor high-intensity discharge usage is a modification of terroir—as well as a climate issue—so it should not qualify for appellation,” says Nevedal.

WATER Agriculture needs water, and with climate change, conservation is more urgent than ever. “Understand that water is part of a watershed,” says Johnston. “How do you share that watershed with the environment?”

A World Bank report released in August 2019 warns of the economic consequences of a clean water shortage. Forward-thinking cannabis cultivators and winemakers are acutely aware of the challenges ahead. Both industries are innovating with dry farming and/or minimal water use.

In Alsace, Riss uses bacteria and micro-organisms as a natural pest repellent to retain moisture in her vineyard. Letting ground cover grow tall between the vines “keeps the soil cooler and moist,” explains Riss. Appellation-designated cannabis farms can draw on practices of minimal water use to provide the sustainability value that consumers demand.

VARIETALS What will appellation guidelines look like when it comes to varietals?

Watershed expert and cannabis consultant Hollie Hall says more data is needed. “It’s about the phenotype expression of genes,” she explains. Connoisseurs of cannabis recognize that the same varietal grown with similar practices in different environments still looks, tastes, and feels different.

Clearly, terroir plays a role in the final product, as does climate. “Certain mold-resistant strains are best suited to the Humboldt climate,” notes Rob Golightly, co-owner of a 10,000-square-foot farm.

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PRACTICES As farmers come together, they’ll want to define what drying and curing practices specific appellations should follow. Such measures will further differentiate appellation-designated cannabis from commercial products that are often cut too early, flush-dried, and rushed to market—the fast-food of the industry, or “Styrofoam cannabis.”

At Sunrise Mountain Farms in northeastern Humboldt County, Lorelie and Dave Sandomeno farm cannabis at 2,500 feet in elevation, bordered by national forest. “The plants drink spring water, root into vital soil, and see the sunrise every morning,” explains Sandomeno. The couple pays careful attention to every step of the process and is especially adamant about proper curing, emphasizing that it takes time.

“Curing is an art that is learned over time and transmitted between farmers, a legacy that we can draw on,” says Dominic Corva, the recently appointed co-director at the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research (HiiMR) at Humboldt State University.

“The cultural stories about cannabis provide extra meaning that has exchange value while also reproducing human skill across generations,” says Corva, who is also the founder and executive director at the Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy (CASP) in Seattle. For these reasons, practices and generational knowledge are an integral part of where appellation lines are drawn.

MARKETING Appellations touch on environmental standards, varietals, and cultivation practices. Ultimately, these combine to create an appellation product that is a unique genetic expression of a place.

Jesse Fiedler, a cannabis professional with experience across the supply chain, sees “a parallel between Cuba’s cigars that have been crafted by knowledgeable artisans over decades and the Emerald Triangle’s cannabis, cultivated by experienced growers with intimate knowledge of the local climate.” To explain, he asks with a laugh, “Who would you rather get a cigar from? The old lady who’s grown it for 35 years or a guy who just bought a farm?”

Amanda Reiman is the head of community relations at Flow Kana, a Mendocino County collective that processes and distributes cannabis from smallscale farms in Northern California. “Appellations are a way to add value and differentiate,” explains Reiman. “If we’re going to establish appellations, we have to hold true to these values.”

Whether you think in terms of marketing (value-added distinction in the market) or biology (exploring the genetic expression of a place), appellations become powerful when they mean something—sustainability, craft, or climate. The challenge is to define meaning in the face of a rapidly growing industry, climate change, and ever-evolving laws regulating cannabis cultivation and sale. sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 19

{tastebuds }

by L A U R A J O H N S O N

MATTOLE VALLEY GROWN AND AGED A pair of friends born and raised in the wilds of Humboldt County open Oakland’s first distillery since prohibition.

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Wright & Brown Distilling Co. is Oakland’s first distillery since prohibition, but when I caught up with co-founder Earl Brown via phone this July, he took the call from his childhood bedroom in Petrolia.

Brown and his co-founder, Dan Wright, both 41, grew up in the remote Mattole Valley in the heart of Northern California’s rugged Lost Coast (Wright in Honeydew, Brown on a 640-acre ranch in Petrolia). Brown’s family fell in love with the area on a road trip and moved to Petrolia from Alaska when Brown was in elementary school.

“My dad was looking for an interesting, tight-knit rural community where they could find land to have cows,” Brown explains. “My dad has ranched here since 1987, and my mom runs a summer camp called Lost Coast Camp.” Along with his wife and kids, 6 and 9, Brown returns every summer to the family ranch from the Bay Area, while his kids attend camp.

Brown describes the Mattole Valley as a strong, resilient community that instilled self-reliance in him from a young age. Brown grew up pressing juice, canning produce, and making beer and cider, while Wright’s mother made essential oils and soaps. “We were taught by our families and community how to make things by hand and how to grow, harvest, and preserve fruits, grains, and vegetables,” says Brown.

Brown and Wright maintained these values as they grew and spread their branches. “The Lost Coast is a little disconnected, and those of us who grew up here wanted to get out and live in other parts of the world,” explains Brown.

He went to college on the East Coast before moving to San Francisco and working in social services, and then working and traveling in Central and South America. Brown and his wife returned to the Bay Area when they started a family.

“Coming out of that, I was eager to try a different path… and the idea of crafting a product was appealing,” Brown says. Meanwhile, Wright had been making whiskey between stints as a tugboat captain. “He’d come back to Oakland evPHOTO BY KATIE ANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

ery few months and started making awesome small batches of whiskey from a 6-gallon traditional pot still.” Brown had similarly been honing his craft in home brewing, and the pair began conspiring to take their passions to the craft level.

“Craft distilling was starting to gather steam, and we started planning the distillery around 2012,” Brown recalls. A few years later the project launched with a classical American-made artisan copper pot still and a commitment to craft distilling in the place-based and holistic sense of the term. sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 21

SUNNABIS FARMER’S RESERVE PREMIUM EIGHTHS AND PRE-ROLLS

TOP: Dan Wright works in Wright & Brown’s Oakland facility.

RIGHT: Distillery cat

We believe that only cannabis grown with conscious choices results in superior product. Our multi-generational small family farm cultivates energetically dynamic plants utilizing regenerative agriculture practices so the flower that comes from fl our farm is of exceptional quality as well as maintaining minimal environmental impact. (Basically we care about our planet and our product so you can feel good about loving our flower!)

Vagueness around the meaning of “craft” distilling—not a federally regulated term—runs the risk that “craft,” like “sustainable,” might get diluted by brands with shallow interpretations. “It can undermine the market for what we do and what it should be, which … is making products that are ours, that speak to our style and the kind of character we put in them,” says Brown. That style and character can be traced back to Brown and Wright’s roots in Humboldt.

“We are both still deeply rooted in Humboldt through family and community ties,” explains Brown. “Growing grain for the distillery on the family ranch and… on neighboring properties has been an exciting and meaningful way to keep the connection.”

In addition to domestic and international sources of non-GMO grain, Wright and Brown often source Mattole Valley-grown grains, including harvests from the Brown family ranch, for their spirits. “We’re trying to do it in a sustainable way, without many fertilizer amendments, and it’s all dry farmed,” explains Brown. “The yields are lower, but we want to work in a way that’s sustainable

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and organic.” This connection to the North Coast is, for Brown, one of the most meaningful parts of the project: “It’s a big part of my heritage and how I see the world. … When you’re a child of the wilds of Humboldt County, it’s important to keep the connection to where you grew up.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WRIGHT & BROWN

Collaborating with Seed2Soul distribution to bring only the best craft cannabis from our farm to you.

Also central to Wright & Brown’s philosophy is a unique commitment to carrying out every step of the spirit-making process in house, from milling the grain to mashing, fermenting, distilling, barrel aging, and bottling. This commitment brings both challenges and rewards, explains Brown. “As a very small operation, there are big challenges in learning each of these roles and doing them well,” he says. “The advantage is that you end up with a cohesive grasp on the product from raw grain all the way to the final aged and bottled spirit. Then it’s a true artisanal expression of our house style.”

It has paid off. Earlier this year, Wright & Brown’s Cask Strength Rye won a gold medal at the American Distilling Institute’s National Judging of Craft Spirits, the largest and most prestigious contest for craft distillers in the country. Their Barrel Aged Rum took home a silver medal, and their Rye Whiskey won a silver medal at the American Craft Spirits Association’s national judging last year.

Wright and Brown are excited to soon open their new tasting room at the Oakland distillery and release their estate-grown Terroir Northern California Single Malt. “We grew the grain in the Mattole Valley, had it malted in Alameda using traditional floor-malting practices, distilled it last year, and now we are waiting, with a great deal of patience, for it to age to perfection,” Brown explains.

“I hope people consider our unique process and materials and local ties and give it a try,” says Brown. “Our connection to land and making unique products, that’s part of a personal story, and it’s the most exciting part of the distillery for me.”

WRIGHT & BROWN SPIRITS are available at The Griffin in Arcata, The Speakeasy & Myrtlewood Liquors in Eureka, Humboldt Bay Social Club in Samoa, J&W Liquor in Ferndale, Beverage Plus in Fortuna, and the Petrolia General Store.

“We are both still deeply rooted in Humboldt through family and community ties. Growing grain for the distillery…has been an exciting and meaningful way to keep the connection.”

—Earl Brown, Wright & Brown Distilling Co.

FROM LEFT Dan Wright and Earl Brown

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 23

{aroundtown }

by J E N N I F E R S AVAG E

THE CHANGING TIDES

Surfers know how to live with change. Doing the thing

variables come together is critical to scoring good waves.

we love most means abiding by ever-shifting conditions.

Unfortunately, surfers are facing—and dreading—a

The tide rolls in and out, altering waves from one hour to

transformation far worse than onshore winds and lack of

the next; a shift in swell direction can be the difference be-

a quality sandbar. Every week, stories of record-setting

tween beautifully peeling waves and crunchy close-outs.

temperatures, melting glaciers, rising seas, and extreme

When the wind clocks around, a glassy ocean turns chop-

weather fill the news. They’re ready to see a change.

py and blown out. And some places, like California’s North

This August, the Surfrider Foundation celebrated 35

Coast, are particularly fickle; understanding how all the

years of protecting our beaches and waves. Humboldt

24 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

PHOTOS BY SEAN JANSEN

Adapting to climate change will take energy and determination. Fortunately, surfers have a long history of both.

ing vessels. The development would have destroyed the breaking waves, and the district had already compromised the Cove’s popular “First Reef” spot by constructing a breakwater in the intertidal zone. Despite the area’s longstanding reputation as a favorite surf break, the district failed to consult local surfers about its plan to take more rock from the “Second Reef” to complete the project. But word got out, and opposition developed quickly.

In a September 2017 letter to the Humboldt Bay Harbor District, longtime local Jud Ellinwood recounted the history: “Over the next several months literally hundreds of North Coast surfers and their supporters mailed messages of opposition on post cards to regulatory agencies and signed petitions presented to them; representatives of local and statewide surfing organizations testified at numerous permitting agency public hearings and submitted written comments, collected and compiled scientific data.”

One of the leaders of this opposition? Tom Pratte. Ultimately, the conflict was settled on the side of protecting the waves. Within a year of returning home to Southern California after graduation, Pratte joined Hening and Carson in founding Surfrider in Malibu. Pratte passed away from cancer in 1994, but his legacy and determination live on through Surfrider’s tireless efforts and victories to protect our coast.

Nearly 40 years later, protecting waves has grown only more complicated. Accelerating climate change and sea level rise are intensifying many of Surfrider’s long-fought battles. Sea-level rise is expected to harm beaches in several ways (many yet unknown) including: Pollution. More rain can result in sewage overflows and urban runoff.

Ocean acidification. High concentrations of carbon dioxide are causing the oceans to acidify at rapid rates,

features prominently in that history: Along with surfers Glenn Hening and Lance Carson, Humboldt State University (HSU) alumnus Tom Pratte founded Surfrider after honing his activism muscle in Shelter Cove, a beloved surf spot on the Lost Coast.

In the early 1980s, during Pratte’s time at HSU, the Humboldt County Harbor District proposed extending a breakwater in Shelter Cove to better accommodate fishsensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 25

HEALTHY, NATURAL ECOSYSTES SERVE AS BUFFERS FROM SEA LEVEL RISE, SO HOPE CAN BE FOUND IN THE CONSERVATION, RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF WETLANDS, DUNES, AND ESTUARIES.

harming marine life including shellfish, coral reefs, and crustaceans.

Shrinking beaches. Rising sea levels will swallow beaches, taking away public access, limiting recreation, and threatening healthy ecosystems.

Surf. Climate change and rising seas will contribute to extreme tides that will impact how waves break. In areas where the ocean floor is sandy and flat, the wave may break closer to shore, changing the size and shape of the wave; in areas where the ocean floor is uneven and rocky, higher sea levels will inundate the reef, leaving less area for the wave to break and increasing the possibility that the wave might not break at all.

So, what now? Healthy, natural ecosystems serve as buffers from sea level rise, so hope can be found in the conservation, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands, dunes, and estuaries. We can also demand that legislators create, support, and implement policies designed to preserve our world and protect its future inhabitants.

And of course, we can all step up in a number of ways to adapt to a rapidly CAL18-0001546

26 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

changing climate in our everyday lives:

Choose low-carbon transportation. Carpool, use mass transit, walk, or bike to destinations; if you’re buying a new car, opt for an electric vehicle; drive at the speed limit—speeding can reduce gas mileage by up to 33 percent. Keep your tires properly inflated to get the best gas mileage possible.

Plant an Ocean-Friendly Garden. OFGs conserve water and keep pollutants out of the ocean, trap greenhouse gasses, and help build more resilient ecosystems.

Break up with plastic. Plastic is made from petroleum products and takes a tremendous amount of energy to create and dispose. 29 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions result from the manufacturing and final disposal of plastic goods.

Upgrade your light bulbs. Replace incandescent light bulbs with more efficient fluorescent or LED lights.

Monitor your thermostat. Not too high and not too low! Program your air conditioner or heater to vacation mode when you’re not home. Weatherproof your home to reduce drafts and air leaks by caulking, using insulation, and weather stripping to save energy.

Embrace alternatives. Replace older appliances with new energy-efficient ones, add solar panels to your home, and advocate for Community Choice Energy.

Eat local. 13 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to food production, transportation, and disposal.

Use less water. Installing drip irrigation in your garden and purchasing water-efficient appliances will help cut down on your water usage.

Reduce, reuse, and upcycle. When possible, buy less and buy used, then resell, recycle or upcycle items you no longer use.

Join Surfrider. Climate change is the defining issue of our time; help support our efforts and ensure a habitable future! Local Surfrider chapters welcome your membership and participation in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte counties. Learn more at SURFRIDER.ORG .

JENNIFER SAVAGE has lived in Humboldt County for 21 years. An avid surfer, writer, and mother of three, she is the California Policy Manager at The Surfrider Foundation SEAN JANSEN is a freelance photojournalist based in Humboldt County. He specializes in capturing the spirit of outdoor adventure on and off land. Calling the area home for a decade, he hopes to continue documenting outdoor activities and inspiring others to enjoy nature in Humboldt County and beyond.

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 27

{travelwell }

by I S A B E L L A VA N D E R H E I D E N

ON TO GREENER PASTURES As cannabis industry evolves, homeowners and local businesses are navigating a new real estate market.

California voters legalized cannabis in 2018. Emerald

growth,” says Victoria Foersterling of Coldwell Banker

Triangle communities knew that shift would lead to major

Cutten Realty. “A few years ago, we had a bubble in large

changes within the industry and the local economy, but to

acreage [sales], and I had an ex-professional athlete call

what scale? In 2017, counties across California held com-

me and say they had properties in Colorado and were now

munity meetings to analyze how they would emerge from

investing in Northern California,” recalls Foersterling. “He

the black market and negotiate compliance with state law.

asked if I thought three million was fair for a property, and

At that time, nothing was clear: No one knew if legal-

upon looking it up found it never sold previously for the

ization would be a boom or a bust for the cannabis com-

asking price of $600,000.”

munity. At the same time, property values were climbing,

In the past few years, an influx of people moved to the

the price of pounds was plummeting, and the rules to win

Emerald Triangle from Southern California, the East Coast,

permits were growing increasingly complicated. Cultiva-

Texas, and even from out of the country, looking to buy

tors started to realize that legalization meant more than

up land in anticipation of California going legal. Farmers

flexing cash and a decent crop, but a permitted septic sys-

living in the hills would share stories of being approached

tem and ADA-compliant trimming accommodations.

by people with suitcases full of cash, offering to buy their

As 2019 comes to a close, the Emerald Triangle economy hangs in the balance. While farmers and small busi-

properties for as much as two million dollars over the property’s actual value.

ness owners are the first to feel a pinch, the rise and fall of

Things have changed. Prices on rural acreage have

property values impacts everyone, from Humboldt State

dropped considerably, largely because there’s no incentive

students to prospective developers. According to data

to grow in the remote pockets of the Emerald Triangle,

from the California Association of Relators, Humboldt

once an essential safeguard for black market growers. “…it

County isn’t doing too bad so far. The county saw a 3.2

doesn’t seem like the money is in it—to go legal—unless

percent increase in home sales in 2018, while 41 out of 51

you are a really large entity,” says Foersterling.

California counties reporting recorded an average yearsover-years sales decline of 16.8 percent.

David Engle owns a farm in Palo Verde, a neighborhood in rural Southern Humboldt. He’s been navigating the

“Residential, in town, has not really dropped but has

compliance process for his 10,000-square-foot farm for

remained steady and possibly even seen a small bit of

the last year and is approaching the finish line, while many

28 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

CULTIVATORS STARTED TO REALIZE THAT LEGALIZATION MEANT MORE THAN FLEXING CASH AND A DECENT CROP, BUT A PERMITTED SEPTIC SYSTEM AND ADA-COMPLIANT TRIMMING ACCOMMODATIONS. sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 29

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of his neighbors have given up. “There’s a lot of old hippies and back-to-thelanders up there, and now they’re either retiring or not going through the permitting process and getting abatement letters,” explains Engle. “A lot of people are trying to sell their land, but I don’t really know how much they could actually get for their properties, especially without a permit.”

Engle says he doesn’t have many neighbors anymore because so many have abandoned their properties, either selling or moving to town. The properties are worth considerably less than in 2017. “When it was starting to turn over, people were buying more land, but the county is making it really hard.

They don’t want people farming out here,” says Engle. “The state too, they definitely see it [cannabis] as a corporate agriculture model.”

The Emerald Triangle’s cannabis industry is shifting toward a warehouse-style agricultural model, which is in turn affecting local real estate and the general economy. “Based on taxable sales, it does appear that the local retail industry has been suffering since legalization,” says Lane Millar, the interim finance director for the City of Eureka. “On a positive note, Eureka has licensed a lot of new legal cannabis businesses,” adds Millar. “These businesses include manufacturers, distributers, and retailers who have been busy hiring their own employees as well as local contractors/professionals.”

Millar believes it’s too early to analyze the true effects of cannabis legalization on our economy. “We are in the very early stages of this new industry and it will go through many phases due the changing/evolving regulations and through understanding the consumer. The positives/negatives today could be much different in the future.”

Across the board, it’s clear that concerns facing the Emerald Triangle are changing quickly. As of this August, the Humboldt County Assessor’s Office reported that it does not track cannabis property values; the Trinity and Mendocino County Assessor’s Offices did not respond to our request for comment. But it’s clear that many cultivators are moving in town and into commercial facilities; the consequences of these moves on our economy are yet

CAL18-0000764

to be seen.

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 31

POT S PE C I A L R E PO R T

OR

HEMP IS NOW LEGAL ON A FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT LAW ENFORCEMENT STRUGGLES TO DISTINGUISH IT FROM CANNABIS. THE 2018 FARM BILL, WHICH LEGALIZED INDUSTRIAL

HEMP WITH LESS THAN 0.3 PERCENT THC, WAS HAILED BY THE US HEMP INDUSTRY AS CAUSE FOR INTENSE CELEBRATION. AN AGRICULTURAL STAPLE ONCE PRODUCED IN ABUNDANCE BEFORE WORLD WAR II, HEMP WAS, FINALLY, AGAIN TO BE TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER PLANT. The 2018 Farm Bill was lauded as the first step toward

nies on legal issues. “The hemp bill is clearly pro-farm-

giving farmers the chance to make the US a hemp na-

er and pro-cultivation. Let’s grow it, process it, create a

tion once more. “Congress clearly wanted to encourage a

thriving market, and in my opinion also turn it into in-

hemp industry. It couldn’t be more obvious,” says Frank

ternational commerce,” he says. “The language is clear

Robison, a Denver lawyer who works with hemp compa-

that it wanted to create a market.”

32 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

NOT? How the 0.3-percent THC figure is fraying the American hemp industry.

by L E L A N D R U C K E R

Some unexpected problems are threatening to under-

In January, a trailer carrying 7,000 pounds of hemp

mine this growth. And it all boils down to this: What is

was seized and the driver arrested by the Idaho State Po-

hemp, what is cannabis, and how is that determined?

lice. A truckful of hemp was apprehended in South Da-

Since the 2018 Farm Bill’s implementation, neither the

kota and the driver charged with cannabis possession

Federal Drug Administration nor the Department of Ag-

in August. A company whose shipment of hemp was

riculture have produced national rules and regulations

seized by Oklahoma police, who claimed it was marijua-

for hemp. And because most hemp is now being trans-

na, are suing the police, the county, and an attorney to

ported by trucks and trailers passing between states,

get their product back.

each with different rules and knowledge about the legality of hemp, it’s causing any number of hassles.

Police and district attorneys in several states are complaining they don’t have the equipment or knowledge to sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 33

34 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

make the distinction, either. In Florida, the State Attorney’s Office has ruled that the sight or smell of marijuana can no longer be used as probable cause for search because they both smell skanky. Charges against University of Nebraska football players for possession were dropped because the state couldn’t prove whether what they had was cannabis or hemp. In Texas, the Austin district attorney said her office would stop prosecuting possession cases involving four ounces or less unless there was a lab test, and Houston’s DA dismissed 32 felony marijuana cases, estimating that it would cost $185,000 and take up to a year to implement the testing procedure and hire people to run it.

In a sign of the significance of the problem, the US Drug Enforcement Administration put out a request for information on private companies that might have the technology for field tests sensitive enough to distinguish between hemp and marijuana. The USDA’s William Richmond said in August that the agency is grappling with the Farm Bill‘s requirement for a national THC testing protocol. “We need to have testing procedures in place,” he said, but coming up with reliable testing methods is “as complicated as you think it is.”

IS IT REALLY THAT TOUGH? Not everybody feels it’s that difficult. Cannabis, or marijuana, and hemp are the same plant species, Cannabis

sativa. Though similar in appearance and odor, they are distinctly different in composition and the chemicals they produce. The national standard written into the 2018 Farm Bill for determining whether a crop is hemp or cannabis is that hemp must contain no more than 0.3 percent of the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry-weight basis.

“And that’s just a very random, arbitrary number,” says Cindy Orser, chief scientific officer at Digipath, an independent cannabis testing lab in Las Vegas. “And you

good chance of coming in above that 0.3 percent delta-9 THC percent limit at maturity.”

THREE-TENTHS OF ONE PERCENT

know, it’s just not right to define a plant species based

In 1937, hemp and cannabis were both essentially

on a chemical that can fluctuate based on its growing

demonized and taxed out of existence. There is reason

environment and by its genetics.”

to believe that other industries—cotton, building—were

Hemp has been grown forever for its fiber and seed

behind the hemp ban, but at least one was because of

for use in a wide variety of products. “When people say

law-enforcement difficulties distinguishing between

hemp, they usually mean industrial hemp, which is also

hemp and cannabis. With both illegal, there was no need

called European hemp,” she explains. “It’s been bred for

to differentiate between the two, and no attempt was

centuries for its fiber content, and it has very low canna-

made. The number 0.3 percent delta-9 THC (3/10 of 1 per-

binoid content.”

cent) on a dry weight basis comes from a 1976 study of

Orser notes that there is also another hemp, what she calls American hemp, or resin hemp, which is grown for

cannabis taxonomy and was never intended as a legal distinction, Orser says.

its higher CBD content. “It’s not being grown for fiber,

While there are several different forms of THC, only one,

it’s not being grown for its flower,” she says. “It’s being

delta-9 THC, gets you “high.” The 0.3 percent legal limit

grown for oil, from either seeds or clones that have a

only applies to delta-9 THC. By law, this is the sole cansensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 35

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nabinoid that is considered when determining whether a cannabis plant is lawful hemp or unlawful marijuana.

The issue is that gas chromatography (GC), a primary testing method used by both law enforcement agencies and state departments of agriculture, heats up a cannabis sample in order to tease out and measure delta-9 THC levels.

THCa, another of more than 100 chemicals produced by the plant which is not mentioned in the statute, converts to delta-9 THC when heated. “In other words, the GC testing method actually creates the very same cannabinoid that is being tested,” says Asheville, NC, cannabis attorney Rod Kight.

Here’s what Project CBD says about the number. “The 0.3 percent THC legal limit is an arbitrary, impractical, euphoria-phobic relic of reefer madness. Although it lacks a scientific basis, it has become the latest lynchpin of cannabis prohibition, a dishonest, anachronistic policy that impedes medical discovery and blocks patient access to valuable therapeutic options, including herbal extracts with various combinations of CBD and THC.”

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION Farmers are uncertain, too, and for good reason. If any portion of a hemp crop comes up at 0.4 percent delta-9 THC or higher at harvest time, that entire crop would have to be destroyed. Orser is trying to empirically determine a representative value for THC that would enable farmers and not confuse law enforcement. She has done testing on American hemp and has found that more than half of the plant samples of CBD resin hemp, turn up “hot,” or above the 0.3 percent number. Digipath is currently beta-testing a molecular or DNA-based assay that distinguishes industrial hemp from resin hemp and drug-type cannabis within two hours.

Growing hemp for CBD is difficult enough, Kight says, and limiting the strains a farmer can use places an undue and unnecessary burden. “Aside from legal considerations, the reason that this issue is important is because widespread adoption of the total THC position would be harmful to the hemp industry—in particular hemp farmers,” Kight says. “Requiring total THC concentrations to remain within 0.3 percent, rather than just limiting delta-9 THC, severely limits the hemp strains a farmer can grow.”

Although the gas chromotography test is the most widely used, Kight and others argue that another test— high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)—does

“We’re talking about such minuscule amounts [of THC]. On or off the record, WHO CARES?”

not use heat to separate and measure delta-9 THC con-

—Frank Robison, Lawyer

be sold or used instead as recreational or medical canna-

centrations, which means it’s testing the actual amount of delta-9 THC in any sample.

The HPLC test doesn’t create higher concentrations of the same molecule that determines whether a plant is lawful or an illegal controlled substance. Because GC testing creates delta-9 THC, Kight says that using it to test hemp is contrary to law and can even amount to evidence tampering in the context of a criminal case.

One final thing to remember here is that we are talking about minuscule amounts of delta-9 THC. There are no concerns that a hemp crop that comes in at 0.4 percent, or 0.7 percent, or even 1.0 percent delta-9 THC, is going to bis. Most legally available cannabis begins at around 15 percent delta-9 THC and goes up from there. Nobody will ever get high using any hemp product, even if it comes in over the limit. And it’s the farmers, the ones who find out whether their crop is legal or not after it has grown to maturity, who are paying the price for such a fickle number.

“Farmers work on razor-thin margins. We should be giving them the most latitude possible and have this uniform from state to state,” says Robison. “We’re talking about such minuscule amounts. On or off the record, who cares? It doesn’t make any sense. Why not give farmers the chance?” sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 37

38 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

With Cosmic Sister, Zoe Helene is working to create balance and diversity through sacred plants—an earth-centered antidote to patriarchal malware in the matrix.

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

DELIC FEMINISM TWELVE YEARS AND MANY JOURNEYS AGO, DURING AN AYAHUASCA

CEREMONY IN THE PERUVIAN AMAZON, ZOE HELENE WAS CHALLENGED BY A POWERFUL, ANCIENT GODDESS ARCHETYPE TO STEP UP AND DO SOMETHING WITH THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING GROWN UP IN A PLACE WHERE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRACEY ELLER / PHOTO EDITS BY JOSH CLARK

SHE FELT SAFE, WITH PARENTS WHO ENCOURAGED HER TO FOLLOW HER NATURAL CREATIVE TALENTS. Helene saw during this vision that she had turned inward and given up on her artistic dreams after being

cybin mushrooms, and cannabis, which she calls “nature’s evolutionary allies,” in a safe, legal set and setting.

sexually harassed by a graduate school professor. “We

A few years after she founded Cosmic Sister, Helene—

know now, with the #metoo movement, that what I sur-

who has worked in the arts, high tech, and the natural

vived happens to most females in this male-dominated

products industry—came up with the term Psychedel-

world,” Helene says. “It harms us into silence, which is

ic Feminism as a way to describe the feminism that

a type of censoring. Finding and freeing our voice is

embraces psychedelic plants as evolutionary allies for

something a lot of women deal with.”

women’s healing and empowerment and to popularize

Blown away by the power of her own transformation, He-

Cosmic Sister’s core educational advocacy work.

lene went home to Amherst, Massachusetts, and founded

A tireless and passionate environmental advocate for

Cosmic Sister, an environmental feminist collective that

decades, Helene is convinced that Psychedelic Fem-

advocates for women, wilderness, and wildlife and for hu-

inism is the key to saving the planet from patriarchal

mans’ natural right to work with “sacred” plants and fungi

malware fouling up the matrix. “The entire idea of Psy-

such as ayahuasca, peyote, iboga, San Pedro cactus, psilo-

chedelic Feminism, in a nutshell, is that we humans, as sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 39

40 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

FROM LEFT: Dawn Musil, Shipibo Ancestral Healer Laura Lopez Sanchez, and Sabrina Pilet-Jones

a species, have survived male-domination for thousands

and post-psychedelic integration. She and her hus-

of years and that system has brought us to where we are

band, ethnobotanist Chris Kilham, who wrote The Aya-

today—destroying our own home and taking everything

huasca Test Pilots Handbook, have been taking groups

else down with us,” she says. “Cannabis and other plant

of pasajeros (journeyers) to experience ayahuasca with

medicines such as ayahuasca, peyote, iboga, and psilo-

Indigenous healers in safe retreat centers in the Pe-

cybin may help save us from ourselves.”

ruvian Amazon for more than a decade. In 2013, she

Helene believes it’s high time women took center

launched the merit-based Cosmic Sister Plant Spirit

stage, and psychedelics can help make that happen

grant, which provides support for women to experi-

by bringing them inspiration, clarity, and perspective,

ence ayahuasca ceremony in the Peruvian Amazon,

as well as liberation from old wounds, self-sabotaging

where ayahuasca is legal. She’s seen la medicina

thoughts and thought patterns, and disempowering so-

work magic on women whose superpowers had been

cial programming. “In the medicine space, women can

blocked by trauma or grief, often the result of a world

explore conditioning and wounds that stunt and si-

that is inherently harsh to women.

lence,” she says. “We can make sense of them, learn to live with them differently, or purge them altogether.”

“So many cases of PTSD from sexual misconduct and assault, ancestral trauma, and abusive relationships,

Psychedelic feminism has nothing to do with promot-

so much anxiety and depression, repressed rage, low

ing victim consciousness, Helene adds. “We’re about

self-esteem,” Helene says. “So many women living with

moving forward. Facing wounds and demons resulting

debilitating eating disorders and body image dysmorphia,

from having been victimized is an essential step to-

with addictions, with obsessive compulsive disorders. So

wards healing.“

much strength and so much needless suffering. Why?”

FINDING OUR VOICE AND POWER

Ayahuasca, a powerful blend of two plants native to the Amazon, is an intense psychedelic that can “help

Helene has worked with dozens of women in

us access and communicate with our subconscious

pre-psychedelic preparation, immersive journeying,

selves—our pysche—the wilderness within” through visensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 41

42 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

sions, which Helene describes as “life-enhancing messages that show up in abstract, symbolic, archetypal, and universal poetic languages.”

Dawn Musil, a scientist and pollinator advocate who went to Temple of the Way of Light in Peru with Helene last March, says ayahuasca taught her to face fear, guilt, her rapist, family pain, and the loss of a loved one—all things she thought would kill her but actually taught her how strong she was. Raised in a family that valued women less than men and taught females to keep quiet, Musil came to a deep understanding while she was in the medicine space that her voice had as much value as men’s.

“Mama Ayahuasca taught me that my power and strength as a female reflects the feminine power of ayahuasca as a plant spirit and that through plant spirit, we will find our voice and power as females to lead the future of gender equality and human rights,” says Musil, who came home from Peru determined to work with plant spirit medicine. “The medicine taught me who I can be and to know that my voice has as much value as the voices of men in the plant medicine space.”

AMBASSADOR PLANT Cosmic Sister founder Zoe Helene sees cannabis as an “ambassador plant” that is moving the greater plant medicine conversation forward. She considers it a sacred (and sometimes psychedelic) medicine for journeying and an ally for post-ayahuasca integration work. “In the right set and setting, with the right medicine and the right dose, cannabis can get you there,” Helene says.

Whenever possible, she implements cannabis into the Temeno (an indigenous Greek word for “sacred space”) Talking Circles she conducts to explore the effects of damaging patriarchal programming and gender imbalance as well as women’s work in the medicine space.

Sabrina Pilet-Jones, an urban gardener who also traveled to Temple with Cosmic Sister last March, had a similar experience of tapping into the essence of all that she could be, empowered by the lineage of her ancestors—an entirely new perception of herself. “Ayahuasca is not a magical pill. It’s hard, deep, transformative shamanic work that forces you into the deepest, darkest parts of yourself to find the unique light we all hold,” Pilet-Jones says. “I left with a strong desire to expand my connection with plants and to continue my research into indigenous plant remedies and now psychedelic plants for healing.”

COEXISTING IN EXQUISITE DIVERSITY The Cosmic Sister Plant Spirit grant is part of an interconnected quartet of merit-based grants that support women’s voices in psychedelics and cannabis. Psychedelic Feminism grants make it possible for women from diverse backgrounds to be heard through writing, photography, and speaking engagements and media placements. Cosmic Sister will play a key role in the upcoming Spirit Plant Medicine Conference (SPMC) in Vancouver, BC, this year, sponsoring all seven of the female speakers, including Helene.

The Cosmic Sister Women of the Psychedelic Renaissance and Cosmic Sisters of Cannabis grants help get widespread media placement for women’s stories in support of cannabis liberation and responsible psychedelic use. Launched just last month in partnership with the Sleeping Octopus Assembly on Psychedelics (SOAP) conference in Pittsburgh and Vancouver’s SPMC the first

week of November, the new Emerging Voices Award supports talented newcomers who demonstrate potential in the field of psychedelics by strengthening their visibility and gifting them tickets to important conferences.

One of Helene’s goals with the grants is to help more minority women achieve name and face recognition in the psychedelic community because, she says, “the psychedelic scene is white, cis-gendered, and male-heavy— and our psychedelic culture is supposed to be leading in a more enlightened way.”

Helene’s also quick to point out that Psychedelic Feminism is about promoting gender balance, and she doesn’t believe matriarchy would be any better than the patriarchy we’ve had for thousands of years because “power over” naturally corrupts. Blaming men for everything is sexist, Helene says, and it’s important for the movement to welcome male allies who are interested in growing when it comes to their own archaic gender programming.

“Matriarchy would not be balanced, and it would not be healthy,” Helene says. “It’s all about working together and coexisting in exquisite diversity.”

ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE, author of the bestselling Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook and Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis, traveled to Peru on one of the first Cosmic Sister Plant Spirit grants in 2013

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 43

44 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

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Time to Focus on What Matters Most A DOPE ACCOUNT.

Kim Claxon has always had a love for numbers and

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your cannabis accounting and finance questions. You

boldt and working as a cannabis accountant was only

can count on Claxon and her team to advocate for your

natural. Today, Claxon runs a full-service accounting

right to do business every day.

firm, KC Financial Services, which provides tax assistance, bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO services to the local cannabis industry.

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Claxon started

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out in nursing before gravitating towards finance and accounting. A few years ago, a friend mentioned that she was working as a cannabis consultant—a light bulb lit up for Claxon. Within two weeks, she had moved to Humboldt County, where she was welcomed with open arms.

Claxon loves working with cannabis clients and values the opportunity to help them navigate the tricky world of finance and accounting. “As long as we work in tandem and are transparent with one another, we will win,” says Claxon. “My clients are awesome,” she adds.

As her client base grows, Claxon regularly depends on her team, a group of knowledgeable professionals who operate with honesty and integrity. Claxon credits the success of KC Financial to her hardworking team and the trust given to them by their clients.

In addition to her hands-on work to support professionals and businesses in the legal cannabis industry, Claxon also dedicates her personal time to lobbying for cannabis rights. She is a passionate advocate for the plant and the rights of patients and consumers.

Claxon is involved with numerous organizations promoting cannabis education and advocacy, including Memphis NORML.

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 45

Your Northern California wedding enthusiasts!

Sweet Basil Catering is a well established, two-chef family company that may very well be more excited about our clients' big event than even they are! We provide experiences with infused meals, and will showcase our clients' products as they request. We love doing Harvest Celebrations, Canna weddings, infused weekends, experiences, and pairing parties.

We have a gourmet propane tent kitchen for off the grid celebrations and are happy to travel.

Sweet Basil Catering is a happy, energetic group with a knack for food artistry, amazing flavors, and celebrate our local cuisine with great care for authentic recipes and that little extra "sumpin" that makes our meals memorable.

yvette@sweetbasilcatering.net |

(707) 227-1088

| www.sweetbasilcatering.net

Business Law (Contracts & Compliance) ■ Intellectual Property ■ Cannabis Defense ■ DUIs/DMV Hearings ■ All Felonies & Misdemeanors ■

FREE CONSULTATION FOR DEFENSE WORK ONLY

Kathleen Bryson Attorney

Former Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Member of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Member California DUI Lawyers Association Voted North Coast Journal’s Best of Humboldt - Attorney & Law Office (2015-2018) 46 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

732 5th Street, Suite C Eureka, CA 95501 info@humboldtjustice.com www.humboldtjustice.com

707.268.8600 Working in Association with

Shay Aaron Gilmore Business Law

www.shaygilmorelaw.com Phone/Text: 415.846.6397

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sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 47

humboldtredwoodhealing.com Humboldt Redwood Healing

@humboldtredwoodhealing

Lic. CML18-0000803 | CML18-0002208 | CML 18-0002213 48 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle

CANNA-ENVY

The Healing Powers of Nature WILD-CRAFTED BEAUTY WITH CANNA-ENVY.

pursue their dream of making cannabis therapies for people who need them most.

Today, Canna-Envy offers a wide variety of topical products made from organic ingredients and crafted herbs, including infused soaps, lotions, lip balms, pain salves, and bath salts. The company is a completely integrated seed-to-sale operation, leaning on the couple’s years of experience in supply-chain-management services.

In addition to the topical therapies offered by Canna-Envy, Flores and Cobren give back to their community through the Canna-Envy Veteran Alternative Medicine Program, giving vets legal jobs in the industry.

Canna-Envy is also developing a special line of therapies to help alcohol and opiate addicts with their recovery.

By bringing their passion for helping others, Flores The story of Canna-Envy, an infused bath and beauty company in Mendocino, can be traced back to years

and Cobren have become an integral part of Mendocino County community.

ago, when Annette Flores and her husband, Robert

To find health and beauty solutions made with the

Cobren, were living in Chicago. Annette’s mother had

healing power of cannabis and healing herbs, look for

been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which quickly pro-

Canna-Envy products at your local dispensary.

gressed to dementia, and she was left lethargic from the negative side effects of the medications her doctors prescribed. Flores experimented with cannabis-infused edibles to offer her mother some relief. Not only did the

For more information, visit:

CANNA-ENVY.COM

edibles help, but there were no side effects.

Flores continued to experiment with edible recipes, often sharing her creations with friends and family. After receiving great reviews, she began to wonder what else she could do with the plant. Considering all the good things cannabis could do from inside the body, Flores wondered what it could do from the outside. After her first batch of cannabis-infused soap, she knew she’d struck gold, and Canna-Envy was born. Soon after, Flores and Cobren moved to Mendocino County to

sensimag.com OCTOBER 2019 49

{HereWeGo }

by N O R A M O U N C E

THE SCIENCE OF STOPPING TO SMELL THE ROSES Aromatherapy is an ancient practice for health and vitality.

When used as a tired idiom to combat stress, hearing

life without booking an appointment. Could your digestive

“stop and smell the roses” from a well-meaning friend can

system use a tune-up? Try adding ginger, peppermint, and

be annoying. Intuitively, we know that slowing down and

fennel to your daily regime. Essential oils can be applied

practicing gratitude for simple pleasures is at the heart of

topically when using a carrier oil such as almond or sesame,

a happy life. But in practice… it’s hard. And even harder

rubbed on the soles of your feet, or absorbed aromatically

to believe that a daily whiff of geranium oil will cure the

through a diffuser. Even easier, try adding few drops to your

sciatica, depression, or __________ (fill-in-the-blank) that’s

next hot bath or rub a few drops into your hands before

keeping you down. But with any holistic modality, an open

covering your face and breathing deeply.

mind is the first requirement on the path to feeling better.

Curious to learn more? The Northwest Institute of

In the Emerald Triangle, a wide range of herbalists, esthe-

Ayurveda (NIA) in Arcata offers in-person and online

ticians, and massage therapists offer services with aro-

workshops in Ayurvedic massage, herbalist training, life

matherapy to promote optimal health.

mastery, self-care, cooking, and aromatherapy. During the

When experimenting at home, it’s important to remem-

school’s multi-session Aromatic Training, students learn

ber that essential oils are incredibly potent and should only

about the efficacy and application of over 125 essential

be used as suggested by the manufacturer. But with a wide

oils and resins. Visit AYURVEDICLIVING.COM for a calendar

range of applications, anyone can add essential oils to their

of upcoming classes and more info.

50 OCTOBER 2019 Emerald Triangle