Sensi Michigan January 2022

HIGH ON HUES

Fashion paints the town

MICHIGAN WINTER 2022

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE Russ Chambers is bringing consumption lounges to Kalkaska

#TRENDING

The future of cannabis is now

HAPPY PLACE

Create an emotional escape room

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MICHIGAN SENSI MAGAZINE WINTER 2022

sensimediagroup @sensimagazine @sensimag

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FEATURES

34

42

Moving Forward

The cannabis industry is toppling every capitalist metric for success but it’s going to have to deal with tough issues like consumer safety, social justice, and an abhorrent carbon footprint.

Socially Acceptable

Consumption lounges are the future.

Public spots where you can hang out, socialize, and maybe even enjoy a cup of coffee will go a long way to destigmatize cannabis and simply offer up fun places to hang out. Progress has been slow, but that is about to change.

DEPARTMENTS

15 EDITOR’S NOTE 24 THE LIFE Contributing to your health and happiness 18 THE BUZZ HIGH FASHION Can News, tips, and tidbits to keep you in the loop THE POT HOUSEPLANT

Meet the company on a mission to change the way the world looks at weed.

IMPERMANENT INK Try made-to-fade tattoos.

COVER STORY New York magazine’s new podcast is hot.

THE HIGH FIVE A fistful of curated stuff you need now.

bright colors and bold patterns really elevate your mood? Welcome to the brave new world of dopamine dressing.

FOREST BATHING It’s time to connect to the trees.

51 LOCAL Regional editor Tracy Ross outlines the whos, wheres, and whens of Michigan.

ON THE COVER

A consumption lounge is finally coming to Kalkaska. Is it the start of a biiggr trend? See page 42.

BACKGROUND BY PAVEL LOSEVSKY VIA ADOBE STOCK PORTRAIT COURTESY KALKUSHKA

58 THE END Go all-in on self-care by creating an emotional escape room.

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W e thank you for last year’s success & wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year 2022 - f r o m o u r F a m i l y t o Y o u r s!

Thank You

W WWW.Y O UO URRTTRR II MMMMEER RS .SC .OCMO/M2 4/8 .2540 89 ..G5R0O 9W. G R O W W W.Y

ADVISORY BOARD

NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD NCRMA Risk Management COLORADO Agricor Laboratories Testing Lab Aspen Cannabis Insurance Insurance Services Canyon Cultivation Microdosing Cartology Corporation Cartridge Filling Equipment + Hardware Colorado Cannabis Company THC Coffee Concentrate Supply Co. Recreational Concentrates Emerald Construction Construction Green Edge Trimmers Trimmers Higher Grade Boutique Cannabis Hybrid Payroll Staffing & HR Benefits Jupiter Research Inhalation Hardware Lab Society Extraction Expert + Lab Supplies marQaha Sublinguals + Beverages Monte Fiore Farms Recreational Cultivation Northern Standard History of Cannabis PotGuide Cannabis Culture Source CO Wholesale Consulting Terrapin Care Station Recreational Dispensary Toast Mindful Consumption Uleva Hemp Products Wana Brands Edibles Witlon Inc. Payroll Processing

MICHIGAN Aronoff Law (Craig Aronoff) Licensing Law Firm Cannabis Counsel Cannabis Law Firm Etz Chaim Attestations Grapp Lerash Accounting/CPA Services Great Lakes Natural Remedies Lakeshore: Provisioning Center Kush Design Studio Cannabis Facility Design & Build MRB Solutions Human Resources Northern Specialty Health Upper Peninsula: Provisioning Center Pure West Compassion Club Caregiver Connection & Network Rair Medical Flower Solutions by Dr. Dave West Michigan: Hemp CBD Helping Friendly Hemp Company Hemp Topicals NEVADA Eden Water Technologies Water System Technologies Green Leaf Money Canna Business Finanacing GreenHouse Payment Solutions Payment Processing Ideal Business Partners Corporate Law & Finance Jupiter Research Inhalatation Hardware Matrix NV Premium Live Resin Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Rokin Vapes Vape Technology This Stuff Is Good For You CBD Bath and Body

CALIFORNIA 365 Recreational Cannabis Dispensary: Recreational, Santa Rosa Accucanna LLC Desert Hot Springs: Dispensary EventHI Events Flourish Software Distribution Management Green Unicorn Farms CBD Hemp Flower Helmand Valley Growers Company Medical Infrastructure Specialist HUB International Insurance Humboldt Grow Tech Smart Ag Tech Hybrid Payroll / Ms. Mary Staffing Staffing & HR Benefits Ikänik Farms Cannabis Distribution Red Door Remedies Dispensary: Cloverdale Red Rock Fertility Fertility Doctor Southern Humboldt Royal Cannabis Company Mixed Light Farming Sonoma Patient Group Dispensary: Santa Rosa Strictly Topical Inc./Sweet ReLeaf Pain Relief Topicals Uleva Hemp Products Vaper Tip Vape Supply & Consulting Wana Brands Edible Gummies Witlon Payroll

MASSACHUSETTS Corners Packaging Packaging Green Goddess Supply Personal Homegrown Biochamber The Holistic Center Medical Marijuana Evaluations Revolutionary Clinics Medical Dispensary Royal Gold Soil Tess Woods Public Relations Public Relations Vantage Builders Construction

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EDITORIAL

Stephanie Wilson Co-Founder + Editor in Chief stephanie.wilson@sensimag.com Doug Schnitzspahn Executive Editor Tracy Ross Managing Editor, Michigan Emilie-Noelle Provost Managing Editor, Massachusetts Debbie Hall Managing Editor, Spark Jenny Willden Managing Editor, California Will Brendza Managing Editor, Colorado Robyn Griggs Lawrence Editor at Large Radha Marcum Copy Editor Bevin Wallace Copy Editor

EXECUTIVE

Ron Kolb Founder ron@sensimag.com Stephanie Graziano CEO stephanie.graziano@sensimag.com ADVERTISING

Toni Tardif National Sales Director Jade Kolb Director Sales Operations and Global Recruiting PUBLISHING

Jamie Cooper Market Director, Michigan Richard Guerra Market Director, Massachusetts

DESIGN

Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director jamie@emagency.com Rheya Tanner Art Director Wendy Mak Designer Josh Clark Designer Miguel Martinez Designer BRAND DEVELOPMENT

Richard Guerra Director of Global Reach Neil Willis Production Director MEDIA PARTNERS

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

Nancy Birnbaum Market Director, California Nancy Reid Market Director, Florida MEDIA SALES

CALIFORNIA Omowunmi Lykins Media Sales Executive COLORADO Liana Cameris Media Sales Executive Nancy Seidel Media Sales Executive Tyler Tarr Media Sales Executive FLORIDA Kristen Gross Media Sales Executive Anthony Mckenzie Media Sales Executive NEVADA Pam Hewitt Media Sales Executive MASSACHUSETTS Jake Boynton Media Sales Executive MICHIGAN Eric Lutey Media Sales Executive Kyle Miller Media Sales Executive Will Oostendorp Media Sales Executive Leah Stephens Media Sales Executive OKLAHOMA Diana Ramos Media Sales Executive

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Cannabis Done Right Whether it’s our expert budtenders or unique loyalty program, we strive to create a welcoming environment that makes cannabis approachable for all.

Tawas | Lansing | Kalkaska | thebotanical.co

A

EDITOR’S NOTE

Magazine published monthly

by Sensi Media Group LLC.

© 2021 Sensi Media Group. All rights reserved.

As a creative type, I

view January as a time to

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put all of my ideas on the table and choose which ones I want to dig into over the coming year. Usually, my list is huge and unwieldy; I coax myself to dream as big and boldly as possible. But sometimes, I try to make it more focused. This year, I’m in the process of wrangling 12 months of varying hunting experiences into a list of people, places, and topics in the hunting world that I believe will be most compelling to readers, and create book chapters based on that list. After that, I’ll begin writing—here and there, in no particular order—under the chapter names that I’ve created. And finally, I’ll try to articulate in a book proposal why I think a publisher should buy the book I’ve outlined.

It’s a huge goal, and one with no guaranteed outcome. Yet in this time of freshness and possibility, I believe, with all of my being, I will achieve it. It’s also cold AF outside, which makes it the easiest time of year plant my butt in a chair and do the hard work of putting words to the ideas of my creation. A little cannabis bump could help the process. And maybe more importantly, a place where I could go, outside of my home, to gather with likeminded folks who are creating their own big, bold things would really be my thing.

As you’ll read in this issue, a place like that is coming to fruition in the town of Kalkaska, where locals are putting the finishing touches on what could be the first cannabis lounge in Michigan (the race is on; only time will tell who wins). Kalkushka is this joint’s name—isn’t that clever?—and it sounds amazing, what with its welcoming vibe, coffee bar, and stage for performances ranging from live music to literary readings. The best part is that it’ll be a place for anyone to hang out, not just those who partake in cannabis. But that’s actually no surprise; the cannabis industry wants to be inclusive. So maybe the real best part of Kalkushka is that it’s the physical embodiment of someone’s idea, and a perfect example of how every single one of us has the potential to create reality out of our dreams.

Usually, my list is huge and unwieldy; I coax myself to dream as big and boldly as possible.

I N S TAG R A M Pretty things, pretty places, pretty awesome people: find it all on @sensimagazine

Tracy Ross @writertracyross

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Plant the Seed Move over monstera, there’s a new “It” houseplant creating lots of buzz in 2022: Cannabis sativa. Whether you live in a modern pad or a bohemian den, this plant will be right at home in your place. Its iconic slender fan leaves as striking on your coffee table as they are your Instagram. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can still add some personality to your decor with a 18

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conversation-sparking piece from Pot Plant, an online shop that sells artificial weed plants meant to be displayed in homes and businesses.

This interior design accent with attitude is the brainchild of company founders Karina Farris, 26, and George Hernandez, 28, who created Pot Plant in hopes of shifting people’s perspective of cannabis.

COURTESY POT PLANT

Meet the company on a mission to change the way the world looks at weed.

CONTRIBUTOR

Stephanie Wilson

You can spruce up your space with 10-inch Clone, 16-inch Teen, 22-inch Adult, and 36-inch Mother plants that are as close to the real thing as possible. All of them are eye-catching, worthy of display anywhere in your home where you want to up the ambiance with a little greenery. The Mother, especially, makes such a statement, you’ll even forget it’s fake.

The hyperreal design for the hyperreal houseplant was created from molds of Lemon Haze cannabis plants grown in the founders’ backyards. The synthetic plants may not grow like proverbial weeds, nor will they offer up fluffy nugs for you to smoke—but the plantlike objets sporting pointy fan leaves once seen as a badge of counterculture are sure to spark some conversations about cannabis. As we keep working toward universal acceptance, incorporating a pot plant into your home decor is an opportunity to contribute to the normalization of a symbol that once caused controversy. potplant.shop

BY THE NUMBERS

5

Where cannabis ranks on the list of the most valuable crops in the U.S., which is above cotton and below wheat. Legal cannabis is the single-most-valuable agricultural crop in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture data

5,022,990

LBS.

IF I MAKE MUSIC AND PEOPLE HATE IT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER. I’LL POOLS DIE SOMEDAY, AND ONE DAY, THEY WILL TOO.”

57

COURTESY EPHEMERAL TATTOO

Made-to-fade tattoos disappear in just one year.

TH PLACE

Weight of weed that is harvested every year at legal grows on the 13,042 licensed farms in adult-use states.

How many Olympicsized swimming pools that happy harvest could fill.

For comparison, that’d be more than 2 billion joints.

SOURCE: Benzinga

—Billie Eilish

Impermanent Ink

THE REAL THING

If you’ve ever considered a tattoo only to realize you’re an ever-evolving human whose tastes change and the design you think is so clever today may be so very cliché tomorrow, consider Ephemeral. The tattoo shop with outposts in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (with more to come) developed a made-to-fade ink that’s used in tattoos that last one year, giving everyone the freedom to express themselves without fear of commitment.

With traditional ink, the pigment particles are too large for your body to break down, and the macrophages—the white blood cells that digest foreign particles in our bodies— just can’t get in there. Ephemeral’s pigments are smaller and wrapped in a polymer complex that degrades over time. As the medical-grade, biodegradable solution breaks down, the particles become small enough to be removed by the body and the ink disappears in 9 to 15 months. It’s a lower barrier to entry for anyone who’s been hesitant to commit to permanent ink. It’s also a great way to try out a design you’ve been considering without being stuck with it forever.

If you want to give your green thumb a go-to grow pot in your pad, the Everything-But-theSeeds kit from A Pot for Pot can help get you all set up. Marijuana seeds can be purchased from select dispensaries in recreationally legal states. apotforpot.com

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THE BUZZ

Listen up!

Sensi recommends Cover Story, a new podcast from New York magazine. The investigative series uncovers the secrets and exposes the darkest corners of the psychedelic revolution through a twisted, deeply personal tale at the intersection of mind, body, and control. New episodes drop on Tuesdays throughout January.

HIGH 5

Elevate your consumption ritual to an art.

Pure Beauty x Jochen Holz Bongs, starting at $875 The London-based master glass artist Jochen Holz, known for his vibrant, organically shaped functional artworks, created 10 one-of-a-kind, abstract bong sculptures for art-forward California cannabis brand Pure Beauty. The collection was unveiled at Nonaka-Hill Gallery in Los Angeles last fall during an exhibit that also highlighted Pure Beauty’s latest artist collaboration: the packaging of the new 5 Pack joints featuring the work of five artists, including Hassan Rahim. purebeautydrugstore.co Henelle Venice Beach Kimono, $130 This silky piece doubles as a smoking jacket with a motif of magic mushrooms and love hearts inspired by the 1970s golden era of Venice Beach. henelle.shop

LEFT PHOTO BY TANYA LAYKO VIA UNSPLASH

“As soon as I realized you could be funny as a job, that was the job I wanted.”

—Comedian and Cannabis Entrepreneur Seth Rogan

Serena Confalonieri Nebula Collection Bongs, 600,00€ With sinuous curves and ethereal shapes inspired by the lightness of smoke spirals and colors in evanescent, transparent hues that recall 1970s psychedelia, the trio of bongs Italian artist Serena Confalonieri debuted at Design Milan last fall epitomize the concept of “high design.” Now available for pre-order and expected to ship in early 2022, each piece in the collection—Nebula Alpha, Nebula Beta, and Nebula Gamma—is made of borosilicate glass hand-blown by skilled Italian artisans. If money is no object, add all three objets d’art to your bong cart. serenaconfalonieri.com/portfolio/nebula/ Embroidery Art by HealTHCareEmbroidery, from $60 Handmade artworks that don’t fall into the trap of stoner clichés, bud-inspired embroidery like this piece by embroiderer Kaitlin Earl, a.k.a. @HealTHCareEmbroidery, are rising in popularity as more artisans take on “craftivism”—the seamless blending of crafting and activism. Get your own embroidery pattern on Etsy or purchase handcrafted products with embroidered flourishes like this one, inspired by the Juddah’s breath strain. etsy.com/shop/HealTHCareEmbroidery Lovepot Little Bud Vase, $75 This buzzy brand only offers delivery of its bouquets of seasonal fresh flowers mixed with smokable hemp flower in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but don’t fret if you’re outside of the delivery area. The company’s brand’s all-women team blends together dried flower bouquets with smokable CBD hemp that can be dried to enjoy later as a tea, herbal smoke blend, or for an aromatherapy herbal bath. soplovepot.com W I N T E R 2022

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E H T P O SH ERCH! M W NE InstaTerrapin • TerrapinMade.com

High on Color Dressing loud is the new dressing down. Can bright colors and bold patterns really elevate your mood? Welcome to the brave new world of dopamine dressing.

COVID-19 lockdown sent us into our sweats.

We sat in monochrome cotton surrounded by neutral-colored walls for so long our brains actually lost the ability to accurately track the passage of time. We became starved for stimulation.

We spent 18 months in our khaki-colored apartments, and when we came out, we collectively decided it was time to banish the beige.

It’s no wonder we came out craving color— bright, bold, eye-catching color in rich, satu24

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rated shades of magenta, sage green, and eclectic blue. We wanted to wrap ourselves in it, to cover our bodies from head to toe in vibrant shades.

Color is a mood, and we can’t get enough of it right now. Vibrant hues and bold shades are the antidote to the dark days of winter, and our lives are more saturated with color than ever this year. The post-lockdown world is looking a little more bright and a lot more vibrant. This is the feel-good trend we need right now. From rain-

bow dresses to electric blue suits, the hottest 2022 fashion trends are setting a bold mood— and we’re getting high on color.

Brain Chemistry That high, in fact, comes from dopamine, the brain chemical that influences your mood, emotions, and motivation. Your brain releases dopamine into your body when it’s anticipating a reward, which is what motivates you to do the thing that delivers the reward. Color is

closely associated with emotions—we use it to describe our moods. We say we’re “feeling blue” when we’re sad, “seeing red” when angry, “tickled pink” when filled with glee. But does your mood dictate your color choices or do your color choices dictate your mood? The science is out on that.

What’s not up for debate is that as humans, we give objects (including clothes) symbolic meaning. So our brains start associating that t-shirt we were wearing

PHOTO BY TINE BEK FOR STINE GOYA SS22, COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK

TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON

(LEFT TO RIGHT) PHOTOS COURTESY HENRIK VIBSKOV SS22/COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK; RICHARD MALONE X MULBERRY SS22/ IMAX; BROGGER SS22/COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK; OTTOLINGER SS22/IMAX; BLUMARINE SS22/IMAX

when we had the best night ever with positive memories, and then anticipate making more of them whenever we wear it. It’s that anticipation of reward that triggers the release of dopamine into our systems, ultimately driving us to do it all again.

We wore it, we liked it, so we wore it again.

Then we had to up our dose. Now, head-to-toe monochrome magenta is the norm—and we’re never going back to neutrals.

Dopamine Dressing So what exactly is dopamine dressing? It’s where self-care meets style, where fashion intersects with mindfulness. It’s the big trend right now, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. It’s also simple to follow.

Dopamine dressing is choosing to wear the things that bring you joy—choosing something because it’s fun, not just because it’s practical. It’s not going to your closet and be-

It’s about wrapping your body in hues that make you happy and accessorizing with sparkly or feathery abandon.

ing happy with clothes that are clean and fit, but mindfully selecting items that jive with your vibe. It’s about wrapping your body in hues that make you happy and accessorizing with sparkly or feathery abandon. It’s about elevating your style and defining your aesthetic by choosing pieces in the fabrics, cuts, colors, and prints that send a surge of confidence through your system raising your vibe so high you’ll be giving off Lil Nas X energy.

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THE LIFE SELF CARE

The Art of Forest Bathing

In these days of social distance and world-wide anxiety, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is connect to the trees.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL KRAHN VIA UNSPLASH

TEXT DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

In Japan the term shinrin-yoku refers to the act of getting out and simply walking in the woods and breathing in—both metaphorically and actually— the healing aromas of the trees. The term roughly translates as “forest bathing,” or, more romantically, as taking in the essence of the forest, walking quietly, aware. Shinrin-yoku is not just some poetic Japanese ideal either (indeed, it was coined as a Japanese Forest Agency marketing term in the early 1980s)—it’s based on the healing properties of protective odors, called phytoncides, exuded by the trees. It’s taken so seriously that the Japanese consider forest bathing an important way to combat the stress of our insidiously busy work world— in fact, a piece in Mother Earth News reported that

Japanese researchers have proven that walks in the woods can actually lower cortisol, thus stress levels.

I certainly don’t do enough forest bathing anymore. It seems odd that I live right down the street from a trail that wanders into stands of ponderosa pine and sandstone covered in lichen, a place where bears and mountain lions and songbirds make their homes. But I’m not up there forest bathing, soaking it in. When I do head into those woods, it’s to go for a trail run or walk the dog while checking work emails on my phone. It’s to power through, even if I do find a few mindful moments.

That was not always the case. When I was still in my 20s, I spent six seasons in Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National W I N T E R 2022

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Cheers to a new year.

Resolve to indulge with Sozo flower, pre-rolls, or concentrates.

Find our products at Sozo stores and select retailers throughout Michigan.

SOZO_FAM Ŝ SOZOLIFE.COM

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THE LIFE

PHOTO BY DOUG SCHNITZSPAHN

SELF CARE

Forest, building trails and fighting fires. It was, quite simply, the best job I have ever had in my life. Each day, we hiked, hauled big tools, worked the earth, went back to camp, cooked good food, drank clear water, read, slept under the stars… and often engaged in forest bathing.

After swinging a pulaski all day long, I would be pretty sated physically. I didn’t feel like I needed to go for a trail run or mountain bike ride or get in a damn workout. I would bathe in the forest, taking slow, silent walks into the secret places off the trail around our camp.

Things happened. Subtle things. Sometimes powerful things. Walking solo at twilight on the long, bare backbone of Shedhorn Ridge above stands of Douglas fir, I watched three hawks ride thermals up from the open air to circle

above my head. On the way down, in the near dark, I heard elk running through the trees. Another time in the Gravelley Range, I watched as two coyotes harassed a doe in thick sagebrush. Walking later in almost the same spot, I suddenly came upon her fawn— small, pure, curled up in the high grass and shaking with fear. Other times I would just take in the, I don’t know, sense?

Energy? Vibe? of these untouched parts of the Madison Range.

On days off, I would get out and hit it hard— fish, climb, bike, hike to spring ski couloirs. Even in the midst of these quiet walks, I would sometimes push it—climb some small unnamed peak, break into a run— but it all stemmed from a desire to start walking and see where the forest took me. That mindset is

what seems all too easy to lose when the woods are just our playground.

The Swiss writer Herman Hesse said: “When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent.”

I’m older now. And I feel that deep sadness— even more so with the pandemic continuing to rage, megafires consuming my town, and our sense of civil society upended. I worry that I have not lived exactly the way I wanted to live, that I am facing down nothingness. Sometimes fishing helps take it away—the rhythm and mindfulness of casting, watching the fly on the water, the drift.

But sometimes, even that seems like another moment when I’m missing something important.

It’s at these times when I lift up my rod and take a step back from the steam. I indulge in a little shinrin-yoku. I listen to how the breeze makes the slightest song in the aspen leaves. I get the hint of heat bringing off a scent of root beer from the ponderosas. I take a moment to contemplate the branches far above and the way the light plays in them. I appreciate trees that have grown roots in rock or still stand even when they have been undercut by the stream.

Then I’ll get back up.

I check my fly and line.

I head back down to the stream and cast and sometimes catch and feel the joy of being once more. A little bathing in the forest is all we need to get back on track.

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P R O M OT I O N A L F E AT U R E LAKE EFFECT

Always Open

roll for waiting.

A grand opening celebration is planned for Kalamazoo, the southwest Michigan community that has embraced new cannabis-store locations.

Another of recweed.com’s goals is to be as involved with community outreach as much as possible. Visit the website for updates and events.

Award-winning Lake Effect Group Cannabis, which operates recweed.com, is the longest-standing provisioning center in West Michigan. Founded by patients and caregivers local to Kalamazoo, LEGC takes pride in its strong home-based roots and industry-leading products. In addition, family and community mean everything to the company.

The LEGC is looking forward to expanding its businesses, product offering, and community outreach this year.

As High Times Cannabis Cup winners and judges, LEGC has the networks and knowledge to ensure patients and customers access the finest cannabis flower in Michigan.

There are plenty of top-shelf options with THC levels often exceeding 30 percent. Lake Effect holds the High Times World Cup for offering the best concentrate in the world. With concentrates and an expanding edibles selection, LEGC is going to have some exciting announcements in 2022.

With new store opening, recweed.com promises, “If you order it, we have it.”

I

n January, recweed.com is bringing a new 24/7, 365-daysa-year delivery-and-curbsideonly retail space to Michigan.

Customers will love the convenience, speed, and selection that recweed.

com offers. As the company’s motto says, “If you order it, we have it.”

The store’s mission is to serve its customers in 30 minutes or less. If service takes longer than 30 minutes, that customer will receive a free pre-

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THE FUTURE’S SO

BRIGHT The cannabis industry is toppling every capitalist metric for success—even without banking and tax deductions—but the shades need to come off if it’s going to deal with tough issues like consumer safety, social justice, and an abhorrent carbon footprint.

TEXT ROBYN GRIGGS LAWRENCE

T

en years ago, DaVinci CEO Cort Smith saw cannabis legalization on the horizon and envisioned a nation of home growers, obsessing over genetics and nutrients. He went to his first High Times Cannabis Cup expecting to see farmers in flannel shirts showing off salad bowls overflow-

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ing with their finest flowers. Instead, he found extraction artists loading rigs with oils and waxes—21st-century weed—and he realized the market was never going to be about growing.

Personally, Smith still prefers flower to concentrates, but he ingests his herb using one of DaVin-

ci’s precision-temperature vaporizers made from zirconia and medical-grade parts, an apparatus so aspirational Gizmodo says it could be made by Apple. DaVinci, with roughly $12 million in sales, was acquired by global cannabis accessories platform Greenlane Holdings for $20 million late last year.

In so many ways, Smith’s story is that of the cannabis industry.

With millions in capital flooding in, multi-billion-dollar companies being built from mergers and acquisitions, and global sales predicted to reach $46 billion by 2025, the industry has come a long way since voters in Colorado and Washington legalized adult use in 2012. It’s beating every metric of capitalist success, even without access to basic banking services or the ability to deduct business expenses (and not a lot of hope either will happen any time soon).

made deals while drinking craft beer and smoking rare cigars.

Vince Ning, founder of California-based wholesale-cannabis platform Nabis, was struck by the tremendous difference in professionalism he saw at this year’s conference. “There’s a lot more sustainability in the industry—maybe not necessarily from an environmental perspective, but businesses are more sustainable,” he said during the show’s last hour. “In 2018, it felt kind of like the cryptocurrency space, like there was funny

rage. Ning—whose company distributes more than 125 brands in California, giving him a good view of the overall market—said every one of the still-obscure cannabinoids could be a billion-dollar category in itself, but only if genetics were developed to support them.

Cheeba Chews, the Colorado company that put edibles on the map with its 175mg deca-dose taffies in the 2010s, was at the show to introduce a wellness line containing microdoses of THC along with CBN, CBD, CBG, and

BRIGHT LEADERS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE

LEFT TO RIGHT: COURTESY DAVINCI, COURTESY NABIS, COURTESY CHEEBA CHEWS

From left: Cort Smith, CEO of DaVinci; Vince Ning, founder of Nabis; Eric Leslie, Chief Marketing Officer of Cheeba Chews

In late October, 20,000 or so industry insiders returned to Las Vegas for the annual MJBizCon convention (after taking 2020 off because of COVID-19) to talk about where the industry stands and where it’s headed.

Top of mind were the brand-new New York market, predicted to be worth $1 billion, and speculation about when unregulated Oklahoma might crash and burn.

Mike Tyson and Lil’ Kim paraded through, with entourages, to announce the latest in a string of celebrity cannabis brands. One of the week’s most coveted invitations was a golf tournament at a prestigious course in Boulder City, where C-suite executives

THCV—products Chief Marketing Officer Eric Leslie considers a breakthrough for consumers who want more than just psychoactive effects. “I’ve been here from the beginning. I have a decade of experience,” he said. “That gut instinct we had about edibles being a rocket Redefining the Industry MJBiz was a showcase of products ship at the beginning–we’re right and services that reflect morphing back there again. We have an opconsumer demands and increasing- portunity to redefine the standards ly sophisticated ways of manipulat- of our industry so that it’s not THC ing the plant, unbundling and spot- only and introduce a wider demolighting its various parts, and more graphic of people to cannabis.”

Edibles themselves were a hot beneficially or powerfully delivertopic at the show, as sales are driving its effects. en to new heights by a pandemic Minor cannabinoids such as CBC, CBG, THCV, and CBN, which forcing the need for more discretion and non-combustible conare being marketed as sleep aids sumption options. “The sales trend and energy boosters, were all the money floating around. But we’ve seen a lot of those players who had unscalable market tactics fall by the wayside. COVID-19 created a pressure cooker, and what’s sifted to the top, I think, is really healthy.”

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INTRODUCING THE CEREAL MILK SERIES

LEFT TO RIGHT: COURTESY GREEN DRAGON, COURTESY AZUCA

MUSHROOM MADNESS Perhaps the biggest buzz at MJBiz, as it has been at every cannabis event from coast to coast over the past year, was not about the cannabis plant at all. It was about the meteoric rise of psychedelics, or what many are calling the “next cannabis.”

Allay Consulting CEO Kim Stuck, who helped write Colorado’s adultuse regulations in 2014, is among the flood of pioneers moving over to psychedelics. Now living in Portland, Oregon, she’s on a work group helping the state write the rules for Oregon’s newly legalized therapeutic psychedelic market, and she believes the future is psilocybin. “It’s going to be a market,” she said during MJBiz. “It’s not yet, but licenses will start being given out in December 2023.”

Crafting Colorado’s cannabis rules was a thankless task that Stuck said involved “lots of tears and lots of yelling,” but she’s hopeful this time will be different. At the very least, she said, “I hope we don’t take as many bricks in the head.”

is absolutely clear in any market you’re in, without exception: edibles, edibles, edibles,” said Alex Levine, CEO of Green Dragon, which owns dispensaries in Colorado, California, and Florida. “Every year they become more popular. Absolutely, every year, we see more people shifting to edibles.”

During a quick chat outside Azuca’s booth showcasing a cannabinoid-encapsulation process that makes edibles’ effects more rapid and predictable, CEO Kim Rael said she believes edibles will grow

terpene-testing results—all part of the company’s strategy to become known for consistency and quality while educating consumers. Father-andson team Rich and Rick Batenburg of Cliintel Capital Management Group (CCMG) were there to position their vape brand, The Clear, as the Coca-Cola of cannabis.

Though CCMG’s holdings include two grows in Denver (along with companies involved in every-

BRIGHT LEADERS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE From left: Alex Levine, CEO of Green Dragon; Kim Rael Sanchez, CEO of Azuca

faster than the overall industry in the next few years because “new adapters will not want to smoke or vape.” She believes fast-acting technology will transform edibles much like broadband transformed the internet. “Why would anybody suffer through slow, unpredictable dial-up once that quality was available?” she asked.

Branding What?

Trade shows are, more than anything, branding opportunities.

MJBiz was no exception. The executive team from premium Colorado grower Veritas was showing off new color-classified packaging matching moods with terpene profiles and offering QR codes to

thing from cultivation to manufacturing), Chief Investment Officer Rich Batenburg doesn’t see cultivation as the future. “That will get commoditized, 100 percent, as will the distribution channels of dispensaries,” he said. “The power is going to shift to brands.

And the more mature the market, the more powerful those brands will become. It will become a lot more like alcohol. You don’t pick a liquor store because you love the store. You pick it because you love the brands they have.”

Perhaps, said Ning, but he hasn’t seen brand loyalty emerge as a big factor yet. While consumers are developing some affinity for branded manufactured prodW I N T E R 2022

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ucts and edibles, they care more about strains than branding when buying flower—which still dominates the market. “If people are looking up flower, they look up strains. If they’re looking up vapes, they look at brands,” he said.

Falling Behind Amid the positioning and projecting, there were also dispiriting signs the industry is picking up some of mainstream corporate culture’s worst habits. Leadership is becoming less diverse, and lead-

cent (below the national average of 30 percent) in 2021.

“Women and minorities are not counted in this industry, not financed in this industry, and are not moving forward in this industry,” Simply Pure CEO Wanda James, the nation’s first Black woman to own a dispensary, said during the most-talked-about session at MJBiz. James said seasoned Black entrepreneurs with licenses to operate cannabis businesses struggle to get funding. “Our businesses are not validated in the same way as a

its like Realm of Caring are crunching reams of data that’s never been available before to prove the plant’s efficacy, develop guidelines and protocols for use, and encourage insurance companies to compensate medical marijuana patients. Development Officer Adam Young said Realm of Caring has created a seal of approval that entails visits to farms and extraction and shipping facilities as well as product testing. So far, only five companies have been certified.

These are challenges, to be sure.

BRIGHT LEADERS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE

LEFT TO RIGHT: COURTESY CCMG (X2), SIMPLY PURE

From left: Richard Batenburg II and Richard Batenburg III, cofounders of Cliintel Capital Management Group; Wanda James, CEO of Simply Pure

ing companies are leaving crucial issues like consumer safety, social justice, and carbon emissions for nonprofits to handle.

Regulatory efforts to support ownership among the communities most harmed by the drug war haven’t made any difference and sometimes do more harm than good. Less than 2 percent of cannabis business owners are Black, compared with 13 percent of the U.S. population, according to Leafly’s 2021 Jobs Report. Minority executives made up 28 percent of all cannabis leaders in 2019 and dropped to 13 percent (about the national average) in 2021, while women accounted for 37 percent of leaders in 2019 but only 22 per-

25-year-old white guy in California that has no business experience or licenses,” she said.

This failure to live up to inclusionary ideals is, at least, a conversation. How growing weed is cooking the planet is not, despite study after study showing indoor cultivation taking up a bigger and bigger piece of the carbon-emissions pie.

Growing an ounce of indoor emits about the same amount of carbon as burning a tank of gas, one of those studies by Colorado State engineers found. “This industry is developing and expanding very quickly without consideration for the environment,” the study’s senior author told Gizmodo.

As for consumer safety, nonprof-

But as Smith was quick to point out during a chat in the MJBizCon press room (about a month before his company’s acquisition was announced), mainstreaming has plenty of upside, too.

“Ten years ago, we were crazy stoners, trying to carve a life out of the back alleys of semi-legality.

Now there’s a lot more awareness, and I think that’s great,” he said. “I’m a fan. I believe cannabis provokes good conversation, friendships, and solution language to problems. The more popular this tool gets, the more problems get solved.”

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SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE Consumption lounges are the future. Public establishments where you can socialize over a smoke will go a long way toward destigmatizing cannabis and simply offering up more fun spots to hang out. Progress has been slow, but that is about to change.

TEXT TRACY ROSS

I

n Michigan—where recreational cannabis use was legalized in 2018 and marijuana sales brought in $2 billion in 2021— you’d think it would be easy for consenting adults to find a cozy spot outside of their homes to sit, mingle with friends, and legally consume marijuana products.

But when it comes to that pleasure, Michigan has fared like states that legalized before it: there are very few places where adults can go to socially consume cannabis like they do alcohol at a bar.

Social consumption lounges and cannabis cafés are relatively new terms being used to describe what

the state of Michigan refers to as Designated Consumption Establishments (DCE) where folks may consume on the premises. The Marijuana Regulatory Agency has the ability to issue DCE licenses, but as of December, the state has yet to fully approve any applicant for a consumption lounge.

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The Race Is On The future’s been looking bright for entrepreneurs in legal states who want to give the cannabis-smoking public a place to puff their stuff. In Colorado, Denver voters approved consumption lounges back in 2016, but have been waiting six years for the city to approve one to open—which may finally happen early this year.

California tokers were able to light up at the aptly named Original Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood after it opened in September 2019, but it’s been temporarily closed due to the pandemic. Alaska became the first state to allow consumption lounges, in 2019, but the only one operating is a former Chili’s restaurant-turnedlounge called Good Titrations, in Fairbanks.

Things are finally starting to look up for social tokers, as several states have enacted laws that will make it easier for interested businesses to launch consumption cafes. In Nevada, the Planet 13 dispensary superstore has plans to open a state-sanctioned glitzy cannabis consumption lounge next to

its existing entertainment complex by mid-2022. In New Jersey, both Atlantic City and Jersey City approved social consumption lounges. New York’s recently passed adult-use laws allow social consumption lounges, but the state’s recreational market isn’t expected to take off until 2023. But, to date, there’s no place in the U.S. that’s emerged as a domestic destination akin to Amsterdam, where consumers are free to light up in the ubiquitous cannabis cafes.

In Michigan, the race is finally on to see who will open the first consumption lounge in the state.

Leading the charge is Kalkushka in Kalkaska, set to open in late March of 2022 in a remodeled building on the main street downtown. Part of the Carbidex family of brands, Kalkushka is going to be more than just a spot for consumers to pop in real quick to try the products they picked up at The Botanical Co. dispensary next door. It’s going to be a destination offering users and friends a rich environment to hang out and enjoy the ride.

To get a feel for the ambiance Kalkushka has in store, look no fur-

ther than The Botanical Co., which also falls under Carbidex’s umbrella of brands. Blending vintage and urban design, the storefront is housed in an historic building that was at different times a pharmacy, a mercantile, and an opera house. The space pays homage to the building’s history with original exposed brick walls, a tin ceiling, and antique display cases handmade in Grand Rapids more than 100 years ago.

Warm and inviting, the cozy 3,000-square-foot lounge will feature several seating areas and a stage for acoustic guitar performances, poetry readings, and stand-up comedy acts. The venue’s floor-to-ceiling windows will allow onlookers to get a peek at the modern cannabis culture happening inside.

One of the goals of Kalkushka, says Russ Chambers, founder and chief executive officer for Carbidex, is to create a space that’s welcoming to both consumer and nonconsumer. “We want it to be the kind of place where whether you’re coming in with your best friend or want to make a new connection, all are welcome.”

The future Kalkushka adjoins dispensary The Botanical Co. in downtown Kalkaska. Customers will be able to buy next door or bring their own cannabis.

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“[KALKASKA LEADERS] SEE THE VALUE IN WHAT OUR INDUSTRY AND PROJECTS LIKE THIS BRING TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.”

COURTESY KALKUSHKA

“When we tell the canna curious they’ll feel comfortable coming in, we need to make sure they feel comfortable,” says Chambers. This translates to: if someone wants to consume, go right ahead, but if they don’t want to, they don’t have to. “I don’t think the general public will come in en masse, because there’s still such a stigma attached to the legalization and use of our product in public. But I do think lounges are another opportunity to help break that stigma—and the more we can showcase what we’ve created, the more I think people will come in just to see what Kalkushka looks like.”

Highly Anticipated Future In Colorado, following legalization, private speakeasies seemed to spontaneously emerge only to then vanish just as quickly as they appeared, financially defeated. So Kalkushka, is trying to be realistic.

“If we were creating a standalone consumption lounge, I think we’d be a little bit crazy,” says

Chambers. “But maybe our cannabis-consuming customers will consider it in conjunction with the rest of what we do. There will be incentives and discounts for purchases made at The Botanical Co. However, you can bring products from anywhere; you don’t just have to buy them at our dispensary. We’re not going to be exclusionary.”

Kalkushka will also prioritize engaging with the local community. It’s even commissioning a local artist to pant a mural on the building’s street-facing storefront.

Kalkushka’s developers say they’ve been lucky, because the Kalkaska municipality has been “incred-

Carbidex Founder and ibly supportive of our industry.

They’re willing to work with us on Chief Executive Officer Russ Chambers all things. And they also see the value in what our industry and projects like this bring to their communities,” says Chambers.

Will you see consumption lounges opening in your community this year? That’s all up to your elected officials. In most states like Michigan with legal cannabis, the municipality’s elected leaders get to decide where and how many consumption lounges are allowed. So, if you’re hoping to head out on the town and light up and chill away from your home then let your community’s elected officials know. More importantly, help educate them.

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For the first time since COVID-19 shut so many events down, Sensi Night is back in Michigan. Just in time for Mardi Gras, the big happening will take place at the Causeway Bay Hotel in Lansing on March 1. Sensi Night is a neighborhood party and expo hybrid that celebrates local cannabis businesses and encourages networking and community in the growing industry. You will get the chance to connect with some of the best brands in the state, shake hands with the crafters of your favorite edibles, and sample and purchase some of the top cannabis products Michigan has to offer. Beyond the exhibitors, Sensi Night features some of city’s best live = performers, music, food, health and wellness stations, sweet giveaways, free promo items, and much more. bit.ly/3Gnoxbu

The ninth annual Iron Fish Distillery Fat Chance Fat Tire Bike Race is Saturday, January 29, and if you’re a bike-riding snow lover you’ve gotta do it. It’ll be held at Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville. Racers can choose between a 90-minute or 45-minute race; whoever crosses the finish line in that amount of time first wins. Learn more at crystalmountain. com/event/fat-chance-fat-tire, and prepare to kick down $50 per rider for registration.

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Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo and there’s no better time to discover the city than during the annual Kalamazoo Craft Beverage Week, which runs Jan. 29–Feb. 6, 2022. Special happenings include everything from hot wings to bus tors to s’mores, and, yes, it will be easy to enjoy with pandemic precautions. In the outdoor Downtown Kalamazoo Central Commons Refreshment Area, where the event takes place, you can carry your drinks between establishments as long as you use the official cup. kalamazoocraftbeverageweek.com

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THE END

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PHOTO BY CODY BLACK VIA UNSPLASH

Green Besties: Research shows your houseplants can uplevel your mood.

and keeps us alert. If you’re suffering from seasonal affectivie disorder (SAD), consider adding a sun lamp to your space to get some vitamin D. Accent with aromas.

The scents we smell link directly to the parts of the brain that control our memories and emotions.

Rose and lavender help release stress and anxiety.

Sandalwood can help calm racing thoughts. Lemon and clary sage may help with depression. Avoid scented candles that list “parfum” or “natural fragrances,” which can contain phthalates and other chemicals. Add a few drops of essential oils to a plain wax one instead.

Let the music move This year, go all-in on self-care by creating an emotional escape room. you. Research has shown that music can alter our TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON moods and behaviors, even Some call it a sacred space, of your home to find the impact our physical health. ual. The space is all about some call it a zen den. Ver- right space—the closet Put another way, music you, so customize it to nacular aside, the idea is to floor, behind a chair or is what feelings sound your interests and tastes. create a dedicated spot in plant, that awkward corner Play with color and texture like, so choose music that sounds like the feelings your home where you can in the living room, anythrough artwork, throw you want your self-care go to think all the thoughts where with enough room rugs, meditation pillows, space to instill. and feel all the feels—and for you to tuck into with tapestries, and scarves.

Go even greener. you need one. Setting a pillow to sit on. Select a Let there be light.

Research in the Journal of apart an area for rituals spot that makes you feel Research has shown that or meditation invites you present, spiritually conlighting has a huge impact Physiological Anthropology to make mental, emotion- nected, and joyful. on our circadian rhythms, found that interacting al, and energetic space for Create your altar. Out- which affect our emotion- with houseplants can reduce stress by calming for them—and serves as fit your space with items al and physical health. the sympathetic nervous a visual reminder to do that have purpose and Cool blue lights intersystem. Also, adding some so. Here are some tips to meaning: photos, crystals, fere with the production plants to the space can help you carve out a space candles, flowers, statof melatonin, interfering where you can vibe. ues or mementos, books, with sleep, whereas warm, help purify the air of toxic substances, according to Find your spot. Follow journals, tarot and oracle soft yellow lights spur the a study in Environmental your intuition to the unex- cards, or whatever you production of cortisol, Health Perspectives. pected nooks and crannies need for your self-care rit- which helps wake us up

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