Hydrolife Magazine October/November 2016 (USA Edition)

grow. heal. live. enjoy. 

OCT/NOV 2016 // USA 

LOOKING 

FORWARD 

THE FUTURE 

OF CANNABIS 

MARIJUANA AND ALZHEIMER’S 

THE ART OF CURING YOUR CROP 

CONTRIBUTIONS OVER COMPASSION

inside 

12 our crew / 14 from the publisher / 16 own it / 18 ask kyle / 48 ask a nurse / 98 the chill list 

grow. 

20 Canopy Management 

for Maximum Output 

26 Breeding with 

Autoflowering Cannabis 

32 How to Grow Your Own from Seed 

40 The Art of Curing Your Crop 

heal. 

50 Dabbing —The Gear: An Excerpt 

from Beyond Buds 

52 Cut and Dried 

54 Sophie’s Story: Helping Children Heal 

62 Marijuana and Alzheimer’s 

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live. 

66 Contributions Over Compassion? 

68 More MMJ Research On the Horizon 

76 Do We Need Cannabis Breathalyzers? 

78 Loose Lips Sink Ships: 

Securing Your Home Grow 

enjoy. 

82 Rise and Shine: Why More Cannabis 

Greenhouses are Cropping Up 

88 Riding the MJ Freeway 

92 Baking a Fool of Myself 

96 Trick-Or-Treat, it’s CannaWeen! 

myhydrolife.com grow. heal. live. enjoy. 9

our crew 

Alan Ray 

Alex Rea 

Billy Bishop 

Chris Bond 

Ben Burkhardt 

Jessica Ferneyhough 

Grubbycup 

Cory Hughes 

Kyle Kushman 

Kyle L. Ladenburger 

Gibson Lannister 

Sharon Letts 

Lee G. Lyzit 

Lacey Macri 

Jenn McGarrigle 

Ed Rosenthal 

Lindsey Schiller 

Watermelon 

Diane Young 

October/November 2016 

volume 6 - number 2 

Published by 

Hydrolife Magazine 

3773 Howard Hughes Parkway 

South Tower, Suite 500 

Las Vegas, Nevada 89169 

Inquiries to 

info@myhydrolife.com 

No part of this magazine 

may be reproduced 

without permission from 

the publisher. The views 

expressed by columnists are 

personal opinions and do not 

necessarily reflect those of 

Hydrolife or the editor. 

Printed in the USA 

Distribution 

P.A.I.N. Distribution | 310.488.1911 

magazinedistribution.org 

12 


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from the publisher 

There is a lot of healing in this 

issue of Hydrolife. As medicinal 

marijuana gains acceptance in more 

jurisdictions, more stories are coming 

to the forefront revealing how cannabis 

healed a person where traditional drugs 

could not, or could but with severe side effects. 

We all want that miracle cure to be found where 

everybody is safe, where everybody is happy and 

where everybody is healthy. It’s a lot of pressure 

to apply to a plant species. In this issue we tell 

young Sophie Ryan’s story about her struggle with 

an optic pathway glioma brain tumor. Although it is 

heart-wrenching, her strength and smile will warm 

anybody’s heart. While cannabis appears to be helping 

Sophie, we must remember the other 4,000 or so children 

and teenagers diagnosed with brain and spinal cord 

tumors in the US every year. Will cannabis work for them? 

In our Ask a Nurse segment, a desperate mother turns 

to cannabis for her ailing son who suffers from epilepsy. 

The pharmaceuticals he takes result in harsh side effects, 

and as a mother, she seeks a better way for him. While 

these anecdotal pockets continue to grow, lawmakers and 

medical practitioners are slowly coming around to the 

reality that cannabis can help people. Institutions like 

Colorado State University and Scripps Research Institute, 

among others, are working to provide the data to back up 

these anecdotes. While there is progress in some areas, 

there are setbacks in others. As our story Contributions 

over Compassions explains, despite being a possible 

solution to North America’s opiate-related death epidemic, 

politicians at the federal level dismiss marijuana with 

a shrug. Until that changes, people will continue to seek 

alternatives, and more and more those alternatives will 

include cannabis. When it comes to reducing pain 

suffered by a loved one, it’s only natural. 

Grow, Live, Heal & Enjoy. 

14 


myhydrolife.com

own it 

1 

2 

3 

4 

own it 

1. Make it personal with Custom 

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3. Place the Quest F9 Radial Air 

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table to prevent stagnant, 

water-logged air that causes 

plant-killing molds and fungi. 

This low-profile air mover fits 

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air per minute. Connect up 

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– questhydro.com 

4. To use the 7 Pipe Twisty 

Glass Blunt, pack up to 1.5 

grams of cannabis into the 

glass tube and twist the 

screw counter-clockwise 

into the tube. After that, all 

you need to do is light the 

end and puff, puff, pass. 

To ash your herbs, simply 

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and the ash will get pushed 

out the glass leaving fresh 

herbs for your next toke. The 

Twisty Glass Blunt can also 

be inserted and used with 

any 14-millimeter bong. The 

Twisty Glass Blunt is perfect 

for medicating on-the-go. 

– 7pipe.com 

16 


myhydrolife.com

5 

6 

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8 

5. The Blade Scale 100 is one 

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in six different colors. 

– herbscales.com 

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and contains no artificial 

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infused with 90 milligrams 

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dosing cap, making it easy 

to control how much you’re 

consuming. So call up a few 

friends worth sharing with, 

because this elixir is simply 

too good to keep to yourself. 

– dixieelixirs.com 

7. Shield N Seal’s SNS750 is a 

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The SNS750 creates airtight, 

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– shieldnseal.com 

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– vans.com 


ask kyle 

Q 

I am just starting my own project and have heard 

different pros and cons for seeds and clones. 

Which one do you think I should start with? 

a 

The choice to use seeds 

or clones to start your 

cultivation project isn’t about 

which is better…or is it? The 

truth of the matter is that you 

can’t have one without the 

other. Clones are made by taking a shoot 

or cutting from a plant and using rooting 

hormone and specially prepared media 

to encourage the growth of roots, thereby 

creating an exact genetic copy of the 

plant it was taken from. A seed is not an 

exact genetic copy of anything. It is the 

progeny of male pollen contacting female 

flowers and voila … sexy plant love 

makes a baby! That baby or seed will 

have some of the characteristics of the 

mother and some from the father. These 

seeds can be either male or female. 

So why would one decide to use seeds 

or clones if they had the choice to do 

either? I grew my first eight years from 

seed only. Granted, this was 1987 to 1996 

and there wasn’t really any place to buy 

clones or seeds. So after being given the 

most amazing Northern Light #5 x hash 

plant seeds I began to breed my own. 

Necessity forced this upon me as I had 

nowhere to turn after my bag of seeds 

ran out. This required choosing a male 

which would be allowed to pollinate the 

female or females in the room. Selectively 

choosing specific females for breeding 

is usually the best option. It’s better 

to pollinate one or two plants since you 

can get hundreds, even thousands of 

seeds from just one. Seeded marijuana 

hasn’t been saleable since the 80s. 

I would isolate my male somewhere 

before it starts to throw pollen. When my 

selected female(s) have reached midflowering 

I would introduce the girls 

to the boy, install a fan and let nature 

take its course. As I became a little more 

knowledgeable I realized you could 

collect the pollen from the male and 

apply it more precisely to the flowers 

using a Q-Tip. 

Keep the female plant away from 

the rest for 24 hours. This allows time 

for the baby-making. Then spray the 

entire plant surface including the pot 

and media with clean water. Water 

renders the excess pollen inactive 

so you can return them to the garden 

without seeding your entire crop. 

When you plant these seeds they will 

grow a plant which is unique. Each 

seed can have dramatic variations, 

or can be quite similar. Successive 

generations of breeding with the 

same female and/or male can produce 

stability over a seed line. 

Cloning is a whole different story. 

It ensures that every plant you plant 

will be female and also be relatively 

similar if not identical in growth characteristics 

and the finished product it 

will produce. This is the way to go for 

most new cultivators. 

Cloning helps minimize the amount 

of resources you’ll have to invest. 

Simply purchase the number of 

clones you need, take them home 

and transplant. Because they’re 

already rooted plants and ready to 

grow, for the novice it can be a little 

easier to get them thriving. 

With clones you may never have 

to worry about males, pollination 

or wondering if the seeds will pop. 

But there are drawbacks. Seeds 

grow stronger plants which are 

more resistant to disease, pests and 

negative stress in general. 

Clones from over-hybridized 

strains will sometimes get weary 

over time and being cloned over 

and over. Some people refer to this 

as genetic drift. I believe it to be 

symptomatic of cutting clones from 

less than optimal mother plants. 

I suggest doing a little research online. 

There are several comprehensive 

online strain databases which 

can be found with a simple search. 

They provide details on hundreds of 

popular strains. Things like flowering 

time, potency, even a description of 

some of the reported benefits attributed 

to each strain. Making your own clones 

is easy, as well. You just need a mother 

or donor plant that you can take cuttings 

from. A cutting is usually taken 

from the upper, more vigorous part of 

the plant. I like to take cuttings that are 

around five inches long. When they’re 

cleaned up and ready to dip in rooting 

hormone they’re around four inches. 

Only take strong, healthy cuttings 

that won’t be likely to wilt shortly 

after you stick them. 

Kyle 

Photo by Kyle Kushman 

Kyle Kushman is an internationally renowned marijuana 

cultivator whose collaborations have earned 13 Medical Cannabis 

Cup awards, including three US Cannabis Cups for Best Flowers. As 

the creator of Vegamatrix, the only line of vegan and organic nutrients 

designed for growing cannabis, Kyle continues to make advances for 

people who want to cultivate the purest, cleanest medicine possible. 

Do you have a 

question for Kyle? 

Email editor@myhydrolife.com 

to get an answer. 

18 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

by Ben Burkhardt 

Manipulating your crop’s canopy to achieve maximum yields requires good 

note taking and an understanding of the species you are growing and the 

environment you have created for it. If you are operating a commercial 

grow, it also requires good communication by your team. Ben Burkhardt 

draws from his experience to provide best canopy management practices. 

20 


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grow 

A room full of Purple White Lightning at Broken Coast Cannabis, a commercial grower in British Columbia, Canada. 

As gardeners gain the experience 

of seeing many crops grown to 

completion, they develop a perspective 

that allows them to anticipate what 

a plant will become based upon its 

genotype and structure, even when it’s 

in the early vegetative stage. This allows 

for precise control of the flowering 

canopy structure well before the plants 

reach flower. Encouraging gardeners 

to record notes on each batch, take a 

detailed visual assessment of each 

completed batch before harvest, and 

perhaps even take a photo to jog the 

memory, is recommended. Seeing the 

result of a crop or batch, viewing the 

related data and making adjustments 

that will in theory improve the previous 

result is the best method of increasing 

canopy output and efficiencies. 

Sharing accurate yield data is crucial 

and that information should drive the 

decisions made regarding gardening 

technique and logistics. If operating a 

commercial grow, I recommend having 

a full-time employee just to assemble 

the data from the garden. If the garden 

is large and the vegetative and flowering 

growth is managed separately by 

different departments, there should be 

strong communication and the end result 

of the vegetative team’s effectiveness of 

plant contortion and pruning should be 

studied and constantly improved. 

The three-dimensional structure of the 

flowering canopy consists of square 

footage and depth. If growing medium 

size plants, the bud sites can be productive 

several feet into the canopy. The 

nuances of specific genetics lead to 

varying results, as certain examples will 

grow taller with better light penetration 

through the canopy due to skinny sativa 

dominant leaves, or may generate worthwhile 

flowers in a limited light condition. 

Topping, or pruning, is the practice of 

removing the tip of a branch to encourage 

lower growth and to inhibit a plant from 

stretching. It also creates more primary 

nodes that will add additional flower 

If growing medium size 

plants, the bud sites can 

be productive several feet 

into the canopy. 

sites by allowing the lower branches to 

catch up in vertical growth closer to the 

light. Although often abused, this is the 

most common example of contorting a 

plant for optimal yield. 

Like all plant contortion techniques, 

topping is inevitably plant count and 

strain specific. Many genetics will 

grow vertically, with an overly large 

central cola, creating the likelihood of 

bud mold and reduced yields due to a 

limited amount of bud sites positioned 

close enough to the light. If executed 

at the right time, to the correct degree 

and with adequate lighting, topping a 

plant once or twice is usually all that’s 

required. Once a cutting has been 

propagated for a few weeks and is beginning 

aggressive vertical growth, it 

should receive its initial topping, which 

forces the lower branches to catch up 

vertically with the central primary 

node before the plant has grown large, 

making it the most efficient time to do 

so. This typically results in three or four 

primary nodes, which may or may not 

be adequate, depending upon the crop’s 

growth structure and plant density per 

square foot. When more nodes are required, 

it is recommended to top in the 

vegetative stage once more, doubling 

them from six to eight. 

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grow 

Topping is additionally effective when 

the flower room is full and plants need 

to be held in the vegetative stage longer 

than necessary. Although this may cause 

smaller top flowers and more branches 

to manage than necessary to achieve 

the desired yield from the upper canopy, 

without cutting them back, they may 

become unruly, starched specimens that 

are unsuitable for maximum output. If 

done correctly during vegetative growth, 

topping won’t be necessary once the 

plants transition to flowering. 

Freshly grown branch plant material 

is rather pliable, allowing a gardener 

to gently bend the stalks in the opposite 

direction requiring it to work to correct 

itself and allow lower branches to catch 

up vertically, allowing for superior 

exposure to light. Another option is 

to ‘knuckle’ the branch by making an 

aggressive bend that creates a 90-degree 

near-break in a branch that then 

will heal and drastically reduce that 

branch’s vertical growth, maintaining 

its node sites rather than removing the 

branches. It’s usually used for damage 

control once things are getting out of 

hand vertically in flower. 

If executed at the right 

time, to the correct degree 

and with adequate 

lighting, topping a plant 

once or twice is usually 

all that’s required. 

The best practice for limiting unwanted 

vertical growth after minimal topping 

is to utilize high PAR, or light intensity, 

to prevent the plant’s upper branches 

from reaching toward the light, as they 

are saturated already. This results in the 

plant being forced to focus growth on 

thicker, stronger branches and increased 

vertical height on the lower branches, 

while still allowing for the stresses plant 

material close to the light to heal with 

no consequence once in flower. This is 

extremely effective in allowing shorter 

plants within a batch to catch up with the 

rest for an even canopy as well. While 

some lights are now equipped with dimming 

capabilities, the other option is to 

manually adjust the height of your light 

to the desired distance above the plants. 

An even canopy of God Kush and Lemon Haze plants in the veg/growth phase at Broken Coast Cannabis. 

Although PAR meters aren’t necessary to 

accomplish this, they can be a useful tool 

to dial in exact light intensity and study 

nuances across the garden. 

While often best to use the lower 

canopy to maximize yield, inevitably 

there will be some branches exposed to 

limited light. As a result, they are weak 

and unusable for any worthwhile flower 

production. These should be removed 

as they are a waste of the plant’s energy 

and susceptible to pests and disease. 

The technique of ‘lollipopping’ is the 

practice of removing lower branches 

with the purpose of focusing more of 

the plant’s energy to the higher, more 

productive nodes. While effective, it is 

important to be conscious of the balance 

required, allowing the useful branches 

to remain, while removing the rest. It’s 

common for gardeners to be overly aggressive, 

underestimating the potential 

output of the lower branches. The number 

of lower branches that are useful will 

be strain-specific, as some genetics have 

wider leaves, affecting light penetration 

through the canopy, and specific genetics 

possess varying abilities to have useful 

flower production in lower light conditions 

at the bottom of the canopy. 

A specific strain’s growth pattern and 

structure will dictate how it should best 

be vegetatively contorted. This is accomplished 

by considering the key factors 

that influence the creation of an optimal 

canopy: growth pattern, plant density, 

ability to flower on low-lit branches and 

the explosive initial vertical growth in 

flower. A well-constructed canopy is 

instrumental in increasing yields while 

reducing the cost of production. 

Ben Burkhardt entered the adolescent 

medical marijuana industry in 1998 in San 

Francisco and then Los Angeles. He then 

relocated to Denver, where he owned 

and operated the largest indoor grow 

facility in the country, an infused products 

division and more than a dozen retail 

locations. He is now pursuing national 

and international opportunities with his 

company Sunlight Green Systems. 

24 


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grow 

BREEDING 

WITH 

Autoflowering 

CANNABIS 

BY GRUBBYCUP | When it comes to 

breeding cannabis, autoflowering is one 

of the most basic types of genetic traits of 

the plant, as it follows the laws of simple 

recessiveness and dominance. Specifically, 

it is a recessive trait. A brief review of high 

school biology reveals how it all works. 

26 grow. heal. live. enjoy. 

myhydrolife.com

grow 

Cannabis normally requires long 

dark periods to trigger flowering, 

but there are varieties that will flower 

regardless of the lighting conditions. 

These are known as autoflowering 

varieties. Not all cannabis traits are 

as simple to explain, which is part of 

what makes autoflowering a good example 

for beginning breeders to start 

with. For the purposes of this article, a 

few exceptions and special cases have 

been omitted for clarity, since even 

at the most basic level, it is a complicated 

enough topic that to some may 

seem confusing at first. 

Gregor Mendel, a friar who conducted 

experiments with pea plants in the mid- 

1800s, tracked traits such as seed shape 

and flower color, and developed basic 

rules for understanding genetic inheritance 

such as the concept of dominant 

and recessive traits. Although some 

traits are complicated and require more 

than one gene to express, autoflowering 

is one of the most basic types of genetic 

traits and follows the laws of simple 

recessiveness and dominance. Specifically, 

it is a recessive trait. 

Of importance to breeders, both experienced 

and aspiring, autoflowering is 

an easily observable simple Mendelian 

recessive trait. It is generally quick and 

easy to determine if a given adolescent 

plant is autoflowering or standard just 

by keeping it in short (or non-existent) 

dark periods for a few weeks. If the 

plant stays in growth, it is standard, if it 

flowers it is autoflowering. 

Cannabis is a diploid, in other words, 

it gets one chromosome from the pollen 

of the father, and one from the ovum 

of the mother. This means it will have 

two genes (one from each chromosome 

strand), each of which can be one of two 

alleles, either autoflowering or not. 

If we refer to the photodependant 

(standard) allele as P (upper case P), 

and the non-photodependant allele 

as p (lower case p), then the child 

plant will receive two—one from each 

parent. If the father is true breeding 

(homozygous) for photodependancy, it 

will have the allele P on both genes— 

the same is true for the mother. Seeds 

made from such pairings will result 

in offspring that is also true breeding 

for photodependancy. The father will 

contribute either a P or a P (because he 

has two big Ps, and will pass on one or 

the other). The mother will contribute 

either a P or a P (because she has two, 

and will pass on one or the other). 

While technically there are four 

combinations possible, effectively it 

doesn’t make much difference because 

all of the combinations result in PP 

(true breeding for photodependancy). 

This is why breeding a standard 

cannabis plant with another standard 

cannabis plant will result in standard 

cannabis offspring. The same is true 

of autoflowering. If both parents are 

true breeding for autoflowering, they 

will each have pp, and their offspring 

will autoflower (since they will receive 

a p from each parent). However, if one 

parent is PP (standard) and the other is 

autoflowering (pp), then all of the seeds 

will be Pp, since they will get one of 

the two P from the first parent, and one 

of the two p from the second parent. 

Having both the allele P and the allele 

p (heterogeneous for autoflowering) 

makes them a hybrid. 

“Cannabis 

is a diploid, in other words, it gets one 

chromosome from the pollen of the father, 

and one from the ovum of the mother.” 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

“The first 

generation after crossing a true breeding 

standard plant with a autoflowering plant 

will create seeds that are photodependant 

and will not autoflower.” 

Since they have the alleles for both 

photodependancy and autoflowering, 

their phenotype (physical expression) 

will depend on dominance. Dominance 

determines which one breaks the ties in 

these instances. In this case, photodependancy 

is dominant, so the resulting 

Pp seeds will all be photodependant. 

This is why the first generation after 

crossing a true breeding standard plant 

with a autoflowering plant will create 

seeds that are photodependant and 

will not autoflower. However, the hybrid 

seeds aren’t useless. If the heterogeneous 

seeds from the above are crossed 

together, then the autoflowering trait 

will reappear: 

• The hybrid father will contribute 

either his P or p. 

• The hybrid mother will contribute 

either her P or p. 

• The resulting combinations are 

either PP, Pp, pP or pp. 

• The PP will be true breeding for 

photodependancy, and will show 

photodependancy. 

• The Pp and pP will be heterogeneous 

for photodependancy but 

will still show photodependancy 

because of dominance. 

• The pp will be true breeding 

for autoflowering, and will 

show autoflowering. 

It is important to note that because of 

dominance there is no way to visually 

tell the difference between PP, pP and Pp. 

They will all be photodependant—only 

the recessive pp from this generation can 

be easily identified as true breeding. 

A practical experiment can illustrate 

the above: 

STEP 1: Take a standard cannabis 

plant and cross it with an autoflowering 

variety. It doesn’t matter which supplies 

the pollen as long as one is male and 

the other is female. 

STEP 2: Grow out the resulting seeds. 

They should act as if they were standard 

seeds. Select the best male and at least 

one female and cross them together. 

STEP 3: Grow out those seeds under 

growth (no long dark period) lighting. 

Due to the reasons explained above, 

there should be about 75 per cent 

that don’t autoflower and 25 per cent 

that do. The more seeds planted, the 

closer the results should be to the 75 

to 25 per cent ratio. 

One benefit to breeding for a recessive 

trait is that all of those that autoflower 

would have been true bred for autoflowering 

and can be bred together to make 

more autoflowering seeds. 

Even if a breeder isn’t fond of 

autoflowering varieties, the process 

and learning experience of working 

with them can help expand their 

understanding of how genetic traits work 

in a way that is easy to see and will give 

tangible results and feedback. Applying 

Mendelian genetics to simple traits in 

the real world can not only help cement 

an understanding of the basic principles 

of genetics, but can impress onlookers 

when predictions are proven accurate, 

or at least reasonably close. 

Grubbycup has been an avid indoor gardener for more than 20 years. His articles 

were first published in the United Kingdom, and since then his gardening advice 

has been published in several languages. He is also considered one of the leading 

authorities on crochet hydroponics. 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

How to Grow Your 

Own from Seed 

Back in the last millennium, before cloning 

swept the country like the hula hoop, people 

actually grew cannabis plants from seed. 

Primitive, huh? But where there’s a will, 

they’ll surely find a way. While that’s 

all changed now (hello, cloning!) 

you can only clone so many 

times before you have to buy 

more plants or get back 

to basics with seeds. 

by Diane Young 

32 


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grow 

Growing from seed is all about the 

quality of your seeds. Plants will 

never be better than the seeds they grew 

from. Back in the day, there weren’t any 

seed shops, so seeds were saved from 

exceptional buds, but it was all a crapshoot 

with a lot of trial and error. Luckily, 

now we know better. 

Starting from seed isn’t difficult and 

you don’t need to be an experienced 

gardener, but the process is a journey 

in stages, not a direct flight. Cannabis 

plants are perfect for growing from seed 

because they have a short life cycle. 

That being said, be prepared to check 

your plants every day for moisture, 

insects, diseases, nutrient deficiencies 

and light. If you can’t make the time 

and work commitment, perhaps you 

should forget the idea. Here’s my list of 

what I used for my first grow. Nothing 

high-tech—my growroom was a walk-in 

closet with louvered doors and a clothes 

bar to hang my lights: 

• A four-foot table or two sawhorses 

with plywood on top 

• A piece of thick plastic or a waterproof 

tablecloth for spill protection 

• Potting soil for seedlings 

• Clean sand 

• Five-gallon pail for mixing soil 

• A four-foot shop light with 

chains and S hooks 

• One full-spectrum red fluorescent 

grow light 

• One regular white fluorescent 

tube bulb 

• Light timer 

• Five-ounce opaque drink cups 

• Eight-ounce drink cups 

• pH kit 

• Plant flats or trays 

• Plastic kitchen wrap 

LIGHTING 

If you’re on a budget, fluorescents offer 

the biggest bang for your buck. Don’t 

forget to factor in the cost of electricity 

and bulb replacement. To make sure all 

my plants got an equal amount of light, 

I turned the trays 180 degrees every day. 

I especially liked the ease of raising 

the shop light one link at a time as the 

plants grew. You can maximize your 

light by using a room with white walls or 

surrounding your grow table with movable 

reflective foil-covered cardboard or 

hanging sheets of Mylar—mirrors don’t 

work well for reflecting light. 

GERMINATION 

Mature cannabis seeds are dark 

brown, sometimes with swirly 

patterns or stripes. Discard immature 

pale or greenish-colored seeds. I’ve 

never started seeds in soil, preferring 

the Japanese method of proving seeds 

first; there’s no sense planting duds. I 

germinated my seeds in a moistened, 

loosely rolled up paper towel on a 

plate in indirect light on the kitchen 

counter where I could keep an eye on 

their progress. Keep the paper towel 

moist, but not lying in a puddle of 

water or the seeds will rot. 

Some seeds germinate in a couple of 

days, while some take up to a week, 

depending on their temperature. It’s 

helpful to know that the seeds will 

produce male and female plants. Back 

in the Dark Ages, I always started 16 

cups of seeds in hope of ending up 

with four females. That’s no longer a 

problem if you buy feminized seeds, 

which are guaranteed to be females. I 

planted two sprouted seeds about one 

inch apart per cup because frequently 

one seedling would be bigger and 

stronger than the other. Go with the 

bigger one and pinch off the smaller 

one at the soil level. 

“ 

IF YOU’RE on a budget, fluorescents offer the biggest bang 

for your buck. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of electricity 

and bulb replacement.” 

34 


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grow 

“ MATURE CANNABIS 

seeds are dark brown, 

sometimes with swirly 

patterns or stripes. 

Discard immature 

pale or greenishcolored 

seeds.” 

The beauty of starting seedlings in the opaque 

cups is that you can see the root growth. Poke 

some drainage holes around the cup bases. It’s 

quicker to do the drain holes with the cups in a 

stack. As you finish each cup, slip it in the other 

end of the stack or you’ll waste crumpled up 

cups. Mix the potting soil with enough sand to 

give the fluffy soil more body. Add water gradually, 

mixing well to moisten. 

Fill the cups with the soil mix and tap each cup 

a couple of times on the table to eliminate air 

pockets. Add more soil if needed, tap it down 

again to leave a half-inch space between the top 

of the soil and the rim of the cup. Repeat until all 

the cups are filled. Set up your grow table and 

lights. Ready? The table is all set. The lights are 

on. The cups are shoulder to shoulder in rows, 

waiting to fulfill their roles. 

PLANTING 

My tools of choice for planting were a small 

wooden matchstick and a wooden toothpick. 

I made two small holes with the clean end of 

the match about one quarter inch deep and 

a half inch apart and not too close to the side 

of the cup. I picked out two sprouted seeds 

at a time from the paper towel, careful not to 

touch the sprout, and dropped them into the 

match holes and used the tip of a toothpick to 

scuff soil into the holes, then lightly tamped 

the spots with one finger. Keep the remaining 

sprouted seeds covered so they don’t dry out. 

Repeat until all the cups are planted. 

Put as many cups that fit into shallow flats or 

trays and then drape a long piece of kitchen 

plastic wrap over everything, tucking the ends 

under the trays to create a mini greenhouse. 

When this step is finished, the plants get to sunbathe 

under the lights for the next six weeks or 

so of the seedling phase. 

In a few days, two primary leaves will appear 

and you can do your happy dance. Soon the next 

pair of leaves will appear and the first ones will 

drop off. If condensation forms under the plastic 

wrap, uncover the seedlings to release the excess 

moisture and then replace with fresh wrap. 

During the seedling phase, keep the soil moist 

but not wet and only water from the bottom from 

so the roots stretch down long and strong. 

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grow 

WATER 

Water with a spray bottle until the 

first leaves appear, and then water 

from the bottom; the soil around the 

stem needs to stay dry to avoid stem 

rot. Fill pitchers or buckets with tap 

water and let sit uncovered until room 

temperature and the chlorine has 

evaporated into the air. Hard water is 

fine, but don’t use artificially softened 

water because it contains too much salt 

and other harmful additives. 

FERTILIZER 

I’m an organic gardener. While I 

don’t object to a little bloom booster 

to convince some reluctant annuals 

to step it up, I want everything that 

goes in my body to be as natural as 

possible. Plants need nitrogen to grow. 

When I had access to a mountain of 

free rotted horse manure, I fertilized 

with manure tea. Throw a shovelful of 

manure in a bucket, fill with water, let 

it sit a couple of days and water with 

the tea. It worked fine for me. There are 

“hot” manures and “cold” manures. Hot 

manures have the highest nitrogen, 

but have to be aged. Cold cow manure 

has lower nitrogen but can be used 

hot out of the barn. Rabbit manure is 

cold, but some growers call it nitrogen 

on steroids. If slogging around in 

barnyards doesn’t appeal to you, you 

could use fish or seaweed emulsions 

or any of the other excellent natural 

fertilizers available at your local 

hydroponics supplier. 

pH 

Check your soil pH regularly. Plants 

grown in soil like a pH of about 7. If your 

soil drops below 6, add a light sprinkling 

of ground limestone before watering. If 

the soil is above 8—too alkaline—sprinkle 

around a concoction of cottonseed 

meal, lemon peel and ground coffee. 

REPOTTING 

Discontinue the plastic wrap when the 

third set of leaves appear. When you see 

that the roots have reached the bottom 

of the cups, it’s time to repot the little 

darlings into the eight-ounce cups. In 

my experience, the plants do better 

stepping up to the bigger cup instead 

of going directly into three-quart pots. 

Repotting can be tricky, so take your time 

here. The plants shock easily with too 

much jostling or rough handling. Get 

the larger cups ready, poke the drain 

holes and fill with enough soil mix so the 

seedlings will be at the same depth as 

in the first cups. Before removing from 

the smaller cups, lightly water them so 

everything stays together. 

Tip the cup upside down in your open 

hand with the seedling stem between 

your fingers. Gently squeeze the sides 

of the cup with your other hand and 

the seedling will drop out in one piece. 

Don’t pull it out by the stem! Place the 

seedling in its new home, fill around it 

with more soil, and make sure it isn’t 

deeper or shallower than in the smaller 

cup. This is important. Compress the 

soil lightly for any air pockets. 

VEGETATIVE STAGE 

During the vegetative phase, leave the 

lights on 24/7 and as close to the leaves 

as possible without touching. If the 

lights are too high, the stems will grow 

weak and spindly. You want the plants 

to remain compact. When your plants 

really take off, they may grow an inch 

a day. Keep a sharp eye on the distance 

between the tops of the plants and the 

lights. Fluorescents are cool and won’t 

burn the leaves, but keep adjusting 

your lights upwards to stay ahead of 

the growth. Rotate your plants so they 

all get enough light. When plants are 

starting to bud, rough handling or a 

sudden change in temperature or light 

will drive them into shock. When you see 

your plants are beginning to outgrow 

the cups, it’s time to pot up again, this 

time to three-quart containers commonly 

found at nurseries. Always wash used 

pots in hot soapy water before reusing. 

SEXING 

Toward the end of the vegetative and 

budding phase, you’ll be able to sex 

your plants. Males have two pollenfilled 

sacs that are easy to see and 

females have a pair of white V-shaped 

hairs. One male plant is enough to 

pollinate all your females so they 

produce seeds. I didn’t grow for seeds, 

so I quickly yanked all the male 

plants. Male plants are low in THC, are 

harsh-tasting and give many people 

a massive headache. Unpollinated 

females produce more flowers, buds 

and THC. 

For even more plants, remove the 

unproductive lower stems and 

leaves on your plants, and then make 

two or three shallow downward slices 

on the main stem with a clean blade 

and insert a graft slip dipped in root 

stimulant in each cut. Put a small piece 

of tape around the cuts. The grafts can 

be other varieties, not just the same as 

the host plant. Soon you’ll have new 

growth from all your grafts, giving you 

maximum yields. 

Diane Young has had her food and gardening articles published in the Burlington 

Free Press, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, Country Journal and 

other regional publications. Soon after, Troy-Bilt commissioned her book, Community 

Gardening in North America. A New England gardener, Diane lives in Maine and Mexico. 

38 


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For Retail and Distributor Information Please Call 1.877.384.9376 (Toll Free) 

BIOFLORAL.COM

grow 

THE 

by Cory 

Hughes 

RT OF 

CURING 

YOUR CROP 

You’ve worked hard to grow a potent and flavorful 

crop, but now what? Follow Cory Hughes’s advice 

to keep your cannabis fresh and mold-free during 

storage, and don’t forget to burp your nugs. 

40 


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grow 

y 

our months of hard work in the garden have paid off 

and your crop is almost ready to go. Your plants are 

harvested and the nugs are trimmed and dried. The next 

steps you take will determine not only the potency of your 

cannabis but its essence, flavor and aroma. The curing 

process is essential in putting the finishing touches on the 

beautiful green buds you’ve worked so hard to grow. Proper 

curing and storage of your finely crafted buds will make or 

break your finished product. 

The first step in properly curing your cannabis is making 

sure your buds are properly dried. You want your buds in 

an optimal moisture zone. When a plant is harvested, it will 

lose 80 per cent of its moisture before it is consumable. You 

want to start the curing process before your buds get to that 

point. Ideally you want your buds at around 30 to 35 per cent 

moisture, a fraction of their original wet weight. Any more 

moisture than that and you risk the development of mildew 

and mold once sealed in an airtight environment. 

If you dried your flowers too long 

or at too high of a temperature, you 

may need to rehydrate them. Just 

make sure that your weed is in 

that Goldilocks zone before 

you begin your cure. If you 

are not sure, you can 

test your bud by simply 

bending a stem. If the 

stem breaks or starts 

to break, then it is 

sufficiently dry. If it 

continues to bend, 

it should probably 

dry for another 

day or more. 

One of the chemical 

secrets to 

curing is cannabergerol, 

or CBG. 

Cannabergerol is 

the chemical precursor 

found in cannabis 

that metabolizes into 

THC. It is believed 

that CBG has profound 

medical impact on its own. 

CBG reduces pressure in cell 

walls and is a big part of cannabis 

treatment for glaucoma. It is 

considered to be the primary cannabinoid, 

as it is broken down inside the plant 

in order to create THCA, CBDA and CBCA. We are 

all familiar with THC and CBD but CBC, or cannabichromenic 

acid, is by far the lesser known of the cannabinoids. 

Due to its involvement in the creation of other cannabinoids, 

CBG is usually found in concentrations of less than one per 

cent in finished products. 

After the plant is harvested, the metabolic process that 

creates THC from CBG continues. This results in THC levels 

rising long after the buds have been collected. Some people 

choose to begin the curing process in paper bags to make sure 

they are adequately dry. I haven’t found this to be a necessity, 

so I go straight for airtight glass jars. A mason jar or a jar with 

a flip-tight lid are optimal as they perfectly seal and keep air 

out. You will want to place as much marijuana in your jar as 

possible in order to force out as much of the remaining air as 

you can. Always date your jars so as to not confuse them with 

other batches you may have already started. 

“When 

a plant is harvested, 

it will lose 80 per cent of its 

moisture before it is consumable. 

You want to start the curing process 

before your buds get to that point.” 

Creating Potency 

and Flavor 

The primary functions of curing are 

potency and flavor. As the chemical 

components of the plant matter break 

down over time, it shifts the taste from an 

overly earthy and green flavor to flavors that are 

more palatable that we can more readily associate 

with particular strains. This process is conducted by aerobic 

bacteria present in the plant at the time of harvest. The 

bacteria consume the chlorophyll in the cannabis making the 

taste and overall experience less harsh. Just like your grow, 

your curing buds thrive in a micro-environment dependent 

on specific conditions in order to nurture the process. If your 

buds are overly moist when you start to cure, you run the risk 

of allowing mold to grow, which can lead to harmful bacteria 

destroying the fruits of your labor. 

It is important to keep your cure in a dark room or storage 

area. Light will degrade THC and interfere with the metabolic 

process taking place in your jars. Maintenance of the microenvironment 

is vital to keep your good bacteria thriving 

and your bad bacteria at bay. Your temperatures should be 

slightly lower than your growroom at around 50-75˚F. Now that 

you have an idea of what conditions you need to cure your 

cannabis, you can begin without further delay. 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

Burp Your Nugs 

The key to curing your cannabis is burping your jars. 

That means after allowing the metabolic process to work, 

periodically opening your jars to let out the built up 

carbon dioxide and moisture the buds have shed. Every 

grower has their own schedule of burping and they all 

vary greatly. For buds that are in the right humidity 

zone, you should burp them daily for approximately 

30 minutes. Everyone will have an opinion on the 

time, however, 30 minutes is sufficient to expel 

the gasses and allow the micro-environment to 

return to an acceptable relative humidity. Some 

choose to use an RH meter to determine the 

amount of time they burp their buds. You should 

keep the relative humidity above 55 per cent. 

Below that threshold your buds don’t have the moisture 

required to allow the metabolic process to continue. If 

you burp your nugs and find you still have a relative 

humidity more than 70 per cent then they need to come 

out of the jar and be allowed to dry more thoroughly. 

How long you cure for is really up to you. Most growers 

will tell you that with daily burping under the right 

conditions, your buds should be delicious and potent 

in three weeks to a month. Others who have cured 

their cannabis for months or even years claim that 

their product only improved the longer it cures. If you 

have the patience to cure your weed for six months or 

more, you are a better person than I. 

“If 

your buds are overly moist when you 

start to cure, you run the risk of allowing 

mold to grow, which can lead to harmful 

bacteria destroying the fruits of your labor.” 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

Stick With Jars 

Now that you have properly cured some dynamite bud, it is 

time to prep it for storage. Storing your weed under proper 

conditions will preserve your THC content and allow for quality 

consumption at a later date. I think it goes without saying, 

but never use plastic bags for storage, or anything else. Stick 

with your airtight glass jars. Some prefer dark-colored glass 

to prevent light from creeping in but if you are keeping your 

jars in a drawer or closet, clear jars are just fine. Glass doesn’t 

breathe like plastic. Avoid freezing your cannabis. The 

freezing process turns the trichome brittle. You can end up 

damaging your buds when there is really no need. Molds and 

mildew will spread at high temperatures, so never allow your 

stored weed to go above 77˚F. All in all, keep your airtight jars 

of cannabis in a cool and dark location that won’t be disturbed 

by your day-to-day routine. For long-term storage, you 

still want to burp your jars once or twice a month just to let 

out the gasses your buds will continue to give off. The result 

will be cannabis that is as good, if not better than it 

was on the day it was stashed away. 

“With 

daily burping under 

right conditions, your buds 

should be delicious and potent 

in three weeks to a month.” 

Cory Hughes is a former police officer turned full-time 

commercial grower in Denver, Colorado. 

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heal 

Herbal 

ASK A NURSE: TIPS FOR PARENTS 

Q 

Dear Nurse Jessica, 

My child has epilepsy and the current 

pharmaceuticals she has been taking are causing 

harsh side effects. There are so many different 

cases online and in the news that give me hope 

that cannabis oil is effective, but I am not sure 

where to go because my neurologist won’t help 

us and has turned us down completely after 

I finally mustered up the courage to ask. I left 

feeling like a bad mother to have even brought 

it up. Since I don’t really have friends that are 

connected, what do you think I should do? 

Mother 

Dear Mother, 

Your call to cannabis is an intuitional pull as 

A 

you seek harmonious treatment for your child. 

Your concern and consideration show you are 

a good mother—you don’t need to question 

that. You did what you were “supposed” to 

do and the treatments have not been effective up to this 

point. Now it’s time to incorporate cannabinoids and establish 

homeostasis to calm your child’s internal storm. 

Just recently I drove through the night to meet with a family 

about seven hours from my nest. The family was told there 

was an unexpected shortage in the pharmaceuticals her 

son had been taking since age three. There was only a short 

window of time to switch drugs. During this time, the boy’s 

mother soon discovered the side effects of her son’s medication 

detoxing were as powerful as those that accompany 

heroin withdrawal. For a 10-year-old, I thought, how is this 

legal? His mother told me that if she would have known how 

powerful the drugs were, she would have never agreed to giving 

them to her son. Other pharmaceuticals presented came 

with the same laundry list of toxicity and side effects. It feels 

like experimental poisoning sometimes. 

Although her neurologist wouldn’t write a prescription for 

cannabis, she persisted until the doctor was willing to write 

a referral to a cannabis clinic that could help. This step is 

critical for access. Waiting lists and patient overload are 

leaving time-sensitive cases to wait for access to cannabis, 

especially pediatrics. 

This mother and I spent time together making oil from 

high-CBD cannabis and prepared her son’s medicine with 

different methods and different temperatures. Doing all of 

these things alone can come with some hesitation, so this 

is why we rise up—to support our community in need. I believe 

that together we can facilitate great healing through 

cannabis consciousness. 

My advice to you is to try reaching out to local cannabis 

clinics, dispensaries or a licensed producer for answers and 

advice. There are cannabis educators, clinic operators, nurses, 

doctors, growers and other parents out there who can help you. 

My experience in the cannabis community is that if someone 

doesn’t know the answer, they will often do their best to find 

you someone who can. 

Listen to your intuition and keep pushing until you get what 

you know is right for your child. Join groups online and find 

other parents who can share some of their journey with you. If 

the doctors you are working with can’t help at this time, there 

are others who will—trust me. I believe that the world needs 

more physicians and neurologists to confidently step forward 

to protect and facilitate pediatric access to cannabis. We need 

more support systems for families. 

Nurse Jessica 

Jessica Ferneyhough, a registered practical nurse, brings a 

unique approach to care, empowering patients as a medicinal 

cannabis nurse and horses for healing advocate. Do you have a 

question for Jessica? Email editor@myhydrolife.com. 

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heal 

GEAR 

THE 

DABBING 

by Ed Rosenthal 

photos courtesy of Beyond Buds 

An excerpt 

from Beyond Buds 

The Hydrolife team is pleased to present an excerpt from Ed Rosenthal’s 

book Beyond Buds—the first to cover the shift from smoking buds to 

vaping and dabbing concentrates such as shatter, wax, budder and oil. 

A DIY guide to making butane and CO 2 extracts, as well as kief, hash, 

tinctures, topicals and edibles, Beyond Buds features full-color photos 

of award-winning concentrates and highlights the best products to use. 

We start with a guide to dabbing gear: 

NAILS 

Nails are the workhorse of the dab world. 

They get their name because they look 

like a standard construction nail: they’re 

long, thin metal objects that fit into a 

bong’s downstem on one side, with a 

wider top section for vaping hash. They 

come in a variety of standard widths, 

like 10, 14 and 18 millimeter, to fit into 

different downstems. Nails are made 

from a variety of materials that are used 

because they do not create fumes at 

working vaporization temperatures. The 

most common materials used are quartz, 

titanium and ceramic. 

To use, you heat up the nail with a 

torch, which is usually a six-inch or 

larger butane torch, with flame control, 

a safety lock and a flame lock. Affix the 

nail in the downstem (wide side up), 

flick on and lock the torch, and touch 

the flame to the nail. Inhaling air that 

has been superheated by a nail is not 

healthy, so most dabbers are attached to 

water pipes that cool the vapor. Remove 

the torch as the nail shows the first faint 

signs of glowing, then place the dab on 

the nail. The dab flash-melts and boils, 

generating vapor. Inhale. 

DABBING RIGS 

While nails are designed to fit into a 

wide variety of downstems, they often fit 

best with dab rigs, bongs and bubblers 

specially designed for consuming hash. 

Dab rigs tend to be smaller than water 

pipes for flowers. Since hash smoke is so 

much more potent, you don’t need to fill 

a huge chamber with smoke to achieve 

the desired highness. The length of the 

system is actually a liability here, as 

solvent hash condenses along the route 

of delivery. The longer the route, the 

more condensation, and hence, waste. 

Consequently, dab rigs tend to closely resemble 

traditional, handheld bubblers. 

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“ SCIENTIFIC dab rigs can get 

incredibly technical, with multiple 

levels of diffusers and percolators.” 

Dab rig design is divided into two general 

classes: scientific and heady, though 

plenty of artists fuse the two. Scientific 

designs hew toward a minimalist, lab 

aesthetic and often feature clear glass 

and shapes that evoke beakers and test 

tubes. Form follows function in scientific 

glass. Heady dab rig designs embrace 

the imagination, taking on the shape of 

mythic creatures and pushing the boundaries 

of color, pattern and materials. 

At the larger end of the scientific dab 

rigs are units like the Sheldon Black 

medium rig with Ti nail. Fourteen 

inches tall, sleek and minimal, the 

Sheldon Black downstem ends in a 

diffuser, which helps cool and filter the 

vapor. Scientific dab rigs can get incredibly 

technical, with multiple levels 

of diffusers and percolators. 

Heady dab rigs vary just as much in 

size and shape, but the trend is towards 

smaller rigs. Pendant rigs that fit on a 

necklace are popular. Heady designers 

are in a permanent arms race for 

the newest glass colors and coolestlooking 

designs and materials. Dragons, 

robots, cartoon characters and monsters 

abound. Designers regularly use metallic 

fuming to bind different elements to 

the borosilicate glass, creating deep, 

rich, luminous colors, sparkles and 

interference patterns. Mothership Glass 

offers some of the most intricate designs, 

and artists like Snic are pushing the 

envelope, incorporating external electroplating 

for steampunk-like designs. The 

artists designing these rigs are creating 

a new genre of art that will be used in 

daily life, but also saved as collectables. 

SKILLETS (SWINGS) 

Skillets, also known as swings, are 

tiny titanium pans the size of a postage 

stamp, held below a vapor intake by a 

metal wire (the “swing” part). You heat 

up the skillet with a torch, swing it under 

the nozzle, then dab the hash on the 

skillet while inhaling. Skillets come as 

attachments for bongs and bubblers, or 

as part of heady dab rigs. 

WANDS (DABBERS) 

Working with concentrates can get very 

sticky. They range in texture from granular, 

sand-like bubble hash to some of the 

stickiest tree sap imaginable. Nonstick 

surfaces, usually parchment paper or 

silicone (not wax paper, which transfers 

wax and will make your hash taste like 

a candle), are used to store and transport 

concentrates. Dabbers are used to manipulate 

the material, titrate dosage and 

apply hash directly to hot surfaces. 

Want more? Ed Rosenthal’s 

Beyond Buds is available through 

quicktrading.com and amazon.com. 

Ed Rosenthal is a distinguished 

expert on marijuana. He continuously 

researches to provide the most 

accurate and up-to-date information 

on the subject. 


heal 

CUT AND DRIED: 

A MONTHLY LOOK AT DIFFERENT MMJ STRAINS 

BY BILLY BISHOP 

This may be my favorite strain ever. 

Really. It’s got everything I ever 

wanted in a bud. And more... 

Sour OG 

Sour OG’s very high THC content 

(more than 25 per cent) provides 

an uplifting and relaxing emotional 

high paired with a pain dampening 

body buzz. Personally, this strain’s 

effects on a wide spectrum of 

medical conditions is outstanding. 

Under simple test conditions, Sour 

OG was used as a treatment for 

the complex web of symptoms 

associated with post-concussion 

syndrome. The results of our tests 

revealed that the pain management 

side of Sour OG is truly outstanding. 

And surprisingly fast-acting. 

Its muscle relaxant side, also very 

effective at treating symptoms of 

IBS, made damaged neck muscles 

and nerves relax within a very short 

time. So it is with some surprise 

that Broken Coast’s Sour OG also 

gives the most satisfying and 

uplifting emotional high possible. 

This is really the finest point of this 

strain as a medicinal treatment; its 

boundlessly joyful emotional high 

helps with the psychological stress 

and mood imbalances caused by 

long-term injury or medical 

conditions. This is possibly the most 

uplifting hybrid you will find today. 

Background 

Sour OG is a genetic cross between 

Sour Diesel and OG Kush (which 

manages to cram the best of both 

worlds into one tidy bud). 

Physically beautiful 

Darker green with a strong frosting of 

well-developed, highly visible trichomes. 

Dark purple leaves with caramel 

highlights at the tips look delicious. 

Large, dense and sticky clusters of wellshaped 

colas are packed together in a 

complicated branching structure. These 

are the definition of pretty nugs. 

Lovely Smell 

Strong but nuanced odor with subtle 

sour chlorophyll notes at the high end 

and a sweet, burned caramel/vanilla at 

the low end. Nuances of green tea and 

cucumber. These amazing and complex 

fumes burst out of the canister and filled 

the room with a sour piney haze when 

first opened. This odor turned smooth 

and earthy as it began to produce smoke. 

End result: mouth watering. 

Sublime Taste 

The initial taste was smooth and mild with 

strong diesel tones undercut with a citrus 

sourness. The piney smell when fresh 

quickly morphs into a hot buttered popcorn 

flavor once smoked. There is clearly a high 

level of complex terpenes in Sour OG. This 

taste only gets more complex and caramellike 

as it settles into your taste buds. 

Opinion 

My favorite strain yet from my favorite 

medical provider. With the development 

of this Sour OG, Broken Coast Cannabis 

has outdone itself yet again. This bud 

is tasty, strong, effective and, most of 

all, uplifting. 

Grown under the strictest environmental 

controls at Broken Coasts Cannabis’ 

facility, Sour OG represents the most 

effective of available medicinal options. 

It is exemplary of the very high standards 

Broken Coast holds itself to. Broken Coast 

Cannabis is a medical marijuana producer 

based in British Columbia, licensed under 

the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, 

and adhering to the Marihuana for Medical 

Purposes Regulations. 

Broken Coast Cannabis recognizes that 

medicinal cannabis provides many people 

with natural and effective relief from a 

variety of adverse medical conditions. They 

are committed to providing fast, reliable 

service and providing their clients with a 

wide variety of the highest quality marijuana 

strains at competitive prices. Their 

strain catalogue is regularly audited and 

updated to include the latest improvements 

in medical marijuana genetics. 

All Broken Coast Cannabis products 

are extensively tested to ensure they 

are pesticide and fungicide free, free 

from harmful heavy metals and harmful 

pathogens. Their medical-grade marijuana 

is grown and cured under strictly 

controlled environmental conditions. This 

results in the cleanest, highest grade 

product possible, and offers the most 

effective relief for patients. 

The test subject for Sour OG suffers from 

extended post-concussion syndrome. This is a 

complex disorder in which various symptoms 

including headaches, nausea, dizziness and 

depression can last for weeks, months or years 

after the injury that caused the concussion. 

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heal 

Helping 

Children 

Heal 

by Sharon Letts 

Sophie Ryan was just eight months old when she developed a twitch 

in her right eye. Her parents, Tracy and Josh Ryan, said she had 

been a happy and seemingly healthy baby, with no difficulties to 

speak of from a normal pregnancy and delivery. 

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heal 

The diagnosis of a low-grade, slowgrowing, 

optic pathway glioma (OPG) 

brain tumor in eight-month-old Sophie 

Ryan was eventually realized with sobering 

facts. Success rates are high, but 

doctors said Sophie would be completely 

blind in her left eye, and partially, if not 

completely blind, in her right eye. 

Studies found within the National Institute 

of Health came up short on OPG, 

providing little insight as to the cause 

of the rare disorder comprising five per 

cent of childhood cancers. 

According to cancer.org more than 4,000 

central nervous system tumors are diagnosed 

a year in children and teenagers 

in the US, with three out of four children 

surviving at least five years after their 

diagnosis. Brain and spinal cord tumors 

are the second most common cancers in 

children (after leukemia), accounting for 

one out of four childhood cancers. 

Through their own research and in 

working with experts, Tracy and her 

team created organic, solvent-free CannaKids 

Honey Gold Cannabis Oil. “We 

work with hundreds of patients directly 

affected by cancer, epilepsy, and other 

childhood illnesses by informing them 

on the beneficial uses of cannabis oil,” 

said Tracy. “Three different doctors told 

one three-year-old child’s parents with a 

brain stem tumor that chemo would not 

work and they could not save her life. A 

few months after reaching a medicinal 

cannabis dose, the parents opted to 

try chemo, even though doctors said it 

would not shrink her tumor. After only 10 

weeks of using cannabis oil and chemo 

the tumor is now 50 per cent gone.” 

Working up to just a tenth of a gram 

initially, due to unknown factors of 

psychoactivity with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), 

Tracy said Sophie did remarkably 

well, with the only side effect 

of Sophie being a little sleepy, which 

faded as she became used to the oil. 

Now at a much higher dose of around 

300 milligrams of CBD, 100 milligrams 

of THC and 50 milligrams of THCa, Tracy 

shared, Sophie’s only side effect is 

hunger. “When parents come to me with 

concerns in relation to the THC getting 

them high, I remind them what it is 

these doctors are putting them on–these 

horrific opiates and damaging pharmaceuticals 

that are not only damaging to 

their organs, but are highly addictive,” 

said Tracy. “The oil also protects their 

bodies from the chemotherapy drugs 

themselves that are highly damaging 

to the immune system.” 

Months of Misery, Then 

Slight Improvement 

Thirteen months of chemotherapy was 

recommended for infant Sophie, with the 

dismal promise of the tumor shrinking 

only slightly as a best-case scenario. Her 

parents Tracy and Josh took a serious 

look at the alternative therapy of cannabis, 

with a nod from Sophie’s oncologist. 

After creating the Prayers for Sophie 

Facebook page, a friend put Tracy in 

touch with celebrity and cannabis advocate 

Ricki Lake, who was filming a documentary 

about cancer, cannabis and 

pediatric patients with filmmaker Abby 

Epstein. “I was originally inspired to try 

for a natural birth after watching The 

Business of Being Born, so I knew if these 

ladies were now focused on a film about 

cannabis, there had to be something to 

it,” said Tracy on youshareproject.com. 

Soon Lake and Epstein were 

networking for Sophie, putting Tracy 

and Josh in touch with some of the top 

oil makers and experts on cannabis 

as medicine in California, prompting 

Tracy to share the wealth by creating 

CannaKids, an informational portal and 

oil resource for caregivers of kids with 

cancer and other serious ailments. 

Thirteen months of chemotherapy 

was recommended for infant 

Sophie, with the dismal promise of 

the tumor shrinking only slightly as 

a best-case scenario. 

CannaKids Creates Miracles 

On savingsophie.org, Tracy lists more 

than 155 studies proving cannabis is 

effective in killing cancer cells, with just 

3.8 per cent of government funding spent 

on pediatric cancer research. With 15,780 

children diagnosed each year, it doesn’t 

take much to realize something is wrong. 

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So Close to Success 

As treatment continued with both chemotherapy 

and cannabis oil, with every 

follow-up scan, the tumor presented 

smaller and smaller–an anomaly with 

this type of tumor. “At just nine months 

of treatment with both chemo and the oil, 

the tumor was 50 per cent gone,” says 

Tracy. “By 13 months, it was 90 to 95 per 

cent gone. We were told initially the cyst 

would remain and it’s gone, too. We were 

told she would lose her vision, and it’s 

saved. The doctors themselves agreed 

the cannabis oil destroyed her tumor.” 

Chemotherapy was stopped in November 

2014. With a 95 per cent shrinkage 

rate, the downside is an average of 75 

per cent of cases reoccur. Sophie’s first 

scan post-treatment showed tiny specs 

of cancer in an area where there was 

nothing prior, prompting chemo a second 

time. After getting a second opinion the 

Ryans were told that Sophie should have 

never been taken off of chemo in the first 

place since her tumor at the time was 

still shrinking on treatment, hence this 

new recurrence happening so quickly. 

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The good news is that because of Sophie’s 

cannabis use her immune system 

is stronger than ever during the traditional 

treatment of chemo that typically 

knocks an adult to the ground with infections, 

pain, waste-away and more. 

Proof, Protocols & Patents 

According to a paper published on the 

National Institute of Health’s site, via 

the National Cancer Institute (updated 

January 2016), help from cannabis with 

side effects of chemotherapy are listed, 

with nausea, waste-away and pain a 

given. And though Israel first reported 

THC putting tumors into remission in 

the late 1960s, only recently has the institute 

added verbiage stating, “Cannabis 

has been shown to kill cancer cells 

in the laboratory.” 

“Her immune levels hardly ever drop 

below a normal range on the oil. And 

if they do, they are in the upper range 

of low,” Tracy reported. “She’s the only 

child during chemo breaks that doesn’t 

have to have her labs drawn.” 

Doing laboratory work can often be 

difficult for anyone. For a child, it can 

add to the physical and emotional scars 

already received from the ailment itself. 

Tracy said due to the persistence of the 

cancer, she has what is called a portacath, 

or portable catheter, in her chest 

where chemo drugs are delivered. “You 

can see all the thousands of tiny holes in 

her chest from the thousands of needle 

sticks she’s had,” said Tracy. “I’ve had 

to hold her down while they put this big 

plastic thing on her chest, with an IV 

running out of it, and blood running in a 

tube right in front of her face. Yes, labs 

are very traumatic.” 

Sophie’s brain tumor 

sample has been 

sent to Israel with the 

hope that they will 

find a perfect match 

from more than 150 

strains of cannabis. 

When asked if they are able to do the 

cannabis treatment without the chemo, 

Tracy said it didn’t work for Sophie. “Sophie 

is CannaKids’ only optic pathway 

glioma patient who hasn’t responded to 

just the cannabis oil off-treatment,” she 

said. “We are trying to get to the root of 

the problem to find out why her body 

doesn’t respond to a maintenance dose 

of oil to keep the cancer away. We are 

working with researchers in Israel now 

to determine which cannabinoids and 

terpenoids are going to most effectively 

kill Sophie’s tumor.” 

Building a Brain Trust 

While Sophie continues treatment with 

both chemo and cannabis, Tracy’s latest 

project is to bring together what she 

calls a brain trust of doctors, scientists 

and researchers from around the world. 

Sophie’s brain tumor sample has been 

sent to Israel with the hope that they 

will find a perfect match from more than 

150 strains of cannabis, with the goal 

of putting Sophie’s cancer into remission 

for good. “I am determined to keep 

my child from having to go through this 

any longer,” said Tracy. “And I’m just as 

determined to help keep other children 

from going through this.” 

Sharon Letts began her life’s work as a 

gardener in southern California, and now 

calls Humboldt County home. She’s a 

writer and photographer. When she isn’t 

writing about gardening, she is outside 

working in her own garden. 

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Marijuana 

Alzheimer's 

+ 

Studies taking place at the 

Scripps Research Institute show 

that cannabis consumption 

could potentially play a big 

part in the prevention of 

Alzheimer's disease. 

by Alan Ray 

Good News for Consumers 

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Worried about losing your memory? 

Forget it! When it comes to 

Alzheimer’s disease, the news for 

baby-booming hippies—especially 

the 420-friendly ones— sounds pretty 

good. In the wake of the tsunami of 

new discoveries into the medicinal 

and meditative properties of medical 

marijuana, studies have indicated 

marijuana may hold even more benefits 

for the brain, especially as it pertains to 

memory; specifically, Alzheimer’s. 

While many jokingly laugh at the 

sometimes short-term memory loss 

associated with marijuana usage, for 

people with Alzheimer’s, memory loss is 

much more than not remembering what 

you were just talking about but literally 

forgetting who you are talking to. This 

fight is against permanent memory loss 

and studies are being conducted that 

show marijuana could potentially play a 

big part in its prevention. 

Controlled 

Laboratory Studies 

One institution at the forefront of this 

war is the prestigious Scripps Research 

Institute whose laboratories conducted 

studies on tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC 

(the active ingredient in marijuana), with 

results that show serious promise in the 

battle against the disease that erases life. 

“ 

In the wake of the tsunami 

of new discoveries into the 

medicinal and meditative 

properties of medical marijuana, 

studies have indicated 

marijuana may hold even more 

benefits for the brain, especially 

as it pertains to memory. 

The Scripps study revealed that THC 

inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase 

(AChE), which tends to act as a 

molecular escort in accelerating the 

formation of amyloid plaque in the 

brain of Alzheimer’s victims by reducing 

acetylcholine. Research has shown that 

levels of acetylcholine are exceptionally 

low in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. 

Understandably, not all researchers 

agree as to whether or not the presence 

of beta-amyloid plaques in the areas of 

the brain that are crucial to cognition and 

memory is a cause or merely a symptom, 

nonetheless, their presence remains a 

hallmark of the disease. 


heal 

The Scripps study titled “A Molecular 

Link Between the Active Component 

of Marijuana and Alzheimer’s Disease 

Pathology” was supported by the 

Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology 

at Scripps Research at the National 

Institutes of Health. 

While the exact causes of Alzheimer’s 

disease aren’t fully known, there is much 

we do know. For decades, extensive 

research—both neurobiological and 

biochemical—has led to discoveries 

that may provide therapeutic strategies 

that will effectively stop or perhaps 

significantly slow down the progression 

of the disease, which would be 

incredibly good news for Alzheimer’s 

patients and their families. 

“ 

these findings offer 

convincing evidence that THC 

possesses remarkable inhibitor 

qualities, especially when 

compared with AChE inhibitors 

currently available to patients. 

The Alzheimer’s Association reports 

about 4.5 million Americans currently 

suffer from this disease with that figure 

expected to rise to a frightening 16 

million by the year 2050. Additionally, 

in a survey conducted by the National 

Center for Health Statistics, it was 

learned that about one-half of all nursing 

home residents suffered from Alzheimer’s 

disease or a related malady. Furthermore, 

the National Institute on Aging concluded 

that the cost of caring for Alzheimer’s 

patients in America currently exceeds 

$100 billion annually. Any help in 

reducing those respective numbers would 

be of tremendous benefit to the quality of 

life of Alzheimer’s patients, their families 

and the economic burden that treatment 

of this disease causes them. 

Positive Signs 

The effectiveness of the plaqueinhibiting 

properties of THC appears 

quite promising in the fight against 

Alzheimer’s. According to Dr. Kim Janda, 

(Ely Callaway, Jr. Professor of Chemistry 

at Scripps Research), “In a test against 

Propidium, one of the most effective 

inhibitors reported to date, THC blocked 

AChE-induced aggregation completely, 

while the Propidium did not.” The 

cholinergic system inside the brain uses 

acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter 

and it appears it is most affected by 

Alzheimer’s. Stunningly, the study 

showed that THC is a “considerably 

superior inhibitor of (amyloid 

plaque) aggregation” 

when compared with 

four currently 

approved drugs 

for treating 

the disease. 

THC vs. Traditional Drugs 

The drugs currently used in Alzheimer’s 

treatment work by inhibiting the 

active site of acetyl cholinesterase, 

the enzyme known to degrade 

acetylcholine. Propidium, one of the 

most effective inhibitors used in the 

treatment of Alzheimer’s, pales in 

comparison to the effectiveness of 

THC’s plaque-inhibiting ability. The 

results of the study showed that THC 

blocked AChE-induced aggregation 

completely, while Propidium did not. 

Moreover, Dr. Janda went on to say, 

“When we investigated the power 

of THC to inhibit the aggregation of 

beta-amyloid, we found that THC was 

considerably more effective than two 

of the approved drugs for Alzheimer’s 

disease treatment (Donepezil and 

Tacrine), which reduced amyloid 

aggregation by 22 and seven per 

cent respectively while at twice the 

concentration used in our studies.” 

The professor concluded, “While our 

study is far from final, it does show there 

is a previously unrecognized mechanism 

through which THC may directly affect 

the progression. While we certainly are 

not advocating the use of illegal drugs, 

these findings offer convincing evidence 

that THC possesses remarkable inhibitor 

qualities, especially when compared 

with AChE inhibitors currently available 

to patients. Our results are conclusive 

enough to warrant further investigation.” 

While currently there is no cure for 

Alzheimer’s, there is hope offered 

by the results of studies such as this 

one performed by Scripps. Meanwhile, 

we can all be hopeful a permanent 

cure will soon be discovered. It would 

be ironic indeed if that ol’ devil weed, 

so often blamed for short-term memory 

loss, actually played a key role in the 

discovery of a cure against permanent 

memory loss. 

Alan Ray has written five books and is 

a New York Times bestselling author. 

Additionally, he is a multi-award 

winning songwriter with awards from 

BMI and ASCAP respectively. Alan lives 

in Tennessee with his wife and two 

dogs: a South African Boerboel and a 

Pomeranian/Wolverine mix. 


myhydrolife.com


live 

by Kyle L. Ladenburger 

Contributions 

OVER 

Compassion? 

Kyle L. Ladenburger 

examines the struckdown 

bill that would 

have opened the door 

for FDA trials designed 

to examine the efficacy 

of using MMJ to battle 

the opiate epidemic. 

In May 2016, 

the United States House Rules Committee 

took into consideration a bill designed to 

create a task force to investigate current 

practices of pain management and pain 

medication prescribing in an effort to 

help combat the ongoing opioid epidemic. 

The task force will be comprised of 

several government agencies including 

the Drug Enforcement 

Administration (DEA), 

the Food & Drug Administration 

(FDA) and the 

Office of National Drug 

Control Policy. 

Two proposed amendments 

to the bill were 

brought to the floor that 

would have included 

investigations into the efficacy 

and potential of medicinal cannabis 

as an alternative to opioid painkillers and 

both were immediately denied. 

The first amendment was from Republican 

representative Dana Rohrbacher 

(California) and would have required the 

task force to study the potential for marijuana 

to serve as an alternative to opioids 

for pain management. 

The second amendment, brought 

forth by Democrat representative 

Jared Polis (Colorado), would have required 

the Centers for Disease Control 

& Prevention (CDC) and the National 

Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate 

the differences between medical 

applications of marijuana and opioids 

for pain management. Representative 

Polis’s amendment also required an 

official study of opioid overdose rates 

“Two proposed amendments to the bill were 

brought to the floor that would have included 

investigations into the efficacy and potential of 

medicinal cannabis as an alternative to opioid 

painkillers and both were immediately denied.” 

between states that do not allow medicinal 

cannabis use and those that 

do. Recent studies have shown that on 

average opioid painkiller overdose is 

almost 25 per cent lower in states with 

medicinal cannabis laws. 

The problem? Both amendments were 

quietly voted down as the committee 

ruled them to be out of order. 

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The opioid epidemic in the United 

States is extremely widespread, affecting 

people from all walks of life. The 

rampant prescribing of opioid painkillers 

such as Oxycodone and Fentanyl has 

resulted in millions of people becoming 

addicted to the substances. 

“The federal government does not allow 

testing or studies on the medicinal benefits of 

cannabis and are unwilling to recognize what 

is becoming the prevailing belief that cannabis 

has beneficial medicinal applications.” 

Reports from the CDC show that in 2014, 

more than 47,000 people died from some 

type of drug overdose, up 14 per cent 

from 2013. Opioids have been found to 

be the relevant cause of nearly 61per 

cent of all overdoses. This means that 

in 2014 alone more than 28,000 people 

lost their lives to some type of opioid 

overdose. Between 2013 and 2014, 

prescription opioid-related deaths rose 

at least 10 per cent and deaths from 

heroin, the cheaper alternative, rose 

more than 26 per cent. The numbers 

are truly staggering and since the year 

2000 opioid related deaths have risen 

by more than 200 per cent, with more 

than half a million people losing their 

lives—lives that could have possibly 

been saved with the simple addition 

of medicinal cannabis to their normal 

pain management routine. 

One reason congress refuses to 

recognize the medical benefits of 

cannabis is because of the federal stance 

on the plant itself. In 1972, President 

Nixon signed into law a bill called the 

Controlled Substance Act that put into 

place a national drug classification 

program. This act placed cannabis into 

the Schedule 1 drug bracket. Schedule 1 

drugs are narcotic substances that “have 

no medicinal benefits.” Because of this 

classification the federal government 

does not allow testing or studies on the 

medicinal benefits of cannabis and are 

unwilling to recognize what is becoming 

the prevailing belief that cannabis 

has beneficial medicinal applications. 

However, in a wild twist of contradiction, 

since 2003 the US government has 

held U.S. Patent 6630507 that states 

unequivocally that cannabinoids “can be 

useful in the prevention and treatment of 

a variety of diseases, including trauma, 

stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.” 

Furthermore, the FDA has granted 

approval to a synthetic, pharmaceutical 

version of THC called Marinol. 

Another reason congress refuses 

to accept cannabis as a viable 

alternative to opioids is likely due 

to the close relationship they hold 

with pharmaceutical companies. The 

pharmaceutical industry is by far the 

biggest congressional lobbyist and 

one of the main sources of funding for 

political campaigns. In 2015 alone, 

Big Pharma lobbied or donated to 

congressional members more than $200 

million dollars, far exceeding the next 

big funding machine—the insurance 

companies. It’s understandable why 

pharmaceutical companies are worried 

about the rise of medicinal cannabis. 

They know that if medicinal cannabis 

becomes accepted on the national level 

it will undoubtedly cut into prescription 

opioid profits. This begs the question: If 

Big Pharma’s money is so important to so 

many of our political leaders’ campaigns, 

aren’t our “leaders” simply choosing 

contributions over compassion? 

Kyle L. Ladenburger is a passionate indoor 

and outdoor gardener. He is also a freelance 

garden writer. With more than 10 years in the 

industry working for Age Old Organics, he is 

well-versed in numerous growing methods 

with a focus on soil health. 


live 

by Chris Bond 

More MMJ 

Research On 

Colorado State University has 

received the green light to begin 

studying and documenting the 

benefits of MMJ. It will be the first 

regional four-year university in the 

country to conduct such a study. 

the Horizon 

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Colorado State University will be 

studying a wide range of economic 

and health effects of the state’s legal 

cannabis industry thanks to recently 

granted funds from the county and 

state. CSU at Pueblo will be receiving 

$270,000 from the county of Pueblo, 

funding which was obtained through 

the taxation of marijuana sales in the 

county. The county granted the university 

$220,000 for medical marijuana 

research and another $50,000 to conduct 

four separate, economic impact studies. 

With near unanimous support from 

the state’s lawmakers both Democrat 

and Republican, Colorado’s Governor 

Hickenlooper signed Senate bill 191 allocating 

another $900,000 from the state’s 

marijuana tax fund to go to CSU Pueblo 

for further impact studies and research 

on marijuana. This infusion of research 

funds positions CSU Pueblo as the first 

regional four-year university in the country 

to conduct such a study. 

On the economic side, the study aims 

to see how the legalization of marijuana 

in Colorado is affecting local economies 

for better or worse. The impact studies 

will not only look at the direct economic 

benefits as in those to storefront 

dispensaries, but in particular it will 

look at how revenues raised through 

job creation and the sales of cannabis 

compare to the expenditures required in 

the regulation of those sales. It will also 

likely look at the cost-benefit analysis 

of legalization versus the costs involved 

with law enforcement and prosecution 

if it had remained an illegal substance. 

The study is also meant to look at 

the impact of resource usage in the 

production of marijuana including 

water and energy usages. 

Another stated objective of the study 

is to determine appropriate agricultural 

buffer zones for the production of marijuana 

crops. Pueblo County 

is interested in learning how 

far apart cannabis crops with 

low levels of THC, such as 

hemp, need to be from crops 

with high levels of THC to 

avoid cross-contamination. 

“This is a very welcome step 

by the DEA, which will only 

increase the amount of careful, 

rigorous research that universities 

undertake with regard to cannabis,” Rick 

Kreminski, provost and executive vice 

president at CSU-Pueblo, told The Pueblo 

Chieftain in August. 

Further studies of hemp production 

have been proposed Kreminski to look 

at the remedial affect to toxic soils that 

cannabis could provide. Kreminski has 

stated that hemp could potentially help 

“ 

ON THE ECONOMIC SIDE, THE 

STUDY AIMS TO SEE HOW THE 

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA 

IN COLORADO IS AFFECTING 

LOCAL ECONOMIES FOR 

BETTER OR WORSE. 

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“ 

THE LAWS PROHIBIT 

THE UNIVERSITY FROM 

ADMINISTERING MARIJUANA TO 

ANYONE; THEY CAN ONLY STUDY 

THOSE THAT SELF-IDENTIFY AS 

MARIJUANA USERS 

uptake heavy metals in the soil such as 

selenium, which can be problematic for 

many growers in that area of the country. 

He also discussed the opportunities the 

funds will allow for research into the 

engineering of different strains of hemp. 

Human health effects are to be examined 

as well. This side of the research 

is a little more difficult to draw concrete 

deductions from as currently without a 

Schedule I licence. The laws prohibit the 

university from administering marijuana 

to anyone; they can only study those that 

self-identify as marijuana users. Regardless, 

researchers at CSU hope to look 

at the benefits of medical marijuana on 

those who suffer from seizures for whom 

traditional medication is unable to help. 

They are able to administer cannabis 

to lab mice, however. Studies will be 

conducted on the neurological effects 

and how different brain cells of the mice 

interact with each other while under the 

influence of medical cannabis. 

Other health issues the 

university hopes to research include 

continued trials on the benefits of cannabis 

for sufferers of such diseases and 

afflictions as PTSD, glaucoma, Crohn’s 

disease and various cancers. In anticipation 

of state funds, CSU Pueblo 

president Lesley Di Mare has proposed 

the creation of the Institute of Cannabis 

Research. The first of its kind in the 

nation, the institute will be a multidisciplinary 

consortium of researchers 

and students looking at myriad effects of 

medical marijuana. The institute’s goals 

are to publish articles and host scholarly 

conferences about marijuana research. 

The state funds will help to create a 

peer-reviewed journal devoted to research 

on hemp production and medical 

cannabis usage. 

“It will bring positive light to this 

institution. That doesn’t mean that 

we are pro-recreational marijuana or 

pro-medical marijuana. We are proresearch,” 

Di Mare told reporters at 

The Pueblo Chieftain last August. 

Administrators at the university are 

hopeful that with the establishment of 

the institute, they can help to produce 

or foster the development of intellectual 

property surrounding medical marijuana 

and hemp. State lawmakers hope the 

infusion of funds to create this new institute 

will also help position the Colorado 

State University at Pueblo as a frontrunner 

in the research of cannabis, hemp 

and hemp oil. Patent development into 

procedure or engineering of cannabis 

would help the university, the region, the 

state and the industry as a whole. 

On a related note, a Colorado State 

University researcher recently raised 

more than $40,000 through a crowdfunding 

platform to be able to study the 

effects of long-term usage of medical 

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marijuana on sufferers of multiple 

sclerosis. The director of the Integrative 

Neurophysiology Lab at CSU, Thorsten 

Rudroff, will use the funds to compare 

motor functions and glucose intake 

of patients who use prescribed 

marijuana or those that self-medicate 

to individuals with MS who do not use 

or take any form of marijuana. 

This is not Colorado State University’s 

first foray in the field of cannabis 

research. Since the summer of 2015, 

CSU at Fort Collins and other locations 

including Yellow Jacket have been growing 

and experimenting with industrial 

hemp. In conjunction with the Colorado 

state department of agriculture, the 

Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, 

a function of CSU’s department of 

agriculture, is looking at what types of 

hemp seeds grow best in Colorado’s different 

microclimates. Colorado is one of 

roughly half of the states where hemp is 

legal to be grown commercially. 

The granting of these funds both by 

Pueblo County and the state of Colorado 

will help to add scholarships and clinically 

obtained data to the debate about 

marijuana as a viable pharmaceutical, 

agricultural crop and economic driver. 

As more states allow the legal use of either 

medicinal or recreational marijuana 

use, or for the production of industrial 

hemp and hemp-derived products, the 

more institutions such as Colorado State 

University and other non-profit research 

organizations will have access to funding 

and opportunities for further study. 

“ 

IT WILL BRING POSITIVE LIGHT 

TO THIS INSTITUTION. THAT 

DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE ARE 

PRO-RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA 

OR PRO-MEDICAL MARIJUANA. 

WE ARE PRO-RESEARCH 

Chris Bond is the manager of the 

McKay Farm and Research Station at 

Unity College in Maine. His research 

interests are with sustainable agriculture, 

biological pest control as well as 

alternative growing methods. He is a 

certified permaculture designer and 

certified nursery technician in Ohio and 

a certified nursery professional in New 

York, where he got his start in growing. 


myhydrolife.com

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Do We Need Cannabis Breathalyzers? 

Roadside breathalyzer tests for alcohol have been a useful 

tool for law enforcement to remove impaired drivers from 

our roads. Should similar measures be applied to drivers who 

take cannabis? Alex Rea explains why he doesn’t think so. 

by Alex Rea 

It’s no secret that cannabis is more 

available and its use is increasing. 

With increasing use of cannabis, governments, 

police and anti-drunk driving 

organizations are calling for strictly 

enforced low limits on cannabis use 

while driving. Numerous tech companies 

are rushing to develop roadside breathalyzer 

and testing technologies capable of 

identifying minute amounts of cannabis 

metabolites. The undeniable fact is that 

testing positive for THC is not the same 

as being impaired. Recent research has 

confirmed that specific drug levels cannot 

reliably indicate driver impairment. 

Caught up in the effort to curb drugged 

driving are the legitimate patients using 

cannabis to improve their lives. These 

patients are being put at risk of being 

criminalized with little evidence of harm 

to road users or themselves. States such 

as Washington and Colorado have set 

legal limits for concentration of THC in 

blood while driving. 

Many lives have been lost due to the 

impairment of alcohol while driving. 

Drinking and driving has been reduced 

in large part due to public-service efforts 

and strict enforcement of roadside alcohol 

testing. Perhaps that’s what makes 

roadside cannabis testing so appealing. 

The easy reaction is to equate alcohol 

and cannabis. Driving under the 

influence of alcohol leads to deaths 

in a straightforward and predictable 

way; the effects of alcohol lead to 

impairments in both decision making 

and motor skills. Evidence shows that 

alcohol leads drivers to drive faster and 

with less control and reaction time 

leading to dangerous consequences. 

The same cannot be said for 

cannabis. Research conducted by 

the NHTSA has concluded that when 

adjusting for other factors such as age 

and gender, THC presence alone poses 

no statistical increase in crashes. 

Breathalyzers work for alcohol 

because there is a consistent 

relationship between blood alcohol 

level, impairment and levels 

detected by the testing equipment. 

The relationship is so strong that these 

technologies have stood the test of 

litigation to prove to judges that beyond 

reasonable doubt, they are accurate. It’s 

easy to use the same logic of alcohol to 

apply to cannabis. 

The profits from the company that successfully 

produces a breathalyzer technology 

could be immense; the potential 

market could be every police jurisdiction 

with a legal limit or a will to root out 

cannabis users. The consensus has been 

that it is not a question of if but when we 

will introduce a roadside breathalyzer. 

As our society figures out how to deal 

with cannabis use on the roads, there is 

still a glaring question looming over this 

issue: are cannabis breathalyzers the 

only way to have safe roads? 

Before the use of Breath Alcohol 

Content testers, there was the field 

sobriety test; a simple test to help law 

enforcement determine if an individual’s 

cognitive and spacial perceptions are 

so impaired that driving is dangerous 

and therefore illegal. There is no way to 

have perfect road safety with no crashes, 

so there may be an argument for using 

traditional methods to judge impairment 

rather than a catch all limit which will 

criminalize people unjustifiably. 

The main issue with drug impairment 

testing is that it is a more complex 

chemical and neurological relationship 

than alcohol. Five nanograms of THC 

could have no effect or a strong effect 

depending on the user. An experienced 

medical user may be unaffected by 

such an amount and be a safer driver 

because they are not in pain. States are 

trying to set a limit on cannabis use to 

discourage impaired driving but there 

is little scientific evidence to support 

the use of a strict limit for any drug. 

The most reliable way to ascertain 

impairment is the traditional method 

of a field sobriety test (with reasonable 

grounds to conduct the investigation). 

The difficult yet logical conclusion is 

that a roadside breathalyzer may be an 

improper way to do policing. It may cost 

police forces too many resources, likely 

won’t improve public safety and would 

unnecessarily impact innocent drivers 

with legal costs and disruptions to life. 

Alex Rea is vice-president of Homegrown Hydroponics in Toronto, Ontario, and the 

co-founder of Phytomedical, a cannabis consulting clinic. As a patient, advocate and 

business person in the cannabis industry, Alex has a keen understanding of the political, 

economic and social hurdles that underpin cannabis as medicine in North America. 


myhydrolife.com

77

live live 

LOOSE 

LIPS 

SINK 

SHIPS: 

SECURING YOUR 

HOME GROW 

It is extremely important 

for cannabis growers to 

protect their gardens by 

implementing security 

measures. Cameras, audible 

alarms, canines and secrecy 

are all security measures that 

can aid in the protection of 

your cherished plants. 

by Lee G. Lyzit 

Apart from 

the countless 

lives that have been 

negatively affected, 

the United States’ failed 

war on drugs has created 

a distorted black market 

pricing structure for illegal 

substances. Although we 

are slowly seeing a shift in 

the way government and law 

enforcement view cannabis, 

the fact is that cannabis is still 

severely overvalued due to its 

illegal status in most states. Thieves 

and scoundrels who are constantly 

on the lookout for opportunities and 

vulnerabilities will gladly snatch up 

a valuable cannabis crop if given the 

chance. It is extremely important for 

cannabis growers to protect their gardens 

by implementing security measures. 

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PERSONAL SECURITY CAMERAS 

AND AUDIBLE ALARMS 

There are countless personal security 

products available for home or commercial 

use. Many cannabis growers 

choose this level of security because 

it is simple, effective and discreet. 

Multiple-camera security systems are 

affordable and can easily be linked to 

an online server so they can be monitored 

from anywhere. A camera system 

is great at identifying a thief and can 

even be used as evidence if the police 

get involved. The downside is that 

camera systems alone don’t necessarily 

stop the damage before it is done. If the 

plants are destroyed, they cannot be instantly 

replaced, regardless of the perpetrator 

being apprehended or not. This 

is where an audible alert system can 

come in handy. Audible alarm systems 

can be used as stand-alone systems or 

in conjunction with a security camera 

system. When there is a breech, an earsplitting 

alarm is sounded. A would-be 

thief is often deterred when there is a 

siren screaming from the premise. 

PROFESSIONAL 

SECURITY SYSTEMS 

Although not as commonly used as 

personal systems, a professional security 

system can be an effective way to deter 

thieves. Professional security systems 

can include cameras, alarms, motion 

sensors or a combination of these 

security measures. Professional security 

systems are monitored by a security 

company. Each company is a little 

different, but these systems are great for 

growers who are not in the same vicinity 

as their grow sites. If there is a problem, 

the security company will intervene or 

contact law enforcement to intervene. 

Most professional security systems are 

affordable and are set up so the grower 

pays a low monthly fee. 

ANIMAL PROTECTION 

Man’s best friend is surely worth 

mentioning when it comes to garden 

security. Most robbers will think twice 

before messing with Cujo. Guard 

dogs, especially ones trained for that 

purpose, can go a long way in garden 

security. Many professional cannabis 

growers have dog runs set up around 

the perimeter of the garden so that a 

thief would have to attempt to cross a 

moat of highly trained mutts. In most 

cases, just the sight of a big, snarly 

beast will send a burglar running with 

his tail between his legs. 

LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS 

The old phrase, “loose lips sink ships” that 

originated during World War II couldn’t be 

more true for cannabis growers. In other 

words, don’t show anyone or talk to anyone 

about your garden. I have seen novice 

growers make this mistake time and time 

again. Many new growers are excited. 

They want to show all their friends and tell 

anyone who will listen. Stop it! The most 

effective and important security measure 

any cannabis grower can implement is 

to not talk about the garden. Remember 

the first rule of Fight Club: You do not talk 

about the fight club. If cannabis growers 

took this rule seriously, they would greatly 

reduce their chances of being burglarized. 

In most cases, a cannabis heist is done by 

a “friend” or colleague. It is as simple as 

this: you can’t steal what you don’t know is 

there. The best way to keep your cannabis 

plants safe is to refrain from showing 

anyone or telling anyone about them. 

“THIEVES AND SCOUNDRELS WHO ARE 

CONSTANTLY ON THE LOOKOUT FOR 

OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES 

WILL GLADLY SNATCH UP A VALUABLE 

CANNABIS CROP IF GIVEN THE CHANCE.” 

LIGHTS AND ODORS 

This should be more common sense than 

an actual security measure, but it is 

important to make sure the garden appears 

normal to the public eye. If a glowing light 

or strong odor is emitting from a building, 

chances are good that someone will notice. 

Always be sure your lights are contained 

and you treat odors with a carbon filter or 

other odor-neutralizing devices. 

For new growers, it can be difficult to 

perceive the gravity of good security 

measures. After spending a lot of money on 

growroom equipment, not to mention the 

time it takes to grow plants to maturity, the 

last thing you want is a crook to come in 

and snatch up your hard work. Cameras, 

audible alarms, canines and secrecy 

are all security measures that can aid in 

the protection of your cherished plants. 

Whether you are a commercial cannabis 

grower or a hobbyist medical marijuana 

enthusiast, implementing adequate garden 

security can mean the difference between 

profitable yields and utter devastation. 

Lee G. Lyzit has been involved 

in the medical cannabis industry 

for nearly 15 years. His passion 

for natural healing drives him to 

learn as much as he can about 

the cannabis plant. Lee breeds 

his own strains of cannabis to 

create concentrated glycerine 

and coconut oil extracts. Aside 

from cannabis education and 

consumption, Lee enjoys playing 

music, gardening, hiking and 

cross-country skiing.alternative 

growing methods. 


enjoy 

RISE 

Why More Cannabis Greenhouses are 

CROPPING UP 

Traditional greenhouses have presented challenges for cannabis 

growers that include security and environment control. Hybrid 

greenhouse technology is changing that, filling the niche 

between indoor and outdoor grows. Lindsey Schiller 

explains why cannabis growers now have another option. 

by Lindsey Schiller 

photos courtesy of 

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions 

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“UNTIL RECENTLY, 

cannabis growers 

faced two choices 

for housing a grow 

operation: indoor 

or outdoor.” 

Imagine the perfect cannabis growing 

environment–high light intensity, 

precisely controlled environment, CO 2- 

rich air, automated systems, minimal 

energy usage…this is the holy grail 

for many cannabis growers, and with 

advances in greenhouse technology it is 

one that is now within reach. 

Until recently, cannabis growers 

faced two choices for housing a grow 

operation: indoor or outdoor. Outdoor 

growers commonly tout the higher 

yields and lower costs of growing 

at larger scales under natural light. 

Indoor growers swear by the added 

climate control afforded by an enclosed 

environment where light, temperature, 

CO 2 

and airflow can be controlled with 

the punch of a button. 

As a category, greenhouses occupy 

a middle ground on this spectrum. 

However, until recently, standard 

greenhouse structures presented their 

own challenges for cannabis growers. 

Advances in greenhouse design and 

technology are changing that, allowing 

greenhouses to provide the best of both 

worlds: both natural lighting and a 

precisely controlled indoor environment. 

SHEDDING LIGHT ON 

TRADITIONAL GREENHOUSES 

Though artificial lights are becoming 

more efficient, it is still hard, if not 

impossible, to compete with the giant 

free lamp in the sky. On a clear day, 

indoor light levels in a greenhouse are 

in the range of 1,000-1,500 micromoles/ 

m2/second. That wordy unit describes 

of the amount light that plants use, 

called PAR light, hitting a surface at a 

single point in time. In comparison, light 

intensity one meter away from a 1,000- 

W HPS lamp is in the range of 500-800 

micromoles/m2/second. Light intensity 

under a 400-W HPS lamp is only 200-400 

micromoles/m2/second. 

In short, natural light usually dwarfs 

artificial lights in its intensity. It’s 

also full-spectrum, providing all the 

wavelengths plants use. But most 

importantly, it’s free. By not having to 

run lights 12-18 hours a day, greenhouse 

growers dramatically reduce the costs 

of year-round cannabis production. 

Though estimates vary, most analysts 

predict a greenhouse will save 50-90 

per cent in energy costs compared to an 

indoor growroom. 

So why not greenhouses? Historically, 

the top reason has been our legal system 

and the underground nature of the crop. 

Greenhouses have traditionally been 

seen as less secure and durable than an 

opaque metal warehouse. Greenhouses 

have been seen as more difficult 

environments to control compared 

to enclosed growrooms. Standard 

greenhouses are constructed out of thin, 

uninsulated materials, making them 

more prone to temperature fluctuations. 

With natural light comes natural heat, 

and in sunny climates like Colorado, 

greenhouses can potentially overheat. 

To control overheating and humidity 

levels, commercial greenhouses are 

heavily ventilated. Constantly flushing 

the greenhouse with outdoor air 

increases exposure to pests, diseases 

and pathogens, making it more akin to 

an outdoor farm than indoor growroom. 

Another recent risk is airborne hemp 

pollen. If a greenhouse is in the 

vicinity of outdoor hemp grows, pollen 

can enter through vents or fans and 

pollinate flowering crops. The result is 

hermaphroditic, or seeded, cannabis 

that loses much of its value. 

Greenhouses also experience variable 

light levels. A heavily overcast day, for 

example, typically has only 10 per cent 

of the light compared to a clear sunny 

day. If growing year-round, a greenhouse 

normally requires supplemental lighting 

and light deprivation systems to achieve 

the right photoperiod. 


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Let’s step back for a moment to 

differentiate between greenhouse 

strategies. Many cannabis greenhouses 

are seasonal; they provide added 

protection for a crop during the normal 

outdoor season, but close down over 

winter. Other growers use greenhouses 

to achieve year-round production 

for vegetative or flowering crops, or 

supplement part of a larger year-round 

operation. In many cases, a grower may 

use a growroom for cloning and as a 

veg room, and then move plants to the 

greenhouse for the flowering stage. 

Controlling the photoperiod for 

flowering crops requires both 

supplemental lighting and light 

deprivation systems. Artificial 

lights extend the short days of the 

winter, and light dep systems allow 

for a 12-hour photoperiod during 

long summer days. Some growers 

note that adding a light dep system 

increases the cash outlay for a 

greenhouse compared to growroom. 

However, due to the avoided costs 

of running lights, it is one that is 

quickly recouped. 

“MOST HYBRID 

greenhouses can 

be rated for any 

wind load or snow 

load, making them 

well-suited for 

growers in harsh 

winter climates.” 

Overall, greenhouses have often been 

seen as a more natural growing method, 

but one that sacrifices some control over 

the growing environment. 

THE NEXT WAVE 

OF GREENHOUSES: 

HYBRID STRUCTURES 

To accommodate for these drawbacks, 

a new variation of greenhouse has 

emerged. Part warehouse, part 

greenhouse, hybrid greenhouses 

combine insulated walls with standard 

glazed roofs. From the outside, the 

greenhouse looks like a warehouse 

and is nearly as secure. Constructed 

with metal framing, they are also as 

durable as a standard commercial 

building. Most 

hybrid greenhouses 

can be rated for 

any wind load or 

snow load, making 

them well-suited for 

growers in harsh 

winter climates. 

Beyond security 

and durability, 

hybrid structures 

are far more 

energy efficient 

than standard 

greenhouses. An 

insulated wall 

typically has an 

R-value of 10- 

20. Most glazing 

materials, in 

comparison, have 

an R-value of less 

than two. Replacing glazing with a 

durable, insulated structure creates a 

vastly more energy-efficient structure 

and more stable temperatures for 

year-round production. 

For these reasons, hybrid greenhouses 

are emerging as a new niche in the 

spectrum of growing options–one that 

is more high-tech and controlled than a 

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standard greenhouse, but still relies on natural light. 

Some growers are taking this one step further and 

completely enclosing the indoor environment. Sealed 

greenhouses are an emerging trend that allows 

for even greater control over climate conditions. 

These structures reduce or eliminate ventilation, 

so the crops are not constantly exposed to foreign 

contaminants like molds and pests from outside. 

Dehumidifiers, heat exchangers, or energy-efficient 

heating and cooling systems control the climate, 

providing air circulating and a CO 2-rich environment 

without ventilation. 

Adding to this, growers are integrating new lighting 

technologies to create consistent light levels and 

a precisely controlled photoperiod. Innovative 

lighting and control technologies can respond to 

outdoor conditions, only supplementing as much 

light as needed. For example, on a cloudy day, a 

sensor detects the light levels in the greenhouse. If 

below peak intensity, controls automatically turn 

on supplemental lighting, but automated dimmers 

only turn lights on as much as needed. In this way, 

greenhouse growers can take advantage of natural 

sunlight as much as possible while still ensuring 

consistent peak intensity lighting, eliminating one 

more disadvantage of the greenhouse grow. 

“HIGH-TECH greenhouses now sit squarely in 

the middle between the indoor and outdoor 

grow, blending the best of both worlds.” 

Other technologies involve motors that 

automatically raise and lower lights to provide 

intense lighting when they are on, and minimize 

shading when the lights are off. Finally, automated 

light deprivation systems seal tightly to the 

greenhouse frame, creating 100 per cent blackout 

conditions equivalent to an indoor growroom. 

With these advances, high-tech greenhouses now 

sit squarely in the middle between the indoor and 

outdoor grow, blending the best of both worlds 

while eliminating many of the sacrifices of each. 

As growers continue to demand more controlled, 

automated, efficient and durable structures, hybrid 

greenhouses will certainly be here to stay. Moreover, 

they will evolve along with the industry, carving out 

a significant niche in the spectrum of structures, and 

inching growers one step closer to that perfect grow. 

86 


Lindsey Schiller studied at the University of Arizona’s 

Controlled Environment Agriculture Center before 

delving into sustainable greenhouse design after she 

moved to Colorado. In 2011, she co-founded Ceres 

Greenhouse Solutions to enable people to design and 

build their own sustainable, year-round greenhouses. 

She writes extensively on greenhouse technology and 

year-round growing through the Ceres blog. She is 

also the author of The Year-Round Solar Greenhouse: 

How to Design and Build a Net-Zero Energy 

Greenhouse (New Society Publishers). 

myhydrolife.com


enjoy 

RIDING THE 

Taking advantage of the blossoming legal 

cannabis industry in the United States can seem 

like a pipe dream at times given the numerous 

rules and regulations that must be followed 

to be successful. Enter cannabis compliance 

software company, MJ Freeway, which makes 

tracking software that ensures every gram and 

dollar is accounted for. Owners Amy Poinsett 

and Jessica Billingsley chat with Hydrolife about 

how they are helping thousands of cannabis 

business owners sleep better at night. 

BY JENN MCGARRIGLE 


myhydrolife.com

The laws and regulations governing the growing medicinal 

cannabis industry are complex and ever-changing, and 

navigating them requires lots of diligence and hard work. 

Luckily for cannabis business owners, the tech geniuses have 

stepped in with software solutions for marijuana producers, 

processors, infused product manufacturers and retailers. 

Amy Poinsett and Jessica Billingsley, owners of Coloradobased 

MJ Freeway, were both managing separate information 

technology and development firms in Telluride, Colorado, 

when they decided to open their own company together in 2010. 

Poinsett’s background includes directing technology 

development teams in software application design and 

research analysis in the financial, luxury tourism and 

medical technology industries. Billingsley’s experience 

was in building and managing very successful technology 

operations—prior to co-founding MJ Freeway, she was the 

founder, owner, director, COO and CEO of companies with 

revenues exceeding $11 million. 

“We founded MJ Freeway because we knew we had the 

skills to create a technology solution that would enable 

the legal cannabis industry to grow successfully and help 

business owners achieve their goals,” explains Poinsett. 

“Seed-to-sale compliance tracking makes it possible for 

governments to regulate cannabis and ensure public, 

patient and product safety. And our additional software tools 

and services help business owners accelerate their growth 

while achieving operational efficiencies.” 

On top of having the tech skills needed to create this kind of 

software, it’s an industry the pair believe in and truly want to 

help, adds Billingsley. “We believe in cannabis’s medicinal 

value and we believe that people who need access to 

medicine should have it,” she says. 


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“ 

We founded MJ Freeway 

because we knew we had the 

skills to create a technology 

solution that would enable the 

legal cannabis industry to grow 

successfully and help business 

owners achieve their goals.” 

MJ Freeway’s tracking and reporting systems include GrowTracker, 

MixTracker, GramTracker and MJ Mobile, which provide accurate, 

real-time data to cultivators, infused product producers, dispensaries 

and collectives. They ensure every gram and dollar is accounted for 

throughout the entire chain of custody process. 

In addition to these software systems, MJ Freeway offers consulting 

services that help business owners in the application and operation of 

their products, professional marketing advice, and access to essential 

materials and supplies for the regulated cannabis industry, including 

packaging, product labels and hardware. 

MJ Freeway’s Tips for Building 

an Extraction Operation 

• Do your research! Know what is required 

by your state. 

• Be sure to develop relationships with 

your local fire department and other 

community agencies to get the proper 

licences and permits. 

•Understand zoning and secure a 

location that both the city 

and state have approved. 

• Find a space that can be easily 

modified as the extraction 

process is constantly evolving. 

• Seek out a team or consultant with prior expertise who can 

help you make the best decisions for your business. 


myhydrolife.com

Leaf Data Systems is the company’s regulatory 

solution, which combines compliance data from 

all licensed cannabis businesses in a state 

or municipality, giving regulators improved 

visibility into operations. The system offers full 

cannabis life cycle tracking and is customized 

based on differing state requirements to provide 

an efficient and easy-to-use solution. 

The company’s growth and innovative technologies 

led to Poinsett and Billingsley being featured 

in Cannabis Now’s Eight Cannabis Entrepreneurs 

to Watch in 2014. MJ Freeway was also included in 

Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual list of 100 Brilliant 

Companies and the company was listed in The Inc. 

5,000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. 

Amy demonstrating how MJ Freeway works. 

✔ Do the right thing 

✔ Show people that you care 

✔ Be part of the solution 

Why are thousands of businesses choosing 

MJ Freeway products? 

“Our seed-to-sale tracking system helps improve 

business workflow, tracks inventory, guarantees 

compliance, and manages customer and patient 

data,” explains Poinsett. “Each suite supports 

the entire marijuana production and distribution 

process from seed to sale. We guarantee state and 

federal compliance by providing intuitive tools to 

manage the entire process while controlling costs 

and maximizing efficiency.” 

If staying on top of state and federal rules, and running 

a more efficient business are two major goals 

for you, check out mjfreeway.com for more details. 

Jenn McGarrigle is a writer, editor, gardener, 

mountain biker and nature lover who has lived on the 

West Coast all her life. When she’s not telling stories 

and helping people get the word out about the 

exciting things they do and why they do them, you’ll 

find her on the trails or in her garden. 

4 Questions with Amy and Jessica 

What are some of the struggles and challenges you’ve 

experienced so far? 

Amy: At one point, we thought growth would be something we 

could easily handle, even embrace, but scaling our employee base, 

infrastructure and reach has proven to be more challenging and 

demanding than we anticipated. Managing growth requires the 

right infrastructure, partners and people. And scaling for growth is 

a job within itself. What we learned is our customers are facing the 

same challenges and opportunities with their growth, and we are 

developing next-generation products to solve those challenges. 

How do you support your clients? 

Jessica: Our software is powerful and flexible, which means it 

can support a variety of business models and business processes, 

whether it is an established business or a concept still to be 

executed. Our Implementation Package, which comes with each 

subscription purchase, is eight hours of custom software and 

hardware set-up. 

Any advice for new business owners? 

Amy: Build a strong foundation by establishing a banking 

relationship for day-to-day needs, hiring qualified staff from labor 

talent pools and completing a SWOT analysis to identify your 

greatest weaknesses and develop a long-term strategy. Choose 

a software partner that is best for your operation and business 

needs, and train your employees. Formalize your business 

operations with employee handbooks, workflow diagrams, internal 

controls, inventory and cash control processes, standard operating 

procedures, etc. Partner with people you trust, develop a formal 

marketing plan and, most importantly, enjoy it! 

How do you spend time outside the office? 

Amy: I’m a dive master and fine arts painter. 

Jessica: I’m an Ashtanga yoga practitioner and rock climber. 


enjoy 

by Watermelon 

A FOOL OF MYSELF 

A Cannabis Culinary Column 

Cookies are Sweet. 

Victory is Sweeter. 

Her days on Wreck Beach selling watermelon and ginger snap cookies were easy before her arrest. 

Then came the difficult days before a judge. In her latest column, Watermelon explains how she 

fought the law and won. She also shares the recipe that got her into trouble in the first place. 

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“ 

WHY WOULD I willingly 

let them label me a criminal 

when clearly I am not?” 

In my last column, I told you all about getting arrested on a 

nude beach for allegedly trafficking ginger snap cookies. 

The comedy ensues. I am told to get dressed and taken to the 

police station where I am stripped searched. They wanted to 

know if I had anything “dangerous down there.” Hilarious? 

(Not right away though.) 

My cookies are stamped Exhibit A. I am photographed in 

the best pin-up pose I could muster at the time. Big smile 

on my tear-stained face. Arms at an angle behind my head. 

My hips slightly askew. Then finger prints, a phone call to 

a random lawyer, some yoga in the cold steel cell, and my 

eventual release on a promise to appear. 

In order to charge me with trafficking gingersnap cookies 

they had to send those cookies to a lab to be tested. I 

was charged initially with Possession for the Purpose 

of Trafficking. But trafficking what? Ginger snaps? The 

test results came in and I was charged with trafficking in 

cannabis ‘resin’, which obviously seemed suspect because 

there was no resin in Exhibit A. Then off to trial we go. Not 

one, not two, but three separate trials. 

I was getting arrested a lot in those days. 

After careful cross-examination of the Crown Prosecutors’ 

lab technician, it was discovered the only reason I was 

being charged with trafficking in cannabis resin was 

because Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at that time 

said if no defining botanical features of the marijuana 

plant can be seen but cannabinoids are present, they 

automatically call it cannabis resin. 

My lawyer, John Conroy, brought in a cannabinoid scientist 

named Dr. David Pate. The good doctor suggested on the 

stand that there is no actual resin in the cookie sample. With 

some scientific prodding, the Crown’s lab guy had to agree. I 

asked my lawyer to propose if it’s possible I put hemp seeds 

or hemp oil in my cookies. Would cannabinoids still be present? 

The Crown’s witness agrees again. 

Turns out there are lots of cannabinoids. Not all are 

illegal. They would need to isolate them in cookie batter 

to prove which ones are prosecutable. Then they would 

need to weigh that measurement and find out how severe 

my sentence should be. 

In Canadian law at that time, 30 grams or under of 

cannabis marijuana carried a lesser sentence than over 

30 grams. One gram of hash (a.k.a. cannabis resin) carried 

a lesser sentence than over one gram. Yes. One gram! 

Implying resin is 30 times stronger than marijuana and 

should be treated as such during sentencing. 

At the time, they could not prove origin of source 

or quantify measurements. They simply tested 

for cannabinoids and if those were present SOP 

says you automatically charged a person with 

trafficking in cannabis resin. When botanical 

features can be identified you charge them with 

trafficking in cannabis marijuana. 

In the end everyone agreed I was charged 

with the wrong thing, therefore I had not 

committed the crime I was charged with. 

Finally, to my great relief, for the third 

time, I heard that gloriously freeing word: 

Acquitted. The gavel drops, curtains close, 

and the comedy show is over. 

Before any of this happened, of course, I was 

offered multiple plea bargains. Almost threatened 

to plea bargain. But I refused adamantly. 

I wanted someone to look me in the face while 

they were giving me a criminal record. All for some 

delicious, well-made ginger snap cookies. I was then 

and I still am a hard-working, well-respected woman in 

my community. Why would I willingly let them label me a 

criminal when clearly I am not? 

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Most cases around this time got plea bargained out. 

Hardly any cannabis charges even went to trial. I was the 

first to test the waters in court on edibles and this is what 

we discover. We punched a lot of holes in this aspect of law 

and demonstrated a lot of flaws. Flaws that cost people 

their freedom. Their dignity. Their savings. Their jobs. 

Never plea bargaining is a great tool for modern 

cannabis activists. We all want our day in court, and I am 

perfectly willing to go again one day. It is a great place to 

be active. If you are successful there, you’re successful to 

marijuana lovers everywhere. 

If nobody plea bargains, all those cases go to court. In 

court, the Crown must assert the law you broke and then 

prove those allegations against you. In other words, you 

don’t have to prove your innocence, they have to prove you 

are guilty. The laws on cannabis are so perforated with 

inconsistencies, at least where I live, that I do not think 

anyone really knows the laws on cannabis as they are 

written. The grey area continues to widen. 

So, when real cases go to court, they tend to demonstrate 

constitutional discrepancies. The government is then 

asked to re-script the law to comply with the constitution 

or abolish it. So demand your day in court should you get 

charged with loving our favorite green leafy vegetable. 

With that I would like to share with you my criminally 

delicious ginger snap cookie recipe. Cookies are sweet. 

Victory is sweeter. 

“ 

WE PUNCHED a lot of holes 

in this aspect of law and 

demonstrated a lot of flaws.” 

Ginger Snaps 

Ingredients: 

3/4 C oil 

20 g shake flour 

1 C brown sugar 

4 tsp molasses 

1 egg 

2 C flour 

2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp ginger 

1 tsp cloves 

Steps: 

• Pre-heat oven 

to 350°F. 

• Sauté oil and shake 

flour on low heat for 

30 minutes. 

Let cool slightly. 

• Combine all dry 

ingredients. 

• In a bowl, mix 

molasses, sugar, 

shake oil and egg. 

• Add dry ingredients 

and mix well. 

• Form into small 

balls and roll in 

white sugar. 

• Bake at 350˚F for 

12-15 minutes. 

• Store in air-tight 

container. 

To see Watermelon in action, check her out on YouTube. Baked: 

Cooking with Mary Jean is a special show that features one 

special ingredient: cannabis! Follow Watermelon, a.k.a. Mary 

Jean Dunsdon, on Twitter @weeddiva to never miss an episode, 

or sign up for updates at potent.media. 


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TRICK-OR-TREAT 

IT’S CANNAWEEN! 

by Lacey Macri 

Halloween isn’t just for 

kids, anymore. More 

and more, adults are 

partaking in grown-up 

treats on the scariest 

night of the year. 

Lacey Macri provides 

a twist on tradition 

for qualified medical 

marijuana patients. 

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Just because you aren’t a child doesn’t mean you can’t indulge 

on Halloween. On that same note, always make sure 

your cannabis-infused edibles are stored in a safe place out of 

reach of children and pets. Try these top five rated treats on 

a night in when you aren’t operating vehicles or machinery 

so that you can simply relax and enjoy all of the 

fruits of what infusion progressives have to offer. 

HI-FI CHOCOLATE BARS: BEST BANG 

FOR YOUR BUCK 

The marriage of chocolate and medical 

marijuana is by no means a new 

combination. This year, finding 

the absolute best cannabis-infused 

chocolate bar is at the forefront of 

every canna-trick-or-treater’s Halloween 

priorities. The Hi-Fi chocolate bar series is 

undeniably awesome. Ranging in donations 

from $10-$20, you can walk home from your 

local collective with one of these 200 milligram 

bars that may likely be enough to 

last you the whole week, depending on 

your tolerance. With this particular 

bar, I can’t emphasize the concept 

of tolerance enough. Do not 

underestimate the strength of 

these bars based on their 

superb flavor. It is quite 

possible that you will mistake 

these bars for a canna-free candy 

because they are so perfectly 

blended for optimal flavor. The Hi-Fi 

200 milligram bars are split into four 

sections, each as 50 milligram servings. I 

would not recommend eating more than one 

square at a time until becoming more familiar 

with your tolerance as it relates to this specific 

edible. The Hi-Fi chocolate bars are 

both a trick and a treat in one delicious 

crudite, so tread lightly and enjoy. 

FLAMING HOT WEETOS: THE 

MUST-HAVE GUILTY PLEASURE 

The ultimate munchies are now available 

in a cannabis-infused version of one 

of America’s favorite snacks: Flaming Hot 

Weetos. Available in three-ounce packages at 

a strength of 150 milligrams THC combined with 

1.8 milligrams CBD, this might be your best bet for 

a post-supper snack that will satisfy your craving for 

junk food while simultaneously medicating. You will 

notice a mild hint of cannabis in your first few bites, but 

the spicy seasoning helps to mask the pungent flavor and 

aroma of the medicine. The nutrition facts report that there are 

approximately three servings per package, so be careful not to 

scarf down the whole bag at once if it is your first time trying. 

If you want to save your Weetos for later, they stay relatively 

fresh if the bag is clipped and stored in the refrigerator up 

to a few weeks, surprisingly. 

AWAKENING MINTS: FOR GUYS 

AND GALS ON THE GO 

Dixie Elixirs’ line of mints is the quick fix 

in the crowd. If you feel an oncoming 

headache, nausea, back pain, or mild 

“You will notice 

a mild hint of 

cannabis in your 

first few bites, 

but the spicy seasoning helps to 

mask the pungent 

flavor and aroma 

of the medicine. ” 

sense of mental or physical discomfort of any kind, these mints 

will help take the edge off while allowing you to remain alert 

throughout the day. Available in five- or 10-milligram tablets 

in the Awakening, Relaxing and Synergy formulas, there 

is something for every qualified MMJ patient. Although 

the packaging is somewhat reminiscent of birth 

control pills, it is also very functional. This discrete 

packaging approach makes it easy to medicate 

in public for those who have obtained their 

scripts so as not to alarm those of a different 

lifestyle. If you are new to MMJ, this may 

be a good place to start, as the effects 

are mild and the doses are light. 

COUSIN ANDY’S HARD 

CANDY BUTTONS: THE 

NIGHTCAP REFRESHER 

Cousin Andy’s catalog continues to grow, for 

those who are inclined to partake. These affordable 

hard candy buttons make a perfect 

refreshment for the middle of the day 

or for an after-dinner nightcap when 

added to your favorite non-alcoholic, 

carbonated beverage. There is 

a very mild trace of cannabis 

flavor when eaten as a hard 

candy, but if you are fizzing 

it out in a drink, it becomes 

even more difficult to detect. 

At 50 milligrams per button, this 

is a perfect dose for those who have 

some experience with MMJ, but aren’t 

looking for serious symptom management 

on a per serving basis. Enjoy it with a 

hearty meal for the perfect balancing act. 

CHEEBA CHEWS: 

CUT TO THE CHASE 

For those looking for a medication that 

has the ability to alleviate even the 

most severe symptoms, Cheeba 

Chews take the cake for strongest 

medicinal value in a small-package 

size. Each standard chew contains at 

least 70 milligrams of medicine, some 

being pure THC or CBD, and others offering 

a hybrid between the two. Because they are 

basically the size of a Tootsie roll, it is hard to split 

them up into multiple servings. If you are unsure 

about your tolerance, try taking a bite of one before 

swallowing it whole. These powerful bites are perfect for 

sleep deprived individuals or those who experience severe 

pain. The manufacturer has also released a new line of recreational 

cannabis edibles in select locations that offer milder 

doses for a gentler delivery. Cheeba Chews offer 11 different 

products in 800-plus dispensaries and have won three Cannabis 

Cup awards, so you know it’s got to be the good stuff. 

Lacey Macri works as head of sales at CleanGrow, focusing her 

time on business development within the company. She received 

a bachelor’s degree in communications and psychology from the 

University of California-Davis, where she worked at the California 

Aggie student newspaper on campus. 


y Gibson Lannister 

ADIAM 

BLACK WEDDING 

Swedish-born, Berlin-based 

artist Adiam is stunning 

everyone with her first fulllength 

album Black Wedding. 

She is a musical bumblebee 

collecting honey from many 

flowers, creating something 

new. Black Wedding is 

transfixing and memorable; 

it’s an experience from 

beginning to end. 

5 

AGES & AGES 

SOMETHING TO RUIN 

Chilled out indie pop rockers 

Ages & Ages remain at the 

forefront of their craft with 

their third album Something 

To Ruin. The band’s raw 

choral sound causes an 

unrelenting desire to sing out 

loud. Spark one up and sing 

along, won’t you? 

4.5 

LAUREN MANN 

DEARESTLY 

After a four-year hiatus, 

Canadian singer/songwriter 

Lauren Mann surprised her 

fans with an incredible followup 

to her critically acclaimed 

debut album. With Dearestly, 

Lauren has dropped the 

extended moniker “& the Fairly 

Odd Folk”, keeping things 

simple. Dearestly is a true 

masterpiece and will hopefully 

be recognized as such. 

5 

Gibson Lannister has 

been a musician for 

more than 15 years and 

continues to expand his 

knowledge of theory 

and technique. 

OH PEP! 

STADIUM CAKE 

Australian folk-pop duo Oh 

Pep! have released their 

debut LP Stadium Cake, and 

it is awesome! Far-reaching 

and relentlessly catchy, Oh 

Pep! deliver in a way that 

progresses and expands the 

genre. We all deserve music 

like this in our lives. 

4.5 

POLYMATH 

PLYMTH 

Pol-y-math // noun – a person 

of wide-ranging knowledge or 

learning. PLYMTH is the debut 

EP of alternative electronic 

group POLYMATH. They are 

a musical collective centered 

around two permanent 

members: Logan Carroll and 

Tanner Corley. PLYMTH is 

bright and shiny, the way 

something new should be. 

4.5 

TERRA LIGHTFOOT 

EVERY TIME MY MIND 

RUNS WILD 

Terra Lightfoot is my new 

rock and roll hero! There 

is something astoundingly 

potent about Every Time My 

Mind Runs Wild. Terra dips 

her toes in a bit of everything: 

rock, folk, soul, country and 

blues. I can only imagine how 

good her live shows must be. 

4.5 

98 


myhydrolife.com

Hydrolife Magazine October/November 2016 (USA Edition)

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