Hydrolife Magazine October/November 2017 [USA Edition]

grow. heal. learn. enjoy. 

OCT/NOV 2017 // USA 

DECIPHERING 

TERPENES 

CLIMATE BATTERY | POTCOIN | INFUSIONS | TOPICAL CBD

A MATCH MADE 

IN HEAVEN 

THE FUTURE OF ROLLINGTM

SHRED 3 POUNDS IN 2 SECONDS 

WITH THE FUTUROLA SHREDDER 

FILL 100 PRE-ROLLED CONES IN 2 MINUTES 

WITH THE FUTUROLA KNOCKBOX 2

inside 

10 our crew / 12 from the publisher / 14 grow it / 16 ask a grower / 18 own it / 44 consultant's corner / 46 cut and dried / 106 the chill list 

grow. 

20 Using a Climate Battery 

26 Cannabis Light Schedules 

30 Popcorn Buds 

32 Summit Research 

heal. 

48 Finding a Dispensary 

54 Cannabis Use and Memory Loss 

58 Northern Specialty Health 

60 Topical CBD Treatments 

38 Knalysis Technologies 

42 Pesticides in Concentrates 

8 


myhydrolife.com

learn. 

66 GOP on Pot 

74 Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Harvest 

76 Potcoin 

enjoy. 

82 Deciphering Terpenes 

90 Maya Elisabeth 

94 Cannabis Infusions 

100 Cannabis Weddings 

104 Baking a Fool of Myself 

myhydrolife.com grow. heal. learn. enjoy. 9

our crew 

Chris Bond 

August Dunning 

Kent Gruetzmacher 

Rich Hamilton 

Cory Hughes 

Stephen Keen 

Gibson Lannister 

Kent Gruetzmacher 

Grubbycup 

Lee G. Lyzit 

Jodi McDonald 

Medicine Man Technologies 

Mary Schumacher 

Lindsey Schiller 

Watermelon 

October/November 2017 

volume 7 - number 2 

Published by 

Hydrolife Magazine 

3773 Howard Hughes Parkway 

South Tower, Suite 500 

Las Vegas, Nevada 89169 

Inquiries to 

editor@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 Canada 

Distribution 

P.A.I.N. Distribution | 310.488.1911 

magazinedistribution.org 

10 


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from the publisher 

12 

With about half of the American population living 

in a state where some form of marijuana is legal, 

and Canada set to legalize adult-use recreational 

marijuana in July 2018, it goes without saying that 

there has been a sea change in political will around 

the world regarding weed. 

For this issue of Hydrolife, writer August Dunning 

caught a few waves with Congressman Dana 

Rohrabacher (Rep., California), then sat down with him 

to discuss his role at the federal level on defending 

cannabis. The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment 

(formerly the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment) says that all 

federal agencies, not just the justice department 

or internal revenue, are required to obey 

the laws enacted in the states that have 

legalized cannabis. It means that the 

internal revenue service, banking… 

all normal services for legal 

business must be provided and 

protected in that state with 

no exceptions, like any 

business that follows the 

rules and regulations 

of that state. It’s an 

amazing show of 

support from a 

politician with 

such close ties to 

President Trump and 

Attorney General 

Jeff Sessions. 

Dunning’s Q&A with 

Rohrabacher can be 

found on page 70. 


On Sept. 7, however, after Rohrabacher and 

Dunning sat down, the House Rules Committee 

blocked the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer 

amendment. It’s a big setback, and a decision 

that leaves the marijuana industry in America 

very vulnerable to federal prosecution. It is also 

a threat to those who rely on medical marijuana 

to ease their ailments. 

In a co-written statement, Rohrabacher 

and Blumenauer said, “By blocking our 

amendment, Committee leadership is putting 

at risk the millions of patients who rely on 

medical marijuana for treatment, as well as 

the clinics and businesses that support them. 

This decision goes against the will of the 

American people, who overwhelmingly oppose 

federal interference with state marijuana laws. 

These critical protections are supported by 

a majority of our colleagues on both sides of 

the aisle. There’s no question: If a vote were 

allowed, our amendment would pass on the 

House floor, as it has several times before.” 

Interestingly, a recent poll says 61 per cent of 

Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana, 

while in Canada there is a sharp division 

with just 51 per cent of people in favor. Still, 

Canada looks to be moving ahead with federal 

legislation despite its own obstacles, including 

working its way out of a longstanding United 

Nations treaty. Medicine Man Technologies has 

the mechanics of how that will work on page 44. 

Despite the uncertainty, the world of marijuana 

is moving ahead. It will be interesting to see 

what 2018 brings. 

“IT GOES without saying that there 

has been a sea change in political will 

around the world regarding weed.” 

myhydrolife.com 

ROW. HEAL. LEARN. ENJOY.

grow it 

2 

1 

3 

grow it 

1. Summit Research Tech’s SPD-4 

MPD (modified path distillation) 

is here to change the way we see 

distillation apparatuses. This all-new 

short-path technology is tailored for 

high efficiency/speed second pass 

refinement. A new SOP includes 

heads for the head section, main body 

section, refinement pass, and refining 

tails portions. The first path is isolated 

from all glassware, joints, jackets, etc. 

It starts in the flask to achieve ultimate 

heat conductivity. Instead of using 

the e-vigoreux section and design, 

it uses a baffled section where the 

vacuum-encased key sits. This first path 

offers a much higher throughput with 

a variance of how theoretical plates 

work with this new technology. The 

second path is isolated and used for 

upper refinement. Where they join is 

a discharge and rejection section that 

isolates both paths. The one-of-a-kind 

dual vapor paths with independent 

sections each offer unprecedented 

technological improvements. 

—summit-research.tech 

2. Royal Gold's Coco-based Soils 

has been leading the coco fiber 

revolution for over a decade now. 

With their continued improvements 

in production technology and 

increase in already trend-setting 

quality control standards, there 

has never been a better time to 

grow with the Gold. Leading the 

charge and changing the indoor 

gardening game, Tupur by Royal 

Gold is a soilless mix with no rival. 

This unique blend is unlike the 

countless coco perlite competitors 

and reformulated knock-offs, and 

is nearly impossible to replicate. 

Royal Gold’s proprietary forest blend 

is just one of the key factors that 

makes Tupur Humboldt County’s 

bottled lightning. The Kings Mix is 

Royal Gold’s newest addition to their 

immensely popular product line. It 

combines peat with their standard 

formulations and concepts in a 

plant-in-bag format, a perfect fit for 

light deprivation, mixed lighting, 

and indoor or outdoor gardens. 

Are you growing with the Gold? 

—royalgoldcoco.com 

3. Tom’s Tumble Trimmer—the 

TTT2600 Commercial 

Trimmer—is a heavy-duty, 

bladeless trimmer ideal for 

commercial growers who want to 

trim with maximum efficiency and 

minimum waste. The machine’s 

tumble action does 85 per cent 

of your trimming, with only touchups 

left and trichomes preserved. 

This unit trims about 36 pounds 

per hour, beautifully manicuring 

five to six pounds at a time per 

seven-minute cycle. The powdercoated 

steel frame with industrial 

motor is fast, effective, and easy to 

assemble. Tom’s Tumble Trimmer is 

covered by a one-year warranty on 

all parts. It comes with both half-inch 

and quarter-inch mesh nets that are 

easy to change as well as a pollen 

screen and dust cover. Minimal 

cleaning required. Available now 

through Sunlight Supply. 

—tomstumbletrimmer.com 

14 


myhydrolife.com

GROW. HEAL. LEARN. ENJOY.

ask a grower 

Q 

Hi, 

What it the best way to tell the male plants from the females? 

Thxs, Quintin 

a 

Quintin, 

Thank you for your question. Identifying 

the differences between male and female 

plants is very important for any grower. A 

cannabis plant goes through three distinct 

stages of growth during its life cycle. The 

first stage is the seedling stage. This is 

the earliest stage of growth and is 

when the plant first develops a root 

system and leaves. The second stage 

of growth is the vegetative stage. It 

is during this stage that the majority 

of the plant’s structural integrity is 

developed. The third and final 

stage of growth for the marijuana 

plant is the flowering stage. In this 

stage of growth, the flowers begin 

to develop and, eventually, mature 

into the buds that are harvested. 

Identifying the sex of a cannabis 

plant is commonly done in the 

early flowering stage. 

For outdoor plants, the flowering 

cycle will begin as the amount 

of sunlight per day is 

shortened to around 

14 hours. For indoor 

gardens, the flowering 

cycle is triggered when 

the grower changes 

the photoperiod to a 

12-hour light/12-hour 

dark cycle. 

When a male plant begins to show its 

reproductive organs, it will appear to 

have a tiny bunch of green bananas at 

the inner joints of the branches. These 

tiny bunches are pollen sacks and will 

eventually open and release pollen. It is 

important to remember that the damage 

done by pollination occurs only after 

the male plants have released pollen. 

As long as the plants can be positively 

identified as males and removed from 

the garden before the pollen is released, 

no seeds will develop. 

With the exception of cannabis 

breeders, the goal of growers is to 

cultivate seedless female marijuana 

flowers. Like male marijuana plants, it 

is difficult to positively identify female 

plants until they have started to develop 

their reproductive parts, which happens 

in the flowering stage of growth. Once the 

flowering stage has been initiated, the 

female plants will develop what look like 

tiny white hairs at the joints and base 

of the branches. The white hairs, known 

as pistils, grow in pairs and protrude 

from the places where the flowers will 

develop. Eventually the flowers will get 

larger and, once fully developed, the 

pistils will turn brownish-red in color. 

I hope this answers your question. 

Keep on Growing, 

Lee G. Lyzit 

DO YOU HAVE 

A QUESTION 

FOR A GROWER? 

Email editor@myhydrolife.com 

to get an answer. 

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 miraculous 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. 

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myhydrolife.com

own it 

1 

2 

3 

4 

own it 

1. No matter why you’re sore, 

Cannalife Muscle Rub 

can offer some relief. 

Combining the potent 

synergy of cannabis, arnica, 

and analgesic essential 

oils, this all-natural balm is 

formulated to ease aches 

and pains while promoting 

a cooling effect. It’s great 

for massage and self-care. 

The 10-ml stick contains a 

total of 29 mg THC and 

14 mg CBD, while the 70-ml 

stick contains 200 mg THC 

and 100 mg CBD. 

— cannalifebotanicals.ca 

2. Starting a venture in a market 

as new and ever-changing as 

the cannabis industry can be 

downright daunting. To help 

ease your worries, try picking up 

the Idiot’s Guide to 

Starting & Running a 

Marijuana Business 

by Debby Goldsberry, who 

has more than 25 years 

as a leader in the medical 

and adult-use marijuana 

industry. This easy-tounderstand 

guide will help 

you navigate this complex 

industry with insights on 

legal, financial, security, 

and permit challenges; 

marketing strategies; 

business plans; and day-today 

management practices. 

— dk.com 

3. Your home is your stadium 

with Marshall’s Wireless 

Multi-room Speaker 

System. Sharing the same 

aesthetic as the company’s 

guitar and bass amps, the 

speakers come in three 

different sizes so you can 

pick the perfect one for each 

space you want to fill. Even 

better, you can play different 

songs in each room or bring 

it all together to play the 

same song throughout the 

house. With built-in wireless 

connection to Chromecast, 

Spotify Connect, and 

AirPlay, and the option to 

connect via RCA, aux, and 

Bluetooth, your musical 

possibilities are endless. 

— marshallheadphones.com 

4. The Internet of Things is taking 

over everything, including 

your aromatherapy. With the 

Chelsea and Brooklyn 

Smart Diffusers by Pium, 

your spaces can always have 

a smell that perfectly suits the 

context and your personal 

preferences. The smart phone 

app knows your location, so it 

can set diffusing schedules to 

release, for example, rosemary 

in the morning, peppermint 

at the office, and lavender at 

night. It also recommends 

scents based on recent 

activities and search history. 

It’s compatible with Amazon 

Echo, Google Home, Apple 

Watch, Hue, and Sonos to help 

create the perfect moment. 

— pium.com 

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myhydrolife.com

5 

7 

6 

8 

5. Make your morning coffee 

and cannabis fix special 

with a dedicated Wake N 

Bake Mug from Tokyo 

Smoke. This Japaneseinspired 

mug comes with a 

matching one-hitter and a lid 

that doubles as an ashtray. 

Made from rare black clay 

by ceramicists at The Shop 

in Toronto, each piece is 

unique thanks to a firing 

process that uses both a 

raw finish and a black glaze. 

— ca.tokyosmoke.com 

6. OMG Farms has launched 

The Rooster, a state-ofthe-art 

vape pen specifically 

engineered for the viscosity 

of cannabis oil. Each pen 

is pre-filled with 500 mg of 

OMG Farms’ proprietary, 

refined blend of cannabis 

oil, sourced from Humboldt 

County’s finest flower. The 

Rooster has more than 150 

three-second tokes and 

is pre-charged and ready 

to use for a convenient 

and discrete cannabis 

experience. Ask your local 

budtender about getting 

yours today. 

— omgfarms.com 

7. Despite the name, Toast 

Slices aren’t for eating. 

These glamourous-looking 

joints, which recall the decostyle 

of the 1920s, are filled 

with a super-mild, all-natural 

cannabis blend designed 

to awaken your inner social 

butterfly. Much like a single 

cocktail, a Slice packs just 

enough punch to gently 

relax your body, stimulate 

your mind, and open you up 

to social connections. 

— wetoast.com 

8. Control your pipe smoking 

experience like never before 

with the FUNKSH 360 

by FUNKSH. This adjustable 

device allows you to control 

the amount of air that 

goes through it, regulating 

intensity, heat, and flow. 

Made of medical-grade 

G-23 titanium, the FUNKSH 

360 comes in either a 

natural finish or polished 

finished. It’s small, strong, 

and reliable, and it’s backed 

by a lifetime warranty. 

— funksh.com 


grow 

Thrifty Thermals: 

Using a Climate Battery to Heat and Cool Your Grow 

Heating and cooling your greenhouse can be a huge expense. However, there’s a 

simple system called “poor man’s geothermal” that is making some growers richer. 

In an increasingly competitive landscape, cannabis growers are looking for 

ways to reduce operational costs in novel places, including right under their 

feet. Ground-to-air heat exchangers use the stable temperature of the soil and 

passive solar energy to provide a renewable source of heating and cooling. 

Ground-to-air heat exchangers have garnered a proliferation of names in the 

past decades. The most common is “climate battery,” coined by pioneering 

engineer Michael Cruickshank and the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture 

Institute (CRMPI). Colorado-based Ceres Greenhouse Solutions followed by 

developing a patent-pending version for cannabis growers called a Ground 

to Air Heat Exchanger (GAHT). Another acronym is Subterranean Heating and 

Cooling System (SHCS). Then there’s the most colorful title from a recent video 

reporting on the concept: “poor man’s geothermal.” 

Low-cost geothermal is a summary of how a climate battery works. Like 

traditional geothermal systems, climate batteries use the stable temperatures 

of the soil underground. However, unlike traditional systems, which involve 

pipes bored hundreds of feet underground and complex refrigeration systems, 

climate battery systems are much simpler and cheaper. A network of pipes is 

buried just a few feet (usually two to five feet) underground. Instead of a liquid 

coolant, they circulate hot air collected in the greenhouse during the day, taking 

full advantage of free and plentiful solar energy. Those factors make a climate 

battery vastly simpler and cheaper than traditional geothermal systems, 

in the range of few thousand dollars for a backyard greenhouse. 

by Lindsey Schiller 

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grow 

The systems have been extensively used in greenhouses to 

provide year-round heating and cooling at a fraction of the 

cost of fossil-fuel systems (applications in indoor growrooms 

are possible but rare). Now, cannabis cultivators are adopting 

the technology, taking advantage of the many benefits of lowcost 

geothermal systems. 

Using the Greenhouse Effect 

Climate batteries rely on a simple fact: Most greenhouses 

collect far too much heat during the day, even in winter. In other 

words, it is fairly common for a greenhouse to overheat on a cold 

and sunny winter day. Typically, growers vent this excess heat 

outside, essentially wasting it. 

Instead of exhausting hot air outside during the day, a climate 

battery circulates the heat underground. A fan pumps hot air from 

the greenhouse through a network of pipes buried in the soil. As 

air travels underground, the soil absorbs heat from the air. The 

air is then exhausted back into the greenhouse, cooler and drier. 

A corollary function of the system is to reduce daytime 

humidity, a major benefit to help thwart powdery mildew and 

a host of other pests and diseases. When hot and humid air is 

cooled underground, it reaches the dew point. The water vapor 

condenses into liquid and percolates out of the pipes through 

perforations. Continuous air movement and drainage prevent 

mold growth in the pipes. 

Besides cooling and dehumidification, a final function of 

the system is heating. When the greenhouse gets too cold, 

the fans again circulate air underground. This time, the soil 

temperature will be warmer than the air due to the fact that 

the soil stays a moderate and stable temperature all year. 

Thus, working in the same direction, the fans draw cooler 

air underground, where it is warmed by the soil and then 

exhausted back into the greenhouse. 

A ground-to-air heat exchanger uses the stable temperature of the soil and 

passive solar energy to provide a renewable source of heating and cooling. 

In many ways, the soil acts like a battery. During warm 

periods, the greenhouse heats the soil, essentially charging 

the battery. During cold periods, it then uses the 

warmer soil to heat the greenhouse, drawing 

on this stored thermal energy. The soil is an 

excellent source of thermal mass, retaining 

this heat without taking up any room 

inside the greenhouse. 

“Instead of exhausting 

hot air outside during 

the day, a climate 

battery circulates the 

heat underground.” 

22 grow. heal. learn. enjoy. 

myhydrolife.com

grow 

“A corollary function of the system 

is to reduce daytime humidity, a major 

benefit to help thwart powdery mildew 

and a host of other pests and diseases.” 

Enabling a Closed Greenhouse 

Many greenhouse cultivators are adopting climate batteries 

simply for the fact that they are a closed loop. The system 

conditions the indoor air—providing temperature control, air 

circulation, and dehumidification—without exhausting any 

air outside. That is a major benefit for growers in populated 

areas where strict regulations prohibit cannabis cultivators 

from exhausting air due to odors. Additionally, less ventilation 

reduces the exposure to environmental contaminants, such 

as pests and hemp seeds. As a closed loop system, a climate 

battery allows the greenhouse to be sealed much of the time, 

generally aiding environmental control. 

A Proven Technology 

Climate batteries and their counterparts have been 

around for decades and as such, growers enjoy the 

confidence that the systems will reliably reduce energy 

costs. Exactly how great these energy savings are, of 

course, is the golden question. Returns on investment vary 

greatly by the size of the operation and the climate. Marc 

Plinke, chief engineer at Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, 

says most growers see energy reductions of 30-60 per cent. 

Growers in harsher climates with greater heating and 

cooling demands will experience greater savings. 

Though climate batteries provide renewable heating 

and cooling almost for free, the systems are not perfect. 

Importantly, backup heating and cooling systems 

are needed because of the narrow temperature 

requirements of most cannabis strains. Particularly 

with closed greenhouses, an alternate cooling system 

is required. That requires a hefty upfront investment 

in climate control equipment. But once again, once the 

system is installed, it provides virtually free heating 

and cooling. The power consumption for running fans 

is very small, and thus the grower cuts their energy bill 

and adds to the bottom line year after year. 

Currently a niche system for cannabis cultivators, 

climate batteries are making inroads to the industry. 

Three automated commercial cannabis greenhouses 

in Colorado will be operating with the system this 

year. Notably, one at 10,200 feet elevation in the Rocky 

Mountains operates for much of the year using a GAHT 

system and an energy-efficient greenhouse without 

backup heating. With energy savings and added 

environmental closed-loop air circulation, it’s likely many 

cannabis growers will follow, integrating poor man’s 

geothermal into very high-tech greenhouses. 

Climate batteries can cut costs in the cannabis growing industry. 

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 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). 

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myhydrolife.com

grow 

Cannabis 

Light 

Schedules 

BY STEPHEN KEEN 

THE KEY FACTOR IN GROWING CANNABIS IS NOT 

THE LIGHT PERIODS; IT’S THE DARK PERIODS. 

SURNA’S STEPHEN KEEN WEIGHS IN WITH HIS 

PREFERRED LIGHT SCHEDULE FOR GROWING BIG, 

PRODUCTIVE PLANTS. 

Many growers advocate the use 

of an 18/6 light schedule (18 

hours on, six hours off) while 

plants are in veg. However, this 

may not be the most beneficial 

light schedule. Switching to a 

series of 6/2 light patterns (six 

hours on, two hours off) may 

increase plant growth while 

potentially creating a more stable 

controlled environment. 

While this new schedule may 

sound risky, it actually comes 

with a number of benefits. 

Cannabis is a short-day plant, 

meaning it will only flower when 

exposed to long periods of darkness 

and short periods of light. 

For cannabis to flower, there must 

be at least 12 hours of continuous 

darkness. This allows for the use of 

a series of shorter light schedules 

while the plant is in veg—as long 

as the plant receives less than 12 

hours of continuous darkness, it 

will stay in veg. 

Benefits of a 6/2 Light Schedule 

There is a lot of research that 

suggests cannabis plants can 

only process a certain amount of 

light per day. After that level has 

been reached, the plant can no 

longer absorb light and any additional 

light is essentially wasted. 

By breaking the light cycle into 

multiple six-hour periods, the plant 

can rest and process the light it 

has received. When the lights 

come back on two hours later, the 

plant will be ready to process additional 

light, allowing you to get 

the most plant growth out of every 

minute your lights are on. 

26 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

Cannabis is a shortday 

plant, meaning it 

will only flower when 

exposed to long periods 

of darkness and short 

periods of light.” 

At a biological level, cannabis’s inability 

to grow more once it has received a certain 

amount of light can be attributed to the 

way the plant processes carbon dioxide 

(CO 2). A majority of the mass accumulated 

in cannabis is associated with the amount 

of CO 2 found inside plant cells. While 

under light, cannabis tries to prevent 

CO 2 from leaving its cells by cutting off 

transpiration. However, this prevents new 

CO 2 from entering the cell, blocking new 

growth. When the lights are turned off and 

no photosynthesis is occurring, the plant 

can absorb new CO 2 into its cells. 

Additionally, when plants are exposed 

to 18 straight hours of intense light, they 

become stressed. Signs of stress, including 

droopy or curled leaves, will usually 

appear toward the end of the light cycle. 

While some stress can be beneficial to 

plant growth, too much stress can cause 

harm to your plants and prevent them 

from reaching maximum growth potential. 

Giving plants six hours of intense light 

at a time not only puts less stress on the 

plants, it also spreads out the load on 

your cooling system over a longer period. 

The cooling system works the hardest 

when lights are on. By turning off the 

lights for two hours at a time throughout 

the day, your cooling system will get a 

break between light cycles, allowing the 

room to be cooled to desired temperatures 

before the lights come back on. 

With a properly sized cooling system, this 

benefit will be minimized as the system 

will be designed to handle the heat load 

throughout the entire light cycle. 

While there are many approaches to veg 

light cycles for cannabis, a 6/2 schedule 

allows for maximum plant growth. A 6/2 

schedule also allows plants to process 

more intense light, prevents plants from 

becoming stressed, and puts less stress 

on your cooling system. It’s a win all 

around. Give your plants a break every 

two hours and you might be amazed at 

the results. 

Stephen Keen is a 14-year veteran of the 

cannabis industry and life-long tinkerer. 

He saw a need for cannabis-tailored 

climate control solutions, which led to his 

co-founding of Hydro Innovations—now 

Surna Inc—in 2007. Surna’s mission is to 

design efficient, reliable, and intelligent 

equipment for climate control for cannabis 

cultivation. Keen has vast knowledge 

of controlled environment agriculture, 

including serving as the chief cultivation 

expert for one of Colorado’s largest MMJ 

operations and being published in various 

industry magazines. He has served as 

president and CEO, and now as director of 

technology, of Surna Inc. 

28 


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grow 

BRING ON THE 

POPCORN 

BUDS 

BUT HOLD THE BUTTER 

by Kent Gruetzmacher | Though many 

growers see them as something to be 

avoided, small, dense popcorn buds can 

also be valuable and useful if they’re properly 

handled and trimmed, says Kent Gruetzmacher. 

Cannabis plants love 

light. It is perhaps 

the most essential 

ingredient in a successful 

crop, indoors or outdoors. How 

and where light (sunlight or 

artificial) interacts with cannabis 

greatly effects the overall growth 

of plants. That said, lighting also 

directly dictates the quality and types 

of flowers that cannabis plants produce. 

Generally speaking, marijuana buds 

are classified by size in three categories: 

colas, mid-size, and popcorn buds. The 

smallest of these three classifications, 

popcorn buds, are those cannabis flowers 

that are still large enough (at least 

the size of one’s thumbnail) and dense 

enough to be kept with the rest of the 

more prized buds. Any bud smaller or 

lighter than a popcorn bud is generally 

added to a harvest’s trim (leafy matter 

with THC crystals) and made into concentrates, 

butter, or edibles. 

POPCORN BUDS: TRIMMING & HANDLING 

As aforementioned, popcorn buds are 

those small buds that are tightly packed 

enough to be kept in a bag with the 

rest of the colas and mid-size flowers. 

30 


myhydrolife.com

However, while popcorn flowers are 

considered “keepers” in the minds 

of most cultivators, there are a few 

stipulations one should remember 

when processing and storing them: 

Trimming popcorn buds is an 

extremely daunting task. A sure 

way to burn oneself out while 

trimming is to schedule an entire 

day of little bud hand work. If 

hand-trimming popcorn buds, it is 

a good idea to mix them in with the 

larger flowers so as to not overwork 

oneself while handling these 

smaller buds in one trim session. 

To streamline the process, many 

cannabis gardeners today choose to 

use trim machines to clean up their 

popcorns while hand-trimming the 

larger, prize flowers. 

When harvesting a significantly 

sized crop, it is easy to overlook 

popcorn buds and instead put them 

directly in with one’s trim. Make 

sure that a keen eye is kept on the 

harvest process to ensure that these 

little buds make it into the bag with 

the rest of the flowers. 

INDOOR VS. OUTDOOR: PLANT PRUNING 

AND FLOWER GROWTH 

The amount of popcorn buds present 

in one’s harvest is greatly dependent 

upon the way one chooses to prune their 

plants. Along this line of thought, how 

cultivators prune their cannabis plants 

is also dictated by whether the plant is 

grown indoors or outdoors. 

For indoor gardens, the intensity of 

artificial light diminishes exponentially 

the further away it is form a light source. 

This means that even a mere six-inch 

difference in how close a branch and 

flower is to a grow light can greatly 

affect their growth and productivity. 

Point being, a uniform canopy will result 

in a harvest that contains mostly cola 

and mid-sized buds because the entire 

canopy is receiving maximum illumination. 

Those branches below the average 

canopy height, however, will yield 

popcorn buds and trim material. 

To put the actual flower growth of 

cannabis plants in perspective, the 

top cola buds are the largest flowers 

because they receive the largest amount 

of light. For indoor gardens, these top 

cola flowers are generally the only buds 

that gardeners like to leave in their 

canopy. Growers usually clean up the 

bottom three-quarters of the plant. In this 

process, cultivators use a sterile pair of 

scissors to remove elements of the plant 

(leaves, branches, buds) that don’t receive 

strong light from the artificial light 

source and those elements will yield 

airy flowers and popcorn buds. 

Outdoor cannabis gardeners have 

the blessing of abundant sunlight and 

plants that are greatly spread out from 

one another. Because of the strong 

sunlight reacting with the side growth, 

outdoor plants have large colas on the 

sides and tops of plants. While the general 

plant processes of growth for indoor 

and outdoor gardens is the same, the 

less-restrictive growth space of outdoor 

gardens requires a different pruning 

process. For outdoor grows, this pruning 

process is referred to as “middling” because 

growers only clean up the middle 

of the plants and generally don’t cut off 

the bottom branches (which still receive 

abundant sunlight). As seen with indoor 

crops, outdoor cultivators do this middling 

process to remove all plant matter 

that isn’t receiving much light. 

In summary, popcorn buds often share 

many of the same qualities of their 

larger, more expensive counterparts. 

As such, they can offer the cannabis 

connoisseur an additional opportunity 

to try out a new, high-quality strain 

without having to pay a premium 

for larger buds. It’s worth taking the 

time to properly handle and trim your 

popcorn buds. 

“The amount of 

POPCORN BUDS 

present in one’s 

harvest is greatly 

dependent upon 

the way one 

chooses to prune 

their plants.” 

Kent Gruetzmacher is a Denver-based freelance writer and the west coast director of 

business development at Mac & Fulton Executive Search and Consulting, an employment 

recruiting firm dedicated to the indoor gardening and hydroponics industries. He is 

interested in utilizing his Master of Arts in humanities to explore the many cultural and 

business facets of this emerging industry by way of his entrepreneurial projects. 


grow 

5346 Scotts Valley Dr. Suite A, 

Scotts Valley, CA 95066 

1-831-226-2948 

3 

WWW summit-research.tech 

Years in hardware production 

Vendor since 2014 

A little more than a decade ago, Elliot 

Kremerman was selling hash and tinkering 

around with extraction processes in his 

garage in California. Today, he has led his 

company, Summit Research Tech, into a 

role as one of the leading manufacturers 

and distributors of high-quality distillation, 

extraction, and evaporation equipment. 

32 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

CAN YOU DESCRIBE 

YOUR BUSINESS AND 

HOW IT STARTED? 

I started Summit Research from my 

garage, basically. When I started in 

2004, I was a hash vendor in California. 

I spent most of my time in construction 

until I decided to take cannabis headon 

in my mid-20s, when I realized my 

skills in the lab made me more money 

than mason work. I saw the growth [in 

the industry] and became an integral 

part of innovation. 

With little to no investment, I started 

Summit Research, and while doing 

research and development, I singlehandedly 

created the only patented 

cannabis short-path distillation head. 

Initially, I was turned down by every 

major manufacturer and told my ideas 

weren’t valid. When I began my journey, 

I was a small-time glass manufacturer, 

and took it all the way to being the 

leading cannabis scientific glass and 

resource company on the market. 

After bringing throughput extraction 

processes to the market with the first 

industry-run throughput system, I coined 

the term to differentiate it from other 

closed-loop manifold versions that were 

split-loop systems to a true closedloop 

arrangement. This throughput 

operational process is now the most 

widely used set-up on the market. 

When I created the closed-loop filter 

base and introduced gas drying with 

industry-leading condensing coils, we 

refused to use steel or import hardware 

from China, and instead made topquality, 

billet-machined parts available 

to the public for the first time. To this day, 

we are leaders in manufacturing billet 

closed-loop and laboratory hardware. 

I decided to patent my technology 

and do industry standardization 

benchmarks. Summit Research’s SPD 

heads are capable of reaching more 

than 98 per cent in a single pass during 

distillation. The SPD series heads hold 

the record for all first-pass potency 

results in laboratories, with the fastest 

achievable speeds for the lowest 

cost, compared to large-scale, slower 

machines. A two-liter SPD-1 has the 

same speed as a 100K WFE, a fiveliter 

SPD-2 is consistently outpacing 

a 250K WFE, and then we get into the 

revolutionary SPD-3 Thermal+ series 

heads that offer incredible unmatched 

speeds, with industry-leading output 

numbers. Summit is now releasing a 

SPD-4 MPD component system that 

will drive the market for the highest 

speeds/potency output. Summit takes 

pride that its short-path systems, 

not only patented to retain genuine 

operational characteristics but also 

unique geometry, achieve the highest 

recorded test results in laboratories 

across the country. 

WHAT WERE THE 

START-UP YEARS LIKE? 

When I left construction, I got dinged 

badly on losses. I was a newlywed 

and moved into my parents’ cottage to 

save money, and then went back into 

cannabis, slaving away growing and 

trimming. I started an organic nutrient 

brew company, making custom largescale 

500-5,000-gallon vortex-style 

brewers for growers, and slowly 

learned my passion was extracting. 

With $500, I invested in glass tubes 

and butane; two weeks later, I had a 

Tamisium, and two months after that 

I had a Subzero. Shortly after, I found 

the model I liked, the original EV-6.3 

model. From there, I moved into the 

Santa Cruz mountains and began the 

journey again, starting from scratch to 

become one of the largest producers at 

the time. Slowly, the industry caught 

up, but even large outputs like mine 

had to struggle to get contracts. 

With the $500, I had hired a glass 

manufacturer to work with me and 

it got me as far as a prototype. I 

kept working hard in the Santa 

Cruz mountains and after a few 

modifications and prototypes, I was 

able to create the SPD series set-ups. 

After spending every last dollar I 

had on bringing the idea to life, I had 

to produce them nearly one at a time. 

Slowly, after being a producer and 

running this new technology, both 

myself and my customers were at the 

leading curve of cannabis distillation. 

I kept hammering away and making 

more and more glass, becoming the 

leader in custom glassware tailored to 

the cannabis industry. 

This is how Summit developed, 

by always offering the best, with 

extensive warranties and services for 

free. We strictly aim to do what’s right, 

come in below retail price, and offer a 

service to educate customers without 

any cannabis tax. From distillation 

to filtration, we lead the pack with 

industry-first, non-copied products, and 

first-of-its-kind technological advances. 

“ 

We strictly aim to do what’s right, come in 

below retail price, and offer a service to educate 

customers without any cannabis tax.” 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

HOW DID YOU GAIN MARKET 

SHARE AND RECOGNITION? 

Overnight, Summit virtually had 99 per 

cent of the market share, and within the 

first year, we rode on nearly 90 per cent 

of the market share. We are now holding 

steady at about 70-75 per cent, the only 

difference being that the open market 

copied us on everything we did. We 

came into the market with a “high-quality 

USA-made” motto. Summit products 

produce better end-product with higher 

potency, and physically resemble the 

highest-grade glass manufacturing. 

Our products are flawless compared to 

cheap knock-offs and similar products 

produced by individuals and companies 

intending to profit off the Summit name 

and image. From the SPD-1 or SPD-2 legacy 

systems to the SPD-3 Thermal+ and 

SPD-4 MPD, we made unique items that 

people gravitated to. 

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT 

PRODUCT LINE? 

Distillation, filtration, chromatography, 

laboratory solutions. 

WHAT ARE YOUR COMPANY’S 

STRENGTHS? 

High-quality hardware. We are a 

proud company that offers strictly 

American-made products that we 

make and support for the lifetime of 

the product. We employ American 

glassworkers, American machinists, 

use American valve companies, and 

American media companies. Summit 

Research also offers free consultations 

and training at our showroom and 

lifetime support for all our existing 

customers. Our showroom facility 

is set up to perform daily 

demonstrations as well as 

offer advanced classes. 

We cover topics ranging from short path 

distillation and laboratory training 

to filtration techniques and terpene 

science. We also offer advanced 

processing classes that gives hands-on 

experience with our trained technicians 

and specialists. Our flagship services 

include crystallization training and 

hardware sales to build on purity 

separations with large growth. From 

pesticide removal to releasing free SOP 

tailored to get everyone on the same 

page, we hold nothing back and refuse 

to abuse the knowledge for money. 

WHAT SIGNIFICANT THINGS 

HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR 

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY? 

It’s moving into pharmaceutical-grade 

extracts. In the near future, we will no 

longer see raw oleoresin consumed and 

called medicine. Scientific processes are 

taking over to create real engineered 

extracts with profiles that can virtually be 

printed by the press of a button. 

“ 

We employ American glassworkers, American machinists, 

use America valve companies, and American media companies.” 

36 


myhydrolife.com


grow 

e’re aiming to connect the entire medical marijuana field,” 

“Wsays Knalysis CEO Paul Methot, who connected with Inews to 

talk about his company. “Our products were developed directly with a 

national network of clinicians in the medical marijuana domain, and are 

built to deliver better monitoring of symptoms, moods, and treatments 

for both physician and patient.” The primary goal is to determine the 

efficacy of cannabis strains on the symptoms of all illnesses currently 

treatable by medical marijuana. 

With a vision that they could provide health 

technology that connects all aspects of 

the medical marijuana industry, Canadian 

company Knalysis Technologies has envisioned 

and pioneered software to seamlessly link 

physician, provider, and patient. 

WWW 

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada 

1-416-554-0543 

knalysis.com 

1 st Year in business 

Who or what inspired the idea for Knalysis Technologies? 

Our other business, Pragmatic Informatics, is a software development 

company. One of our biggest clients has been Marijuana 

For Trauma (MFT), a military veteran-owned and operated 

company whose mission is to improve the quality of life for anyone 

suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic 

pain, and other medical conditions using medical cannabis. 

Much of what they do—and indeed, a lot of what the whole 

medical cannabis field is trying to do—has never been done 

before. They are all paving new paths. Together with MFT, we 

identified massive gaps in the technology. Over two years, we 

built several technology platforms customized for the cannabis 

industry and helped them leapfrog into being one of the largest 

cannabis businesses in Canada. 

In early 2016, MFT ventured into doing clinical research on the 

efficacies of the medical strains on the market to combat PTSD, 

but they struggled to find a way to capture the data. Together, 

we built the wellness tracker app. By the summer, so many 

other businesses were asking them to share the tools we had 

built—especially the app—so we spun off Knalysis Technologies 

to offer them to the public. We have now commercialized our 

products so that others can now make use of our app, analytics 

web portal, and cannabis patient manager. 

38 


myhydrolife.com

Who is using the cannabis patient 

manager? How does it differ from 

existing medical software? 

There are a lot of electronic medical 

record (EMR) platforms out there. You 

see them every time you go to the 

doctor or dentist. The administrators 

are the backbone of this industry and 

they found it far too time consuming to 

use a normal EMR, which are designed 

for hospitals. They are huge, robust 

platforms with thousands of features, 

which meant thousands of buttons and 

options on the screen they have no 

need to use. They wanted a tool to track 

patients with fields specific to medical 

marijuana. We customized everything 

about our cannabis patient manager to 

address how they worked with the goal 

of automating many of their tasks and 

saving them time. Their adoption of it 

proved we were on the right track. 

What are the key differences 

between your two trackers, the 

Knalysis wellness tracker for 

everyday use and the wellness 

tracker for PTSD? 

Our everyday use version of the app is 

designed to determine what medical 

cannabis strains help to alleviate 

symptoms of 54 ailments currently 

recognized by the US and Canadian 

governments. This can include PTSD, 

multiple sclerosis, cancer, and seizures, 

for example. The PTSD version of 

the app contains only moods and 

symptoms specific to PTSD. 

Both versions of the app empower users 

to actively engage in their personal 

health monitoring for ailments treated 

by medical marijuana. Users can track 

their symptoms, moods, and treatments. 

Does the PTSD app make strain 

recommendations based on a 

person’s mood, or, how exactly 

does it work? How accurately 

can mood be established with 

a smartphone? 

For businesses that work in this 

industry (clinics, dispensaries, 

researchers, growers) we offer 

a subscription to Analytics 

Web Portal, a website where 

they can monitor all the users 

and customers in their group 

and test out their own strains 

to see which ones best help the 

symptoms. Users can choose to 

join or leave any group. 

For a user, they enter in their present 

symptom(s) and the mood(s) they are 

currently feeling. They take their 

treatment and in about an hour the app 

asks them to provide their mood again. 

I’m over-simplifying the process, of 

course; however, the before and after 

provide us a metric. Combine that 

with the quantitative data of tens of 

thousands of others having the same 

symptoms, moods, and treatments, and 

we can start to draw some conclusions. 

Anecdotally, veterans with PTSD 

will tell you that Pink Kush will help 

them have far less nightmares at night 

and get a much better sleep. With 

the app we can track all the different 

strains offered in the Pink Kush family 

across North America and tell you 

exactly which growers make the one 

that treats it the best. For someone 

suffering, this can make the difference 

between a medicine that works decent 

or one that works great. 

We are working with cannabis coaches, 

clinicians, growers, and researchers as 

the app, gains uptake. Currently, they 

recommend strains to users and then 

watch the data. We can then hone in on 

which strains work best for particular 

symptoms and moods. This influences 

what the grower focuses on for their next 

grow cycle on or what the dispensary 

should order next. 

As we gain more data, the app will 

begin to offer suggestions, especially if it 

detects negative patterns over time. 

As for our moods, we have five levels 

of moods ranging from green (happy) 

moods down to red (angry) moods. A 

complex algorithm assigns values to 

the combinations of moods chosen 

so it can be used for graphing and 

pattern analysis. 

“WE WANT TO 

EMPOWER THE USER 

TO SEE THEIR OWN 

PATTERNS AND HABITS 

AND MAKE CHANGES.” 


grow 

Lastly, we have a fourth module in 

the app called “impact.” Sometimes 

events in your life influence your mood 

(your dog dies, you get married, etc.) 

and we want to be able to tell the 

difference between moods associated 

with symptoms and influences from 

external events. 

Where does the information 

(treatment recommendations, 

mood patterns, and graphs) 

come from? 

Currently, we are not recommending 

anything through the app. We want 

to empower the user to see their own 

patterns and habits and make changes. 

Are you waking up every morning 

at 4 a.m. in pain? Perhaps you need 

a longer-lasting intake method (a 

capsule can last for many more hours 

than vaping, for example). It’s not always 

that simple, though, and that is 

why the app data can be shared with 

the user’s doctor or coach to find the 

strains that best work for them. 

Using colors for the moods can show at 

a glance how you are progressing week 

over week and month over month. Now 

they have data that tells them what they 

are doing is not working and that they 

need to make a change, get advice from 

a professional, and try different strains. 

Soon you will be able to also track 

your other medications alongside your 

cannabis treatments, water intake, blood 

pressure, and many more. 

Our lead developer is Richard Bennett, 

who has a doctorate in machine learning 

and data analytics. Our team is made 

up of coders with past employment at 

Microsoft, IBM, McAfee, and Boeing. We 

also have several PhDs on staff who 

excel in math and algorithms. 

Is there a social media/sharing 

aspect to this technology? 

Definitely not. We want people to share 

their feelings and symptoms in the app 

and feel comfortable being candid. 

Adding in Facebook might deter people 

from being honest. If the user consents, 

then they can share their data with 

their doctor, cannabis coach, or as part 

of a group gathering data on strains. 

The technology was designed to be 

very secure (the background of most 

of the team was in IT security, myself 

included). Our technologies meet or 

exceed all standards for security and 

privacy in North America. 

“FOR SOMEONE 

SUFFERING, THIS CAN 

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE 

BETWEEN A MEDICINE 

THAT WORKS DECENT OR 

ONE THAT WORKS GREAT.” 

40 


myhydrolife.com

grow 

“THE PRESENCE of pesticides 

is not detectable by sight or 

smell, so it must be tested 

in a certified lab with highly 

sensitive instrumentation.” 

Pesticides in 

CONCENTRATES 

by Jodi McDonald 

Pesticides can be so toxic to humans that when it comes to testing, 

they are measured in parts per trillion. Jodi McDonald explains how 

lab testing is keeping up with pesticide testing in cannabis products. 

Somebody recently asked me if 

they should be concerned about 

pesticides in concentrates. The short 

answer is that you should be aware and 

informed. There are many identified 

health risks related to consuming 

products that contain pesticides. 

There is also a longer answer. There 

are many stories in the US and Canada 

regarding the production practices and 

testing of cannabis. With legalization 

of recreational adult-use cannabis in 

many states and Canada’s legalization 

date fast approaching, it is evident that 

strict regulated testing is needed to 

control the industry and make it safe. 

This regulation must include clear 

regulations about pesticide use in 

cannabis cultivation. 

In February 2017, NBC’s Channel 4 

investigation team from Los Angeles 

tested 44 samples from multiple dispensaries 

in California. The results were 

surprising: 41 of 44 samples tested positive 

for pesticides, some at levels high 

enough that these products would have 

been banned for sale in some states. 

This story highlights concerns 

around pesticide exposure. Pesticides 

are very toxic when inhaled. As former 

USC chemistry professor Dr. Jeffrey 

Raber stated, “It’s really like injecting 

pesticides into your bloodstream.” 

The presence of pesticides is not 

detectable by sight or smell, so it must 

be tested in a certified lab with highly 

sensitive instrumentation. 

Why do I Keep Hearing About Pesticides? 

As the industry continues to develop and 

meet the needs of patients and growers, 

the tools to measure product quality 

will develop too. Pesticide detection has 

been highlighted recently by a number 

of stories about product recalls due to 

pesticide contamination. In the US, there 

are no national guidelines to regulate 

pesticides in the cannabis industry. 

Instead, states are independently 

developing regulatory frameworks for 

pesticide use. In fact, Oregon has been 

at the leading edge and has established 

strict guidelines for cannabis growers. 

Why are Pesticides Important? 

When I explain the process for pesticide 

analysis, I start with the fact that the 

instruments used to measure the levels 

of pesticides are tuned to detect parts 

per trillion (ppt). This is a very small 

number when you consider that one ppt 

is equivalent to one second in 31,709 

years. Knowing that your test lab is 

looking for such small quantities of 

pesticide compounds is revealing about 

the importance of pesticide testing. 

Testing the dry flower for the absence 

of pesticides is important for consumers. 

Knowing that your products are safe 

and free from contaminants is critically 

important. Of course, testing of extracts 

products is equally important. 

It is necessary to understand the 

process of converting plants to oil is essentially 

a way to remove the solid plant 

materials and be left with the desired, 

concentrated extract. The methods to 

make oil from plants not only concentrate 

the cannabinoids but the pesticides 

as well. Typically, the rate of concentration 

of the cannabinoids is in the range 

of two to five times. Pesticides, on the 

other hand, can be expected to reach 

concentrations 10 times higher than in 

the raw materials, as discussed in a 

Cannabis Safety Institute white paper 

from 2015. Again, this critical step that 

purifies all the goodness of the plant 

also concentrates the pesticides; pretested, 

clean starting material actually 

contains an alarming amount of contamination 

after processing. 

Be alarmed. This is important enough 

for consumers to ask for pesticide-free 

products. It is also important enough 

that if you are preparing your own 

extracts from purchased plant materials, 

you should consider testing your final 

extracts for pesticides. 

Jodi McDonald is the president and 

founder of Keystone Labs and is a medical 

microbiologist, inventor, and super 

science-geek. She has 20 years’ experience 

in the quality control, regulatory, and 

quality assurance environment for the 

pharmaceutical industry. Jodi believes 

testing is essential for taking control of 

your personal health. 

42 


myhydrolife.com

consultant's corner 

NEW CANNABIS REGULATIONS FOR 

CALIFORNIA 

The Californian senate 

recently updated 

the state’s cannabis 

regulations. Here’s an 

overview of the changes 

and what it means 

for cannabis business 

owners and consumers. 

BY MEDICINE MAN 

TECHNOLOGIES 

At Medicine Man Technologies, we’ve been 

keeping a close eye on the west coast and were 

pleased to hear that the California Senate replaced 

the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act 

(MCRSA) with SB 94. The latest and greatest evolution 

of the state’s laws, SB 94 essentially repeals MCRSA 

while incorporating certain policies into the licensing 

provisions set forth by the Adult Use of Marijuana Act 

(AUMA), also known as Proposition 64, which was 

passed by voters in November of last year. 

Under the new bill, the hybrid program of consolidated 

provisions is known as the Medicinal and Adult-Use 

Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). 

The outcome is a regulatory structure that’s intended 

to be more operator-friendly. The California Growers 

Association remarked that the bill was “a thoughtful 

and robust foundation for a well-regulated cannabis 

marketplace in California.” 

44 


myhydrolife.com

WHAT SB 94 MEANS FOR 

CALIFORNIA CANNABIS 

The new MAUCRSA structure generally 

imposes the same requirements on 

both commercial medicinal and adultuse 

cannabis activities, with specific 

exceptions. Highlights of the changes 

include the following: 

• The Bureau of Cannabis Control is 

now the governing regulatory agency. 

Control of industrial hemp fibers will 

be transferred to the Department of 

Food and Agriculture. 

• The available licenses remain the 

same. M-licenses for medicinal operators 

and A-licenses for commercial 

adult-use operators. If someone holds 

both types of licenses, he or she is 

required to keep the premises separate 

and distinct; however, this might only 

require a physical barrier versus a 

separate location. 

• Micro-business licenses, specialty 

cottage cultivation licenses, and 

indoor, outdoor, and mixed-light 

cultivation licenses will be offered 

for both recreational and medicinal 

marijuana operators and made 

available on or by January 1, 2023. 

• Vertical integration prohibitions 

that were part of MCRSA have been 

removed, while the ban on large-scale 

cultivators remains. Other cultivators 

can now apply and be approved 

for multiple licenses in different 

categories, including acting as their 

own distributor. 

• Transporter and producing 

dispensary licenses are not available 

under MAUCRSA. 

• Retailers are now allowed to have a 

brick-and-mortar store that is not open 

to the public and only sells cannabis 

through delivery. 

• With MAUCRSA, applicants may show 

prior compliance with local laws prior 

to obtaining state licenses. The city or 

county now is responsible for alerting 

the state within 60 days if the applicant 

is not in compliance with local laws. 

• Changes to testing, inspection, and 

quality assurance are also part of 

SB 94. Distributors must store cannabis 

on their premises during testing 

and will be responsible for quality 

assurance reviews for labeling and 

packaging compliance. 

• The residency requirement has now 

been removed. This means that foreign 

and out-of-state companies are now 

allowed to sell both medicinal and recreational 

marijuana. This will not stop 

some cities or counties from creating 

their own residency requirements. 

• Advertising requirements that 

regulate online advertisements and 

create a universal edible cannabis 

symbol have been added. 

• The cannabis excise tax will be measured 

by the average market price (as 

defined) of the retail sale instead of by 

the gross receipts of the retail sale. 

Overall, the team at Medicine Man 

Technologies sees this bill as a positive 

and comprehensive step towards creating 

a sensible framework for California’s 

expanding cannabis market. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR AUMA 

IN CALIFORNIA? 

Now that the California Senate has 

replaced MCRSA with SB 94 and the bill 

was signed by Governor Jerry Brown at 

the end of June, the state can more easily 

move towards establishing a system 

for adult-use, recreational cannabis. 

Several license types should be made 

available in January 2018, at which 

point retail sales may commence. For 

now, adults who are 21 years of age and 

over can consume and possess up to 

an ounce of flowers or eight grams of 

concentrate. They can also grow up to 

six plants in an enclosed area hidden 

from view or in their homes. 

If you are considering entering 

California’s cannabis industry, our 

experts at Medicine Man Technologies 

can help you understand and navigate 

the new rules implemented by SB 94. Our 

consultants will ensure you’re able to set 

up a compliant and successful venture. 

“Overall, the team 

at Medicine Man 

Technologies sees 

this bill as a positive 

and comprehensive 

step towards creating a 

sensible framework for 

California’s expanding 

cannabis market.” 


strain review 

CUT AND DRIED: 

A MONTHLY LOOK AT DIFFERENT MMJ STRAINS 

BY GIBSON LANNISTER 

Not for rookies, Jack Herer lives 

up to its namesake by leaving you 

clearheaded, creative, and energetic. 

Jack Herer 

I am a cancer survivor and medical 

and recreational cannabis user. I try 

to approach each new strain I try from 

both perspectives. 

There is a definite cool factor to Jack 

Herer, a strain of cannabis named after 

legendary pot activist and author, The 

Hemperor himself, Jack Herer. I tried it 

because its name piqued my interest 

and stood out like a sore thumb. And I’m 

glad I did because this strain is going to 

be my new daytime medicine. 

Uplifting High 

I use a vaporizer far more often than I 

smoke or take edibles. Jack Herer seems 

to give me this never-ending flow of 

vapor that keeps me alert and gets my 

mind moving in a creative direction. It’s 

an uplifting high that always leaves 

me in a great mood. The comedown is 

mild and hardly noticeable, which is 

great for someone who needs to partake 

frequently throughout the day. Jack Herer 

greatly, and I mean greatly, increases my 

appetite like no other strain has before. 

It also helps relieve my pain and greatly 

reduce my bowel spasms. It is quite potent 

with an average 20-25 per cent THC 

“There is a definite cool factor to Jack Herer, 

a strain of cannabis named after legendary pot 

activist and author, The Hemperor himself, Jack Herer.” 

and less than one per cent CBD. I only 

recommend this strain to experienced 

cannabis users. 

A Beautiful Strain 

Jack Herer is a beautiful strain. It 

has been around since the ‘90s, so 

there are many different phenotypes. 

The Jack Herer I’ve been enjoying 

is at the sativa end of the spectrum. 

The light green buds are flecked with 

trichomes universally throughout, 

and there are thick patches of long, 

orange hairs. Its scent is earthy with 

pine, mixed with hints of melon and 

berries. The terpenes found in Jack 

Herer are pinene, myrcene, and transnerolidol. 

The compact buds are easy 

to break up for use in a vaporizer or 

for rolling into joints. 

Jack Herer can be grown indoors. It can 

get quite large, more than three feet in 

height. It is suggested that you start flowering 

early while the plants are still small, or 

you could use the sea of green method to 

maximize growing space. Flowering time 

should be anywhere from seven to nine 

weeks. Expect a decent yield in return for 

your love and hard work. I recommend Jack 

Herer for gardeners with some experience. 

Like the Man Himself 

There’s a reason Jack Herer has been 

around for so long. Much like its namesake, 

it is clearheaded, energetic, and 

creative. There are so many positives and 

few negatives to this strain. I definitely 

plan on using Jack Herer frequently. It’s 

the perfect daytime smoke for medical 

and recreational users. 

Gibson Lannister currently enjoys sharing his research and knowledge with the international gardening community. He is excited to 

share another personal passion, music, with the readers of Hydrolife. 

46 


myhydrolife.com

heal 

Finding 

“The One”… 

Dispensary, That Is 

by Cory Hughes | With dispensaries popping up in record numbers 

around the world, those looking to find a single source for their cannabis 

needs have quite a few things to consider before choosing a main provider. 

When examining your local cannabis 

market, there are a few 

questions you need to ask yourself. 

Why do some places cost twice as 

much as others? What pesticides does 

this company use? Am I safe walking 

to my car with my purchase? These 

questions and more should all be factors 

in making the decision of which 

cannabis dispensary to trust with your 

health and well-being. 

The first thing you need to consider is 

if your purchases are going to be medical 

or recreational. If you are of legal 

age and wish to purchase recreational 

cannabis, you will need to find a dispensary 

that will sell to adults without 

a doctor’s recommendation. That limits 

your search to only a handful of US 

states and parts of Europe. Canada is 

on its way to full legalization, but it’s 

still some time away from being finalized. 

If you wish to purchase medical 

marijuana and have a doctor’s recommendation, 

you have many more options. 

There are medical dispensaries 

in over half the US states, throughout 

Canada, and may areas of Europe. 

Dispensaries come in all shapes 

and sizes. There are some that are so 

clean you almost feel uncomfortable 

walking in with your dirty shoes on. 

Then there are those that feel like your 

uncle’s garage with incense burning 

and Phish piping in over the speaker 

system. Whatever you are into, there 

is a dispensary whose atmosphere 

will make you feel right at home. 

Atmosphere is important because, as a 

customer, nothing will make you walk 

out that door faster than an uncomfortable 

or awkward setting. 

Staff is another very important factor 

in whether customers return to a 

dispensary. Every customer who walks 

through that front door to buy cannabis 

has a different level of knowledge and 

expertise. The dispensary staff needs 

to know how to overcome the language 

barrier when it comes to assisting 

people who may or may not know how 

to articulate what they are looking for. 

The person selling you your cannabis 

needs to go above and beyond to make 

sure you get exactly what you are looking 

for, even if you don’t know yourself. 

Pharmacists spent years learning 

how to assist patients; your budtender 

smoked a joint on her break. Yes, 

there’s a huge education gap that the 

cannabis industry needs to overcome, 

but in the meantime, it’s up to you 

to find a dispensary whose staff is 

knowledgeable and trustworthy. 

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Of course, since you plan on spending 

your hard-earned money on 

cannabis, you want to make sure it’s 

good. After all, quality is of the utmost 

importance (duh). Cannabis quality 

is determined in the growroom by 

everything from nutrients to air quality 

to pest control, but odds are that the 

budtender behind the counter doesn’t 

know anything about the growroom 

conditions. If they did, they probably 

wouldn’t tell you anyway. Also, quality 

can be hard to determine with a 

single purchase. One batch may be 

great or it may not, but just one visit to 

a dispensary isn’t enough to know for 

sure. Also, reviews are your friends. 

Research any press the company has 

had or any awards it may have won. 

Take the time to find out exactly who is 

growing your medicine. 

Next, you want variety. One of the best 

things about cannabis is that there is an 

abundance of different colors, shapes, 

tastes, and aromas. There are strains 

that make you feel up and there are 

strains that make you feel chill. There 

is a strain for just about every mood you 

want to find yourself in. Dispensaries 

should always have a wide variety of 

strains, not just for every mood but also 

to fit every ailment. Medical cannabis 

dispensaries depend on a large selection 

of specific, ailment-related strains. 

If the shop you were considering only 

has a handful of strains, you might want 

to extend your search. 

Location, location, location. 

Regardless of how many times you 

tell yourself you are just going to hit 

the dispensary across town because 

they have the best Purple Urkle, forget 

it. Whether the dispensary is across 

from your apartment or next to your 

place of work, convenience always 

finds its way into the equation. Now, 

that should never be your only criteria. 

“ there are [dispensaries] that feel 

like your uncle’s garage with 

incense burning and Phish piping 

in over the speaker system.” 

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Sure, it’s great when you run out 10 

minutes before closing and the only 

dispensary you can get to is two blocks 

away, but close doesn’t equal quality 

or knowledgeable or any of the other 

important factors when it comes to 

picking a main provider. You should 

end up frequenting the dispensary that 

meets all the other criteria and is as 

convenient as possible. 

Finally, cost is one of the most 

important things that will influence 

your decision when picking the correct 

cannabis provider for you. Prices vary 

wildly, sometimes for good reason and 

sometimes not. Overall, however, competition 

has driven the cost of cannabis 

down in most markets. Still, while 

paying a low price is a good thing, 

sometimes too low of a price can be an 

indicator of things you want to avoid. 

Always inspect your cannabis before 

you buy it. Make sure the quality isn’t 

low even if the cost is. On the other 

hand, if the dispensary is charging 

nearly twice as much as the shop next 

door, go find out why. High prices are 

warranted on boutique-quality strains 

and competition winners, but they are 

not warranted just because the shop 

owner can’t pay his bills. Find a balance 

between quality and price that 

you can live with. 

Finding a new dispensary shouldn’t 

be a chore. It should be fun. Take 

your time and sample what the local 

cannabis community has to offer 

before making any commitments. 

Know what you like and know 

who you are dealing with. Keep 

these things in mind and it will 

make your final choice in cannabis 

providers a rewarding one. 

Cory Hughes is a former police officer turned full-time commercial grower in Denver, Colorado. 


myhydrolife.com

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Cannabis Use 

Memory Loss 

and 

by Chris Bond 

When it comes to cannabis use, one fact 

is clear: adolescents that partake heavily 

experience memory problems. How it affects 

adults, however, is a little hazier. Chris Bond 

cites the most recent reports while explaining 

where we’re at with cannabis and memory loss. 

To say that recreational use of marijuana is an anathema 

to memory is to highly overstate the claim. Not all memory 

is created equal, nor does the smoking of marijuana affect 

adolescents the same as adults, or males the same as females. 

While there are some irrefutable instances of cause and effect 

between smoking weed and forgetting any number of 

important notions (that may keep you out of trouble), there are 

numerous factors to take into account. 

Memory Loss in Adolescents 

There can be no doubt that the heavy and chronic use of 

cannabis by adolescents causes memory problems. Excepting 

for cases where it is used for medicinal uses, marijuana use 

by teens should clearly not be encouraged. This is not to say 

that an occasional joint is going to do any long-term harm, 

but given that the adolescent brain is much more vulnerable 

to the potentially negative effects of cannabis, it should be 

avoided. What’s more, a UK study revealed that adolescents 

experience less of a satiety effect after smoking marijuana 

than adults, so they are inclined to consume greater 

quantities of cannabis than adults. 

Adolescence is the period in human development when the 

processes that refine and strengthen neural networks occur, 

and they continue on until a person reaches their mid-20s. 

Brain matter and integrity of that matter increase during 

this period of life. Heavy usage of marijuana during this 

time affects the “wiring” of the brain and as such can inhibit 

myriad memory functions. Numerous studies on the matter 

have shown that the regular adolescent users of marijuana 

consistently perform poorer in cognitive functions than 

their non-using peers. Most types of memory are negatively 

impacted by adolescent abuse of marijuana. Executive 

memory, which is the type of memory used to assist in 

planning, reasoning, and problem solving, is particularly 

affected, as is the processing speed of the information. 

Frequent adolescent marijuana smokers also show a higher 

rate of impaired verbal memory and story memory than 

non-using peers. Interestingly, other types of memory such 

as associative and visuospatial memory do not seem to be 

impacted. It also seems that memory loss in adolescents does 

discriminate; female, heavy users of marijuana show poorer 

episodic memory than their male, heavy-using peers. 

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“Large-scale studies, such as a Swedish 

study of more than 50,000 individuals 

and a New Zealand study that followed 

a cohort of over 1,000 individuals for 

20 years, prove that numerous types of 

memory are poorer by any measure for 

the marijuana users in comparison to 

peers who do not use marijuana.” 

All is not lot lost though for younger cannabis connoisseurs, 

however. As more studies are performed, the less evidence 

there is for any correlation between lower IQs and recreational 

marijuana usage. Even better is that after a three-month 

hiatus of using marijuana, most cognitive functions return to 

normal peer levels. One study has even shown that among 

college students (technically young adults, not adolescents), 

recreational marijuana usage results in higher mental processing 

speeds as compared to their non-smoking peers. Don’t 

take that one to the bank just yet, as the results of that one 

study could just be an anomaly. 

The most recent data suggests that marijuana usage among 

adolescents is at an all-time low since the 1970 declaration 

of marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance, but it is trending 

upwards again. Six per cent of American high school seniors 

admit to smoking marijuana on a daily basis and 21 per cent 

admit to being regular smokers of cannabis. For comparison, 

less than 10 per cent of the overall United States population 

(22.2 million) reports marijuana use in the past month. 

Memory Loss in Adults 

There is no shortage of hard evidence linking the chronic 

and heavy use of marijuana to cognitive deficiencies in adult 

users. Large-scale studies, such as a Swedish study of more 

than 50,000 individuals and a New Zealand study that followed 

a cohort of over 1,000 individuals for 20 years, prove that 

numerous types of memory are poorer by any measure for the 

marijuana users in comparison to peers who do not use marijuana. 

Specifically, learning, working memory, and attention 

are affected. The silver lining (or is it Silver Haze?) is that upon 

abstinence of marijuana use, many (if not most) cognitive 

functions return to normal levels, so this can be reversible. Of 

course, not all researchers agree. Some findings suggest that 

if the hippocampus is damaged due to heavy cannabis usage, 

memory loss may not be reversible upon abstinence. 

Worst-case Scenario 

What would an article about the effects of using marijuana 

and its impact on memory loss be if it didn’t end with a 

nightmare-like scenario? Chronic cannabis use has been 

attributed in rare cases to inducing the mother of all memory 

loss episodes: the fugue-like state. When someone falls into 

this amnesia-like state, there is no memory of one’s self; not a 

name, history, or any idea how, when, or why they exist. The 

resulting confusion usually makes the individual unstable 

and dangerous to him or herself and those around them. 

Fortunately, relatively few persons ever experience this, and 

it is difficult to deduce for how many it would have occurred 

without the use of cannabis, since it is a psychotic state that 

can be triggered by numerous stimuli, including cocaine use, 

physical trauma, and misuse of other medications. 

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. 

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The journey from a life-changing 

accident to owning a cannabis 

dispensary has been a long and 

arduous one for Ryan Milkey, proprietor 

of Northern Specialty Health in 

Michigan. A former electrician, Milkey 

is now providing medicine to countless 

patients in the Upper Peninsula and 

has recently opened a second 

location. In this dispensary 

profile, Lee G. Lyzit sits 

down with Milkey to get the 

backstory of how it all began. 

BY LEE G. LYZIT 

Ten years ago, Ryan Milkey, now the owner of the medical 

marijuana dispensary Northern Specialty Health in Michigan’s 

Upper Peninsula, was pursuing his career as an electrician. 

Back then, he would never have dreamed of becoming 

a medical marijuana dispensary owner because pursuing a 

career in the electrical trade was his passion. This is not to 

say that he didn’t understand the healing powers of cannabis. 

He acknowledges that he experimented with cannabis in high 

school as both a recreational drug and a medicine for pain 

relief. Milkey was a football player who, like most football 

players, had sustained some serious and painful hits throughout 

his days on the gridiron. 

“Looking back, it was like I was subconsciously choosing 

cannabis as a medicine for pain instead of pain pills or 

alcohol,” says Milkey of his cannabis use in high school. 

Cannabis helped him stay “mentally grounded” when 

other substances, including alcohol, could make him feel 

aggravated or uncomfortable. 

However, Milkey’s electrical career, and just about everything 

else in his life, completely changed in June 2007. A horrendous 

four-wheeler accident left him with a broken neck and back 

and five broken ribs. Lucky to be alive, Milkey spent several 

months rehabilitating his damaged body. Though fortunately 

still able to walk, he suffered substantial nerve damage that 

affected the proper use of certain leg muscles and experienced 

severe ongoing nerve-related pain in his feet. 

After the accident, Milkey worked as much as he could but 

was unable to continue his electrical job in the same capacity. 

Working around his body’s good and bad days, he at times 

needed to lie down throughout the day, which made it difficult 

to maintain an electrician’s typical schedule. Still, battling the 

physical pain from his accident and on a slew of prescription 

pain killers that left him feeling “groggy and irritable,” he 

continued to do side jobs to make ends meet. 


myhydrolife.com

Milkey’s lack of stability in the work place wasn’t the only new 

hardship he acquired. 

After fighting just to stay alive immediately after the accident, 

Milkey was then left with another problem: an addiction to 

prescription painkillers, including hydrocodone and fentanyl. 

“They would work at first, but then I would build up a tolerance 

and need more. So, I would take more and then I would run out 

before my prescription was ready to be filled,” he says. In the time 

between prescription refills, it was not uncommon for Milkey to 

experience withdrawal symptoms. “This was not only extremely 

hard on me, but it was a very difficult time for my family.” 

Milkey knew he could not continue in the way he was 

headed, for his own sake and for the sake of his family. 

Remembering his experiences with cannabis in high school, 

Milkey decided to get a medical marijuana card with some 

encouragement from his wife, Penny. After voters approved 

the initiative in 2008, Milkey became one of the first patients 

to receive a medical marijuana card in the state of Michigan. 

Like others before him who had searched for effective 

alternatives to addictive pharmaceuticals, Milkey decided to 

take the propagation of his medicine into his own hands. He 

grew his own cannabis and experimented with a variety of 

extracts to see what would help his condition the most. With 

the help of medical marijuana, Milkey weaned himself off all 

opioids; something he describes as “life-saving.” Cannabis 

became his principal pain medication, supplemented by only 

one other pharmaceutical for his nerve problems. 

At this time, Northern Specialty Health was already operating 

in Houghton, MI. As Milkey grew his own cannabis and made 

his own extracts, he had only visited the dispensary on a 

couple of occasions. 

In 2013, Milkey heard there was a possibility the dispensary 

might close its doors. 

Passionate about the healing power of cannabis, Milkey was 

appalled at the possibility of the local dispensary closing. 

“I just couldn’t bear the thought of them closing down a 

facility that supplied a medicine that was so life-changing for 

me,” he says. Until then, he had never thought about owning 

this, or any other, dispensary. 

After some discussion, the Milkeys decided to buy Northern 

Specialty Health. They took over ownership on December 22, 2013. 

Since purchasing the business, the Milkeys have helped supply 

high-quality medicinal marijuana to countless patients in the 

Upper Peninsula. In April 2015, Northern Specialty Health expanded 

and opened a second dispensary location in Calumet, MI. 

Supplied with a with a wide variety of cannabis-based medicines, 

Northern Specialty Health is stocked with cannabis flowers, Rick 

Simpson oil (RSO), tinctures, gel caps, shatter, wax, kief, RSO lotion, 

and moon rocks (cannabis bud dipped in RSO and then dipped in 

kief). They also stock a wide variety of edibles, including gummy 

bears, fruit leathers, caramels, infused honey, brownies, and cakes. 

Aside from the medicine itself, Northern Specialty Health also 

supplies vaporizers and smoking accessories. 

“We would love to be known as a dispensary that consistently 

provides the highest quality medicine,” says Milkey. Since the 

Milkeys took over as owners, Northern Specialty Health’s mission 

has been to focus on quality over quantity. “We’re not worried about 

growing really big or getting rich. Our priority is supplying safe 

and high-quality medicine to patients in need.” 

“WE’RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT 

GROWING REALLY BIG OR GETTING 

RICH. OUR PRIORITY IS SUPPLYING 

SAFE AND HIGH-QUALITY MEDICINE 

TO PATIENTS IN NEED.” 

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 miraculous 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. 

myhydrolife.com 

grow. heal. learn. enjoy. 59

heal 

Soothing 

Salves 

How Topical CBD Treatments Work 

When it comes to treating inflammation, cannabis 

doesn’t always have to be ingested or smoked. 

Instead, it can be put on the skin. Here’s how it works. 

The anti-inflammatory effects of 

Cannabis sativa have been known 

for centuries. Though its use dwindled 

in the early 20 th century, we are now 

rediscovering the ways that cannabis 

can be used as a prescribed pain 

killer. One particular cannabinoid, 

cannabidiol (CBD), has been studied 

repeatedly of late. In their paper 

“Topical and Systemic Cannabidiol 

Improves Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic 

Acid Colitis in Mice,” Schicho and 

Storr found CBD to have a “favorable 

side effect profile.” 

by Chris Bond 

The Whys and How of Topical CBD 

Cannabidiol can ameliorate many 

chronic disease symptoms related to 

pain and swelling. In addition to its antiinflammatory 

properties, Giacoppo et al. 

found in their study, “A new formulation of 

cannabidiol in cream shows therapeutic 

effects in a mouse model of experimental 

autoimmune encephalomyelitis,” that 

CBD can also suppress a wide range of 

pro-inflammatory cytokines. For sufferers 

of degenerative diseases like multiple 

sclerosis (MS), CBD has been shown to 

positively alter how the disease progresses. 

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The potential of topical CBD to treat pain and 

inflammation is being tested on a wide range of maladies.” 

The efficacy of CBD to alleviate or 

reduce pain from swelling is many 

times greater when applied as a 

topical solution as opposed to an oral 

one. When ingested, the human liver 

metabolizes cannabinoids and reduces 

their effectiveness to our bodies. After 

the liver has done its job, there is only 

a 13-19 per cent bioavailability of the 

CBD and a low aqueous solubility. As 

Giacoppo et al. wrote, this means that 

what CBD is left for the body to use is 

still not in a very “user-friendly” format 

as compared to the greater effectiveness 

of CBD as a systemic (injected) or 

topical application. 

Case Studies 

The potential of topical CBD to treat pain 

and inflammation is being tested on a 

wide range of maladies. In Giacoppo et 

al.’s particularly profound Italian study, 

mice afflicted with MS were daily anointed 

with topical creams containing CBD. 

According to this study, the application 

of a topical cream containing as little 

as one per cent CBD could exert “neuroprotective” 

effects against autoimmune 

encephalomyelitis (EAE), a commonly 

used model for MS, and could go as far 

as helping sufferers to recover some lost 

feeling in their limbs or extremities. In 

their trial, some of the mice recovered 

sensitivity in their hind limbs. 

Schicho and Storr’s study, which was 

also conducted on mice, considered the 

use of CBD to address symptoms of colitis, 

or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 

The Canadian and Austrian researchers 

compared oral, systemic, and topical 

CBD formulations. Mice given intrarectal 

applications of CBD had significantly 

higher rates of symptom mitigation 

and control. The application of 

the topical CBD protected against the 

possibility of intestinal inflammation, 

and researchers deemed it an easy 

method of drug administration. 

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The application 

of the topical CBD 

protected against the 

possibility of intestinal 

inflammation.” 

A third study by Thapa et al., which 

was funded by the Canadian Institutes 

of Health Research, looked at the ability 

of topical CBD to address ocular pain 

caused by damaged corneal tissue. The 

corneas of mice were anointed with 

capsaicin, the agent found within hot 

peppers that make them spicy. A percentage 

of the mice received a topical 

CBD treatment, while others received 

different or no treatment. Those that 

received the CBD treatment were found 

to blink far less, an indication that their 

eyes were bothering them less than 

those not provided with the CBD alternative. 

This study stated at the outset 

that current treatment for corneal pain 

sufferers are “frequently ineffective” 

and concluded that topical CBD formulations 

“could offer a novel therapy for 

ocular pain and inflammation.” 

And while not exactly life-threatening 

but relevant to millions of people worldwide, 

an in-depth, recent European study 

by Oláh et al. showed great promise and 

success in the trials of using CBD on 

human cells to disrupt the formation of 

acne. The CBD prevents the formation of 

excessive fat that is caused by pro-acne 

agents. Furthermore, the study found 

that cannabidiol demonstrated “remarkable 

anti-bacterial activity.” 

Whether life-threatening or superficial, 

CBD topical treatments seem to hold 

some of the greatest potential for curing—or 

at least mitigating—the numerous 

negative and often painful effects 

of dozens of common to rare conditions. 

With continued research, topical CBD 

could be available as a pain relief for 

many who suffer even the most banal 

of aches and pains, without risk of side 

effects or potential for abuse or misuse 

that is so common with opiate-derived 

prescription pain killers. 


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By August Dunning 

GOP ON POT 

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and the Current State of Cannabis Legislation 

Support for legalizing medical marijuana at the federal level is being driven by an unlikely 

supporter: Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. August Dunning sat down with the 

congressman to understand Rohrabacher’s role and his reasons for ending prohibition. 

AUGUST DUNNING: 

The cannabis industry is in 

a state of growth and great 

change. A new attorney 

general, and many new states 

have legalized medical 

cannabis and outright 

recreational use. What do you 

think is driving the charge to 

change federal laws? 

DANA ROHRABACHER: 

It’s the reality that the states, 

one by one, are becoming 

pro-legalization states. And 

the more states that legalize 

it and the use of marijuana 

in their states, the more 

people in Washington DC 

realize that they are on the 

wrong side of this issue. 

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AD: So, the people still have the power 

to determine this movement? 

DR: Right. 

AD: At the federal level, what is your 

role to end prohibition? Not just change 

it from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 to hand 

it over to the pharmaceutical companies, 

but to end prohibition altogether. 

DR: My role is to do my best to tie the 

legal status of marijuana at the state 

level with the legal status of marijuana 

at the federal level. That’s my only task 

because we can win votes based on 

what the states don’t want the federal 

lawmakers to determine as policy. Because 

all that counts regarding marijuana 

law and policy is the combined 

will of the three groups that count: the 

president, the people, and the people in 

congress in terms of setting policy. 

AD: How have cannabis laws, in your 

words, “violated every principle America 

stands for over the last 75 years?” 

Do you think they have been an affront 

against liberty? 

DR: The answer is yes. And there have 

been a number of things that have been 

an affront, like peacetime drafts that 

were ended by Nixon with the support 

of Goldwater and Reagan, or the federal 

government’s decision to prohibit 

alcohol. In fact, we’ve had numerous 

examples of the government going 

beyond its constitutional authority 

trying to control what people consume, 

which is not the job set out for them by 

the Constitution. 

AD: You and I come from the same generation. 

What has been your experience 

and how has it changed your views on 

cannabis laws over the years? 

DR: There has been no change in my 

views. Since I was in college, it has 

always been my view that people 

have a right to consume what they 

want to consume. It’s their right to do 

so, especially when it comes to things 

that might help their health. In terms 

of marijuana itself, I haven’t consumed 

any marijuana since I was 23 years 

old but about three years ago, I had a 

shoulder that began giving me severe 

pain. I used a CBD salve on it and it 

alleviated the pain for about an hour 

and a half. I honestly believe that had 

we had the research at the time, it 

wouldn’t have been an hour and a half; 

who knows, it could have been five, 

six, maybe seven hours but as it was, 

it worked better than some opiate that 

would have serious side effects. 

AD: In that respect, how do you feel 

cannabis is different from other drugs? 

DR: Well, it’s a natural substance, but 

I suppose you could say that opium is 

a natural substance too. But cannabis 

can be grown in someone’s backyard 

easily. It’s impossible for the federal 

government to control, especially 

people that want to use it for medical 

purposes, if that’s what people decide 

they want to do. 

AD: The human body has 

endocannabinoid receptor sites that 

allows the plant-based cannabinoids 

to act on the human body. Do you feel 

this is a good reason to use cannabis 

for medical purposes? 

DR: I support people being able to 

use whatever they want to handle 

their medical problems and it’s 

their right to choose the cannabis 

strains that they want if they are 

more effective than other things 

they have tried from doctors. 

AD: That’s interesting because the 

different strains of cannabis have 

different levels of terpenes, the 

fragrance molecules that give the 

plants different unique fragrances 

like pine or lemon. It’s been shown in 

multiple examples in foreign research 

papers that terpenes like limonene 

and pinene can get inside cancer 

cells and short circuit the NF kappaB 

signaling to prevent cancer cells from 

replicating. What kind of protections 

need to be provided to advance this 

same research in this country? 

DR: It’s been illegal up until now for 

universities to possess the strains of 

cannabis with the levels of potency 

to study those findings and replicate 

them. But now, with state legalization of 

medical marijuana, researchers in those 

states are making huge strides and are 

way beyond the curve in understanding 

the potential use medically for cannabis 

rather than just for recreational use. 

AD: You’re a California congressman 

and I think our readers would like to 

know what role you played in the legalization 

of cannabis for recreational use 

there in November. 

“Since I was in college, 

it has always been my 

view that people have a 

right to consume what 

they want to consume. 

It’s their right to do so, 

especially when it comes 

to things that might help 

their health.” 


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risk to enforce the law. I support law 

enforcement, don’t get me wrong, but 

without strong federal legislation, the 

business owner is vulnerable and not 

protected from this kind of corruption. 

But in the current asset forfeiture 

situation, the American people then 

rightly can ask the question: What’s the 

difference between the criminals and 

the police? The answer is that one has a 

mask and one has a badge. 

DR: The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment 

had a lot to do with it. Congressman 

Farr, who was my partner in this for a 

number of years, is from northern California 

and a Democrat, so there was a 

bi-partisan California consensus. However, 

there were only four of my fellow 

republican colleagues from California 

that joined us and supported the amendment, 

but it was supported by almost all 

of the Democrats. Congressman Farr is 

now retired and Oregon Congressman 

Blumenauer has become the co-author 

of the bill in the House. There are 

a lot of bills currently floating around 

congress, but most of them have zero 

chance of being enacted because they 

only address singular issues. That’s not 

what the industry needs. I, on the other 

hand, have one bill that will handle 

all the marijuana and cannabis issues 

that people need to have a medical or 

recreational business. The bill says that 

all federal agencies, not just the justice 

department or internal revenue, are 

required to obey the laws enacted in the 

states that have legalized cannabis. It 

means that the internal revenue service, 

banking… all normal services for legal 

business must be provided and protected 

in that state with no exceptions, like 

any business that follows the rules and 

regulations of that state. This will stop 

the wholesale confiscation by the police 

of money and resources that is currently 

taking place by police departments and 

corrupt district attorneys. 

It’s a huge problem when you have 

an industry trying to get started in 

states with legally regulated cannabis 

where businesses cannot deposit in 

the banks due to the federal banking 

money laundering laws. They have to 

keep their money in huge plastic bags 

at their place of business or homes, and 

the local law enforcement or federal 

agents can just come in and seize it 

under asset forfeiture laws. This is 

an organized theft that is just tearing 

down any respect for the law and it 

cheapens and demeans the good people 

that go out every day at great personal 

AD: The president was very pro 

medical marijuana during the 

campaign, but his new attorney 

general, Jeff Sessions, seems to be at 

odds with the president’s position. 

DR: Jeff Sessions is the attorney 

general; he is not the president of the 

United States. The president won in 

several states that the cannabis voters 

may have been a determining factor 

in his winning in those states. This 

president seems to be following through 

on his pledges, unlike many past ones. 

And although Jeff Sessions has always 

said drug use needs to be stamped out 

because government needs to protect 

people from themselves, this view undermines 

every concept of freedom and 

liberty this country is founded upon. Mr. 

Trump said medical marijuana should 

be legal and adult use should be left 

up to the states. He said it several times 

during the campaign. I’m trying to make 

sure that we get the president to focus 

on this so we can know whether or not 

his vision that he expressed during the 

campaign will be the dominant force on 

marijuana policy or if it will be left up to 

the attorney general. The big question is 

whether the president is going to listen 

to the people that have failed to prevent 

people from utilizing drugs, all the while 

making a fortune from asset forfeiture. 

The result of these failed policies is a 

drug cartel industry on our southern border 

that is monsterously powerful. The 

president needs to assert his vision. 

AD: You know both men. Have you 

had a chance to talk to them about 

your bill and this issue? 

DR: I have talked to both of them 

on other issues but not this one yet. 

I hope to have a chance to sit down 

and do so soon. 

AD: How soon do you think your bill 

may be passed? 

DR: There is an 18-month deadline 

for a vote, but I hope to get it passed 

in eight to 12 months. 

“The bill says that 

all federal agencies, 

not just the justice 

department or internal 

revenue, are required to 

obey the laws enacted 

in the states that have 

legalized cannabis.” 


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AD: What do you think is holding back 

the end of federal prohibition? 

DR: Perception. 

AD: Perception? 

DR: Yeah, too many images of Cheech 

and Chong and the hippies of the 

’60s still in the minds of legislators, 

of kids smoking dope and fornicating 

in the park at the Summer of Love. It’s 

hard to fight this image while trying 

to explain how useful cannabis is. All 

those images in media of the ’60s have 

poisoned the well in the minds of those 

asked to have a serious discussion 

about cannabis in Washington DC. 

AD: When marijuana is legal, should 

there be any move to release prisoners 

that have been arrested for non-violent 

cannabis crimes? 

DR: Yes, both at the state and the 

federal level, people that have been 

arrested for using cannabis should be 

immediately released. 

AD: Is there anything you can tell the 

readers what to look forward to in the 

future with marijuana laws? 

DR: I would remind them that, eventually, 

the government listens to the 

people and their voice drives the laws. 

We have gotten to the point now that 

large numbers of normal Americans, I 

think something like 60 per cent, have 

said they want these laws to change 

and around 45 per cent want prohibition 

to end. Large numbers of identifiable 

Americans, senior citizens, veterans, 

and cancer patients that need to use 

cannabis for medicinal purposes are 

voting to have these changes enacted 

at the state level. These groups were on 

the opposite side of this debate only a 

few decades ago. It is changing, and I 

am working to get the bigger changes 

enacted so we can enjoy the benefits 

of a new age of cannabis utilization in 

industry, medicine, energy storage… 

AD: Energy storage? 

DR: Sure. If we want to go to an electric 

car and solar power paradigm, at some 

point we will need a lot more batteries 

than the current global sources of 

lithium can provide for lithium ion 

batteries. Graphene is another material 

that can possibly be used—sheets of 

carbon atoms that can become super 

capacitor energy storage devices; 

expensive and difficult to manufacture. 

In Canada in 2014, it was found that 

hemp waste can be used to create the 

same super capacitor and it’s a great 

use of the by-product of hemp seed 

and seed oil production—sticks and 

stems. You cook the bark of cannabis 

hydrothermally to dissolve the lignin 

and the semi-cellulose. This produces 

carbon nanosheets; a pseudo-graphene 

structure at one-thousandth the cost of 

graphene. This invention could reduce or 

possibly eliminate the need to purchase 

lithium from Chile or Bolivia and 

recycles plant waste in an ecologically 

smart system for energy storage as green 

batteries. Made in the USA. The list of 

benefits is long but ethanol, oils, fabrics, 

cosmetics, building materials… all the 

things we once used and need to invent 

from this important plant and remember: 

the constitution of the United States was 

written on hemp paper. 

AD: Thank you, Dana, we appreciate 

your efforts to change the laws. 

DR: You are welcome; I’m just fighting 

for freedom and having fun. 

Editor’s note: On Sept. 7, as Hydrolife 

was going to press, the House Rules 

Committee blocked the Rohrabacher- 

Blumenauer amendment that prevents 

the Department of Justice from 

interfering with state medical laws. 

Because of this decision, Rohrabacher 

and Blumenauer will not be able 

to offer their amendment when the 

House considers fiscal year 2018. 

Rohrabacher and Blumenauer coreleased 

a statement saying they 

condemn the decision, adding it will 

put at risk millions of patients who rely 

on medical marijuana for treatment. 

Augustus Dunning is the CEO of Eco 

Organics and is a physicist, chemist, and 

an inventor. He is the former systems ops 

designer for the International Space Station 

and a former regional manager of liquid, 

solid, and electric propulsion systems 

for Pratt and Whitney space propulsion, 

Edwards AFB, NAWC, and JPL. 

“Eventually, the 

government listens to 

the people and their 

voice drives the laws.” 


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Ed Rosenthal’s 

Photo by Tonya Perme Photography 

by Grubbycup 

Today, more Americans than ever before have the ability to grow and cultivate 

marijuana for medical and personal use. Marijuana Harvest teaches cultivators 

how to avoid making costly mistakes, identify problems, and solve them quickly. 

Long-time grower Grubbycup reviews Rosenthal’s much anticipated new book. 

Marijuana Harvest: Maximizing Quality and Yield in Your Cannabis 

Garden addresses in detail the critical stages of harvest, curing, 

and storage. Even the best-grown, top-shelf buds can be ruined with 

improper practices at any of these final stages. While these topics are 

usually relegated to a couple of brief chapters at the end of cannabis 

growing guides, Marijuana Harvest is Ed Rosenthal’s new book 

devoted entirely to them. The text portion runs 213 pages and covers 

a variety of related topics from harvest to finished product. 

The introduction by co-author David Downs sets a tone that is 

informative yet easy to follow. The writing isn’t overly technical or 

academic, and a conversational voice carries through the pages. 

Planning is often an important part of success, and the book 

devotes an entire chapter to harvesting strategies. A garden 

that only requires minimal effort the week before harvest may 

have a staggering amount of work to be done the weeks of 

and following harvest. By using strategies such as those 

suggested, these influxes in labor demand can be planned 

for and accommodated. 

Harvesting cannabis plants when they aren’t at their peak 

is lost potential that can never be regained. The chapter on 

ripening describes in detail, and 

shows with illustrating photos, 

the physical signs to watch for 

to determine harvest readiness. 

The discussion on 

trimming runs the gambit 

of hand trimming versus 

machine trimmers, and 

wet trimming versus dry, 

with the pros and cons 

of each addressed. 

Drying cannabis too 

quickly can impart 

unpleasant flavors, but 

drying too slowly promotes 

mold growth. The 

book explains strategies 

for avoiding both. 

Curing has a strong influence on flavor, and both contemporary 

and traditional methods are discussed. I found the section 

devoted to water curing particularly interesting, as it is an 

older practice that is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. It 

involves soaking the buds in a water bath (changed daily) 

for a few days. The method is not without risk, as a mistake, 

especially during drying, can easily ruin an entire batch. Even 

if successful, water curing leaves the buds looking mistreated 

and ruined. It dramatically reduces “bag appeal” regardless of 

the quality of starting material. However, when properly done, 

it creates a surprisingly smooth smoke that has an extremely 

mild flavor. While the process removes much of the personality 

of flavor, it has uses where that can be an asset, such as in the 

case of cooking if strong cannabis flavors are not desired. 

My overall impression of the book was that it covered its chosen 

topics well and in an easy-to-understand method. There 

are a few points here and there where my personal opinions 

differ, but that can be expected as many experienced growers 

will have picked up their own methods they are comfortable 

with over time. The information given could well save an inexperienced 

gardener more than the purchase price of the book 

in a single harvest, and it makes some points of value for even 

a seasoned grower. 

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 French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czechoslovakian, 

and German. He is also considered one of the world’s leading 

authorities on crochet hydroponics. 


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learn enjoy 

POTCOIN 

THE BITCOIN ALTERNATIVE 

FOR THE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY 

Bitcoin may be the most well-known 

cryptocurrency, but it isn’t the only one. In the 

cannabis space, Potcoin is an up-and-coming 

contender looking to be the currency flowing 

in and out of people’s digital wallets. 

by Cory Hughes 

Over the last year or so, we have seen the rise of a new 

phenomenon known as cryptocurrencies. By now, many 

of us have already heard about Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first 

and still the largest cryptocurrency in the space with a market 

cap now breaking $41 billion. As Bitcoin continues to grow 

and gain real-world adoption as both a payment system and 

a store of value, hundreds of new digital coins have emerged, 

each offering their own take on blockchain technology. 

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learn 

“ 

UNLIKE MANY OF THE COINS 

ENTERING THE CRYPTO 

MARKET, POTCOIN FULFILLS 

A REAL-WORLD NEED.” 

Many cryptocurrencies are targeting specific industries. There 

is Chronobank, whose new coin seeks to change the way staffing 

is handled. There is Musicoin, which wants to become the 

musician’s currency of choice. And then there is Potcoin, which 

looks to change the way cannabis banking, or lack thereof, is 

handled at the retail level. Potcoin has entered two brand-new 

markets at a time when both cannabis and cryptocurrencies are 

spreading at exponential rates. Unlike many of the coins entering 

the crypto market though, Potcoin fulfills a real-world need. 

Instead of simply attempting to compete with Bitcoin—which is 

no small feat—Potcoin looks to help the cannabis industry solve 

the problem of being, for the most part, unbankable. 

Federal regulation in the US continues to prevent the big 

banks from dealing with cannabis money, and many of the 

smaller banks follow their lead. There are few banking solutions 

out there, but they can be inconvenient, meaning not in 

your state or otherwise not attractive to businesses that are 

thus forced solely to deal in cash. Being forced to keep cash 

on hand is a major hindrance for cannabis companies. That, 

combined with tight restrictions on taxes and the inability 

to write-off business expenses that every other industry gets 

to enjoy, paints a picture of an industry in desperate need of 

a solution. The problem of banking has forced many seemingly 

reputable cannabis dispensaries to skirt the law and 

open separate “Joe’s T-Shirt Company” type entities to handle 

credit and debit card transactions. Still, a few shirts on the 

wall does not a T-shirt company make. Potcoin, however, offers 

dispensaries and cannabis companies a lawful way to 

bypass cash and remove the problem of banking while simultaneously 

participating in the new digital economy. 

One of the biggest fears about accepting cryptocurrencies at 

the retail level is the incredible amount of volatility. As cryptocurrencies 

are traded on an open market, they do fluctuate 

in price. But who wants to make a sale only to find out their 

money is worth 20 per cent less the next day? Over the years, 

new cryptocurrency-related merchant services have expanded. 

Nowadays, Potcoin and a handful of other often-accepted retail 

cryptocurrencies can instantly be turned into Bitcoin or even a 

digital version of the US dollar for stability. If the retailer needs 

to make payments in real George Washington dollars, there 

are retail-ready, third-party solutions that make money transfer 

and payments easier than using a credit card. 

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learn 

The one feature of using Potcoin and other similar blockchain 

technologies that should most appeal to cannabis business 

owners is the direct ownership of the coins. A bank is a third 

party that bows to the whims of the federal government. As 

we’ve seen, banks have no problem handing over bank accounts 

of those simply accused of a cannabis crime. Cryptocurrencies, 

on the other hand, exist on the blockchain and can be 

controlled only by those who possess the private key to unlock 

their coins. That means that if a dispensary’s business is 

seized, whether for just reasons or not, no one can take, view, or 

access the money if it is secured on the blockchain. 

Cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy. Still, they have seen 

their market cap grow from only around $13 billion last year to 

more than $115 billion. The technology is becoming easier for 

both customers to use and businesses to receive. Potcoin and 

other cryptocurrencies utilize technologies that are only now 

starting to gain the attention of major financial institutions and 

even governments. Countries like Japan have already legalized 

cryptocurrency use at the retail level and it is only a matter 

of time before their mass adoption makes its way to North 

America. It is safe to say that cryptocurrencies are not simply 

a currency but a new form of technology that the world has 

never seen before. Solving the banking problems the cannabis 

industry currently faces is only the beginning. 

“ 

IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT 

CRYPTOCURRENCIES ARE NOT 

SIMPLY A CURRENCY BUT A 

NEW FORM OF TECHNOLOGY 

THAT THE WORLD HAS NEVER 

SEEN BEFORE.” 

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DECIPHERING 

TERPENES 

The aroma and flavor of a specific cannabis strain is trying to tell 

you something. Just like THC and CBD, terpenes attach to receptors 

in the brain and have various effects on the mind and body. 

Rich Hamilton helps you pair the ailment with the terpene. 

The main compound that cannabis is famous for 

is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the active 

ingredient that creates the “high” feeling that is 

experienced when cannabis enters the bloodstream. 

Cannabidiol (CBD) is the secondary compound found 

in cannabis and has risen to prominence in recent 

years in the form of CBD oil due to its amazing health 

benefits and the fact that it contains none of the 

psychoactivity of THC. This makes it an attractive 

alternative health choice for people who would never 

contemplate using cannabis otherwise. 

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MJBizCon: 

The Industry 

Show You 

Can’t Miss 

“ 

This is an industry that’s ever changing, 

and if you miss an opportunity to become 

educated on those new trends, you’re 

behind. So you have to be here, 

in order to stay on top of 

what’s going on and 

stay current. ” 

-Patrick Rea, 

CEO & Co-Founder 

at Canopy Accelerator 

REGISTER TODAY AT 

MJBizCon.com 

OR CALL (401) 354-7555 X 1 

Las Vegas Convention Center 

November 15-17, 2017 


enjoy 

”LEARNING TO identify terpenes is a 

great skill to have in terms of widening 

your knowledge of cannabis.” 

There are other compounds, however, that are still 

unfamiliar to most but are beginning to be better 

understood as the benefits of cannabis are further 

explored by science. These compounds are called 

terpenes. Simply put, terpenes are fragrant oils that 

are secreted in a flower’s sticky resin glands, the same 

place that THC and CBD are secreted. Unlike THC and 

CBD, however, terpenes are not exclusive to cannabis 

and are present in lots of plants and fruits, such 

as peppermint, coriander, lavender, mango, 

and pine. They are what give these and other 

plants their signature smell and are what 

essential oils are derived from. In scientific 

terms, terpenes are organic compounds, a 

large group of volatile hydrocarbons found 

in many plants (and even some insects). 

In terms of their purpose, the strong 

odor is thought to act as protection 

for the plant from herbivores by 

deterring them and attracting 

predators of herbivores. 

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In cannabis, terpenes are probably most noticeable in the 

smell (or the flavor) and explain why different strains can have 

such different odors, ranging from citrusy to sweet to spicy. 

This makes it very easy (after a little practice) to identify which 

terpenes a strain contains just by smelling it. As they do in 

essential oils, terpenes in cannabis have different properties 

that are thought to be therapeutic for different needs. Just like 

THC and CBD, terpenes attach to receptors in the brain and as 

a result, have various effects on the mind and body. 

So, wondering which terpenes your cannabis contains, what 

they do, and where else you can find them? There are at least 

120 identified terpene compounds in cannabis plants, so it 

would take a long time to look at all of them. Below are six of 

the most common cannabis terpenes to get you started. The 

boiling point of the terpene is important to keep in mind if you 

are cooking with cannabis, as heating it beyond this point will 

see you lose the terpenes benefit as it burns off. 

PINENE 

Pinene helps alleviate inflammation and asthma, as well 

as increases memory retention and alertness. Its aroma is a 

sharp, sweet pine smell, and it is also found in conifers, pine, 

and sage. It has a boiling point of 155°C (311°F). 

LINALOOL 

Linalool is believed to combat insomnia, stress, depression, 

anxiety, pain, and convulsions. Its effects are thought to be 

sedating and calming. It has a floral, citrus, and spicy aroma 

and is also found in lavender, citrus fruits, laurel, birch, and 

rosewood. It has a boiling point of 198°C (388°F). 

CARYOPHYLLENE 

Caryophyllene is thought to work as an antioxidant as well as 

helping inflammation, muscle spasms, pain, and insomnia. It 

has no known physical effects. It has a pepper, wood, and spice 

aroma and is also found in pepper, cloves, hops, basil, and 

oregano. The boiling point is 160°C (320°F). 

MYRCENE 

Myrcene works as an antiseptic, an anti-bacterial, and an 

anti-fungal, and helps with reducing inflammation. It is 

sedating and relaxing, probably a result of its ability to 

enhance the effects of the THC in cannabis. Myrcene’s aroma 

has notes of musk, clove, herbal, and citrus. It is also found 

in mango, thyme, citrus, lemongrass, and bay leaf. The 

boiling point is 168°C (334°F). 

LIMONENE 

Limonene is supposed to be good for gastric reflux. It also 

works as an anti-fungal while helping to reduce depression 

and anxiety. The effects of limonene are elevated mood and 

stress relief. It smells heavily of citrus, of lemon and orange. 

No surprise then that it is found in citrus rind as well as juniper 

and peppermint. The boiling point is 176°C (349°F). 

HUMULENE 

Humulene is thought to assist with pain relief, and it works 

as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-bacterial. Its physical 

effect is that it suppresses appetite. It has a woody, earthy 

aroma and is also found in hops and coriander. Its boiling 

point is 198°C (388°F). 

”IN CANNABIS, terpenes are probably 

most noticeable in the smell (or the 

flavor) and explain why different strains 

can have such different odors, ranging 

from citrusy to sweet to spicy.” 

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”LEARNING HOW to do this can only 

serve to make you appreciate cannabis 

more and make you a true connoisseur.” 

At first glance, some of these benefits can be associated with 

the effects of THC or CBD by themselves, such as relaxation or 

pain relief. It is worth looking a little deeper into which strains 

you are ingesting, however, as the particular terpene associated 

with it could only heighten these effects or add to them. 

Labs that create medical marijuana are starting to map out the 

terpene profile of different strains and manipulate them by increasing 

the content of one type of terpene or crossing strains 

to add another terpene. This is interesting because it means 

we could reach a time when cannabis strains could be tailormade 

to focus their active ingredients on a specific effect. 

Learning to identify terpenes is a great skill to have in terms 

of widening your knowledge of cannabis. Think of it in the 

same way how wine tasters identify the region or type of the 

wine they are drinking and what food it complements best. 

With terpenes, you are identifying which strain of cannabis 

complements your needs best at that time. Learning how to 

do this can only serve to make you appreciate cannabis more 

and make you a true connoisseur. 

Rich Hamilton has been in 

the hydroponics industry for 

more than 20 years, working 

originally as a general 

manager in a hydroponics 

retail outlet before becoming 

an account manager at 

Century Growsystems. He 

currently works at Eden 

Horticulture. Rich enjoys 

working on a daily basis with 

shop owners, manufacturers, 

distributors, and end-users to 

develop premium products. 

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enjoy 

A BAKER’S DOZEN 

with 

Maya 

Elisabeth 

By Mary Schumacher 

Photo by Timothy White 

As cannabis becomes 

mainstream, markets that were 

once in the shadows are emerging into the 

light. Canna-innovators Whoopi Goldberg and Maya 

Elisabeth teamed up to develop a specialty line just for women’s 

menstruation cycles and not only is it working, it’s taking the market by storm. 

In a whirlwind of top talent and innovation, 

the Whoopi & Maya brand 

was born. It began with actress 

Whoopi Goldberg, who had the unique 

idea to make a line of cannabis products 

specifically for women to address 

the pains and mood swings that come 

with menstruation. She called then 

associate publisher of High Times, 

Rick Cusick, and told him her idea. It 

all sprang from there. Rick assembled 

a team of top pot players, including 

Maya Elisabeth, whose infusions had 

already won her seven Cannabis 

Cups at the time. Maya is a purest 

in the purest sense of the word, and 

brought a level of spirituality and oneness 

to the project. She also made sure 

that all ingredients were human- and 

animal-friendly. No animal testing, 

no GMOs, no subpar ingredients, almost 

everything organic: just good-forthe-soul 

remedies that get women in 

the mood to work, play, and even enjoy 

their time of the month. 

Based in California, the products 

remain medical in nature and have 

not yet opened up to the recreational 

market, but Whoopi & Maya has big 

plans on the horizon. From a mostly 

female-led collective to products that 

can’t be found elsewhere, the brand 

has risen to be the cream of the crop. 

Maya was kind enough to take 

some time with Hydrolife to tell us 

more about how she and Whoopi 

connected, what the atmosphere 

is like in the California cannabis 

scene, and more about the wonderful 

concoctions of Whoopi & Maya. 

Hydrolife: What was your initial 

reaction when approached about 

the Whoopi & Maya line? 

Maya: My first reaction when I was approached 

about the Whoopi & Maya line 

was absolute shock, excitement, anticipation, 

and an overall feeling of luck. I 

kept thinking “what are the chances?” I 

grew up watching this woman’s movies 

and never when I was watching them 

was I thinking “you and I will be partners 

someday!” To take it one step further, I 

never was thinking “you and I will be 

making cannabis medicine together 

someday,” and even one step further… I 

never knew that she and I would be making 

menstrual relief cannabis products 

together. To this day, the feelings of joy, 

excitement, and luck are still with me. 

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What is important about this 

women-dedicated line of products? 

I believe it’s very important that this 

line is geared towards women because 

the menstrual cycle is something that 

women deal with for many years of their 

lives, and often suffer silently without 

choices for relief. It’s really important to 

have a healthy, effective, delicious, and 

enjoyable arsenal of tools. There are only 

positive side effects for women on the go. 

A woman doesn’t get time off from her life 

because of her cycle and we have to keep 

moving so we can pay our bills. The importance 

of this is almost beyond words. 

What are the products geared for? 

Our products are geared for menstrual 

relief. Cannabis is helpful for physical 

discomforts as well as mood support, 

and it makes it the perfect life-hack for 

every cycle and dealing with PMS. All of 

our formulations are very deliberate, and 

they are made with intention for specific 

needs. One of the ways that we achieve 

that is by using different herbs that have 

been helping women with menstrual 

discomfort for thousands of years. 

Do you take any extra measures to 

ensure the medicinal benefits? 

We do take extra steps to make sure 

that our product is the best product 

we can deliver. A series of lab tests all 

the way through to make sure that our 

dosing is on point and that we are free 

from molds and pesticides. We also do 

our best to get wild-crafted herbs and 

use almost all organic ingredients. Our 

packaging is sourced from America and 

we try our absolute best to make the 

most sustainable decisions possible for 

ourselves and everyone involved. 

What types of ingredients can 

we expect from the cacao? 

Our chocolate is made with six 

organic, raw, vegan, fair trade, 

gluten-free ingredients—all 

that you can pronounce. 

You could literally rub it on your skin 

(and then lick it off) and you would 

probably have some benefits. That’s 

the philosophy behind both companies 

(Om Edibles as well, more on that to 

follow)—if you can’t put it on your skin, 

don’t put it in your mouth, and if you 

can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin. We 

believe that our edibles and topicals 

are only as good as the ingredients we 

use to produce them and that you really 

get out what you put in. 

How about the other products? 

You can expect the same quality in all 

of our products. We use pharmacological-grade 

Epsom salts in the soak that 

are created in a controlled environment 

because we understand they’re touching 

your most intimate parts. We also 

only use therapeutic-grade essential 

oils and almost all our ingredients 

are organic, cannabis included, even 

though we’re not allowed to say so on 

the packaging because it’s federally 

illegal. Going one step further, we use 

organic biodynamic cannabis. Another 

benefit of pharmacological-grade salt 

is that no damage is done to the Earth 

to source them. We really like that. It 

also spares you from contaminants in 

the environment. 

Do you plan on expanding to 

the recreational market? 

We are really excited about the 

recreational market, but we are also 

watching with caution as we definitely 

are a medical cannabis company 

first. That being said, I do believe that 

all use has medicinal value, even 

recreational, and I’m a big supporter in 

people being able to find safe access 

to cannabis in anyway possible. We 

are doing what we always have done: 

paying close attention, consulting with 

experts, and making the most 

informed and healthy decisions 

possible. 

No animal 

testing, 

no GMOs, no subpar 

ingredients, almost 

everything organic: 

just good-for-the-soul 

remedies that get women 

in the mood to work, 

play, and even enjoy their 

time of the month.” 


enjoy 

Cannabis is 

helpful 

for physical discomforts as 

well as mood support, and 

it makes it the perfect lifehack 

for every cycle and 

dealing with PMS.” 

How does Om 

Edibles fit in? 

I think it’s safe to say 

that Om Edibles and 

Whoopi & Maya are sister 

brands. Without Om, 

Whoopi would’ve never 

found me. It’s definitely the 

foundation. Whoopi & Maya 

is a celebrity line that’s geared 

towards women, so as different 

as the brands are, we still share 

the same philosophy for a quality 

of standards for both brands. We 

both view and treat cannabis as a 

superfood and healing herb and we 

believe that when cannabis is combined 

with other super foods, healing 

herbs, and nutritionally dense ingredients, 

a superior medicine is made. That’s 

the same exact philosophy for Om. Om has 

been around for more than eight years and 

is still kicking strong to this day. I see very 

bright futures for both companies. 

Photo by Timothy White 

What special skills do you and your team 

bring to the table? 

I’m blessed to say we have a fabulous production 

crew and we all have a few things in common. Number 

one, we all enjoy cannabis responsibly and medicinally 

FastPrecisionManicuringonWetorDryPlants 

www.SpeedeeTrim.com 

Enter“freeship”forfreeshippingwhen 

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heal 

and reap the benefits daily. It’s so important 

to understand the value of making 

medicine because all of that intention 

and energy actually ends up in the 

products. We like responsible, positive, 

healthy attitudes of people that consider 

this work and will work and enjoy and 

understand the responsibility and value 

of it. We mostly have women working on 

production, except for one man, and it’s 

not that we’re against hiring men, it just 

kind of ended up that way. 

How did you form your team? 

Our team has been formed very 

naturally. Our head of production was a 

trimmer with me for years. This is kind 

of the evolution of our trim scene. Now, 

we are in a commercial kitchen and 

everybody gets paychecks, which is very 

exciting for someone who has watched 

this industry grow. We usually hire 

friends and family, or people that we 

know from a recommendation, because 

it’s actually quite a responsibility to 

work in this environment. We only work 

with people that we know and trust, and 

that usually comes by way of a friend’s 

recommendation. We try our best to keep 

it in the family. 

How did the collaboration between 

you and Whoopi first materialize? 

The partnership with Whoopi all 

happened because of High Times 

publisher emeritus, Rick Cusick. 

Because Om has been competing 

in competitions for so long and had 

some success, when Whoopi reached 

out to High Times with her idea, Rick 

began scanning his Rolodex with the 

sales team and realized that we are 

an all-female collective that has nine 

Cannabis Cups and three Emerald 

Cups. He decided to reach out to us to 

see if we were the people to talk to. At 

that point, I said yes, we absolutely 

were and I reached out to my herbalist 

friend Alexis Gandara, who owns 

a company called Rooted Grounds. 

She’s an extremely talented herbalist 

medicine maker who has had a line 

of tincture and rub for 

menstrual discomfort that 

does not contain cannabis, 

but does contain many healing 

herbs. For years, we’ve been 

talking about putting our medicine 

together, so once I got the phone call 

we went from there and two of the four 

products are multi-herb collaborations 

between her and I and the other two are 

original Om formulations. 

What can we expect next 

from the company? 

You can expect lots of new things from 

us! We have plenty of things in the works 

that I can’t tell you just yet, but I will let 

you know we have a roll-on for our topical 

coming out very soon and we definitely 

have something in store for the men. 

Mary Schumacher has been writing for cannabis publications for 12 years, specializing in celebrity and musician interviews, movie 

and album reviews, and developing news stories. More recently, she has focused on technical cultivation and lighting articles. She also 

contributes to the New York Post as a book reviewer. 


enjoy 

THE 

UN-CONFUSION 

CANNABIS 

OF 

INFUSION 

by Rich Hamilton 

Cannabis infusions are a popular, yet slightly confusing, way to 

produce edibles. After all, how do you know the end potency 

of your concoction? Rich Hamilton is here to clear things up. 

popular way to cook with cannabis 

A is via infusion. Infusing decarboxylated 

cannabis with something like butter 

or oil makes the possibilities of what 

you can make almost endless, as most 

recipes either contain some sort of fat 

or can have it added without too much 

consequence. You can also be quite 

confident that you will get a pretty even 

spread of the infusion throughout your 

meal. Most importantly, though, THC 

binds easily to fat, so it is a no-brainer 

to infuse it with butter or cooking oil for 

optimum potency. 

When creating an infusion, it is important 

to roughly calibrate the strength. 

If you’ve experienced what it’s like to 

consume too much cannabis, you’ll know 

it’s not a pleasant experience and can 

lead to a range of side effects including 

anxiety, nausea, dizziness, and, in some 

cases, hallucinations. This risk is heightened 

in the case of edibles because the 

active ingredients are absorbed into 

the bloodstream through the digestive 

system, which causes the effects of the 

cannabis to be felt more strongly and for 

a longer length of time than they would 

be if the cannabis had been smoked. 

Another issue with edibles is that after 

consumption, the effects of the cannabis 

are not felt for around 20-30 minutes. 

People will often eat more to make the 

effects more immediate, like they are 

when smoking. However, this, as you 

could guess, doesn’t speed up your 

digestive system. It simply sets 

you up for a much larger dose 

than you are used to. 

A good place to start is to 

make an infusion with 10 

milligrams (mg) of THC 

per teaspoon. Of course, 

it’s easier to achieve this 

when you know the 

THC percentage of your 

cannabis. Figure 1 

is a table to give you 

a general idea of how 

much cannabis to 

use depending on 

your THC strength. 

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Figure 1 

THC percentage 

Cannabis amount 

30% 0.12 oz (3.5 g) 

25% 0.16 oz (4.5 g) 

20% 0.19 oz (5.5 g) 

15% 0.25 oz (7 g) 

10% 0.37 oz (10.5 g) 

If you do not know the strength 

of your cannabis, pick a cannabis 

amount from the infusion guide 

above. Then, before cooking, try half 

a teaspoon to check the potency. If 

you can handle a full teaspoon, then 

that’s where you need to be. If you 

need it weaker, then just add more 

fat to reduce the strength. If you find 

that it’s not strong enough, there’s 

not much you can do at the infusion 

stage. Instead, simply increase the 

amount of the cannabis butter or oil 

you use in your recipes. Just be sure 

to note down all your dosages along 

the way so that you can adjust 

your next infusion to the perfect 

strength if needed. 

It’s important to remember that 

during the decarboxylation and infusion 

process that some THC is lost. 

If infusions are made carefully and 

correctly, then this loss should not 

be more than 20 per cent. (This has 

been factored in to the calculations 

in the measurements table above, 

however, so you that you will still be 

producing 10 mg THC per teaspoon 

even after this loss has occurred.) 

Heat is the main reason for loss of 

THC during cooking. So, to maintain 

the highest levels of potency, you 

should keep temperatures as low as 

possible and use an oven thermometer 

to ensure that your temperatures 

are, in fact, correct despite what 

your oven dial may say. For that 

reason, I would advise against cooking 

anything that has been infused 

in the oven above a temperature 

of 340˚F. You should also not microwave 

anything, cook at high heat on 

the stovetop, or bring your infused 

butter or oil to a boil. As such, 

recipe cooking times may need to be 

extended, but be patient. All good 

things come to those that wait. 


enjoy 

“Infusing decarboxylated cannabis with 

something like butter or oil makes 

the possibilities of what you can make 

almost endless, as most recipes either 

contain some sort of fat or can have it 

added without too much consequence.” 

When using your infusion, remember your dosage rates. 

One teaspoon of cannabutter equals one serving. So, 

four teaspoons of cannabutter would make a dish strong 

enough to serve four people. You can, of course, add more 

cannabutter if you feel you need it to be stronger. This is 

personal preference and fine if only you will be eating it. 

However, be sure to take others into consideration if they 

are going to be eating your food, as everyone has different 

tolerance levels or may not be used to the effects. Always 

inform people that your food is infused and to what 

strength before you offer it to them, and label food clearly 

in case of unexpected/unaware snackers. 

Also, remember that the addition of cannabutter to your 

recipes may alter the taste. If you like the taste of cannabis, 

this isn’t an issue. If you want the taste to remain 

authentic, the best way to disguise the cannabis is to 

increase the other ingredients with the strongest flavours. 

With sweet baked goods, this is much easier as you can 

increase or add natural flavourings such as chocolate, coffee, 

cinnamon, and peanut. Trial and error is the key here. 

Like many things, making edibles is down to the 

individual and what their expectations, needs, and 

tolerances are. This guide is just that, a starting point for 

you from which to get creative. So, go and give it a try and 

see what you can come up with using this wonderful and 

versatile herb. The possibilities really are endless. Just 

remember, with great power comes great responsibility. 

Take it easy at the start. 

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CANNABUTTER RECIPE 

Ingredients: 

16 oz unsalted organic butter 

7 g decarboxylated cannabis, 

chopped or blended until very fine 

Tools 

Saucepan 

Mesh strainer 

Cheesecloth 

Glass bowl 

Spatula 

16-oz airtight container 

Method: 

• Heat your unsalted butter until melted. 

• Add your decarboxylated cannabis, giving it a good stir. 

• Cook for three hours on a low heat stirring 

every 15-20 minutes. 

• Layer the fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth 

and pour the finished cannabutter mixture 

through it into your glass bowl. 

• Press the mix in the cheesecloth with the back 

of your spatula to squeeze out as much of the 

infusion as possible into the bowl. 

• Let the butter infusion cool down, but not to the 

point where it begins to solidify. Pour it into your 

airtight container. Close the container and store 

in your fridge, where it will keep for up to three 

months. Please note that when cooking with the 

infusion, you will need to melt the butter once again 

before adding to your recipe so that it mixes in well 

with your other ingredients. 

Rich Hamilton has been in the hydroponics industry for 

more than 20 years, working originally as a general manager 

in a hydroponics retail outlet before becoming an account 

manager at Century Growsystems. He currently works at 

Eden Horticulture. Rich enjoys working on a daily basis with 

shop owners, manufacturers, distributors, and end-users to 

develop premium products. 

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enjoy 

I DOOB 

THE CANNABIS WEDDING, 

FROM DÉCOR TO DOOBIES 

by Chris Bond 

As theme weddings take on 

new and unusual forms (unicorn 

wedding, anyone?), the idea of 

making cannabis a centrepiece 

of your big day doesn’t seem 

too far-out. And if a typical 

booze-soaked reception isn’t 

your thing, a cannabis bar could 

provide a feasible alternative, 

says Chris Bond. 

As legalization of recreational 

cannabis continues to proliferate, 

so does its accepted use in seemingly 

unusual or even mundane places. 

Enter cannabis weddings. I don’t 

mean passing around a joint 

behind the reception hall with your 

buddies at cousin Scott’s wedding 

or bong hits with the soon-to-be 

groom at his bachelor party, but 

cannabis as a part of the actual 

ceremony and reception. It’s 

becoming a thing and, in 

some places, big business. 

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CANNABIS WEDDING DÉCOR 

The inclusion of cannabis at weddings can take the 

form of an in-your-face celebration of the joys of smoking 

marijuana, or as a discreet way to indulge amongst 

a group of friends. The image of the cannabis plant or 

its flowers (or an abstract design representing it) may 

be incorporated into a bridal altar, into the bride’s or 

groom’s attire, that of the wedding party, or as the prevailing 

theme with the reception decorations. 

Other betrothed couples may wear cannabis itself. 

This can take the form of wedding gowns, suits, 

cummerbunds, ties, and ribbons made of hemp fibres 

or blended with hemp, or wearing some form of 

the plant. Some brides and bridesmaids may wear 

cannabis corsages, and the bride may carry (and later 

toss) a bouquet complete with cannabis leaves or 

flowers, while the groom and groomsmen may wear 

cannabis leaf or flower boutonnières. 

Reception tables at cannabis weddings are often 

adorned with floral arrangements including cannabis 

leaves or flowers in their centrepieces and/or table 

settings. Guest gifts at some cannabis weddings range 

(depending upon local laws) from the giving of actual 

marijuana plants to a sampling of blends or strains of 

cannabis that the bride and groom enjoy. Still others 

mark the day for their guests or wedding party with 

personalized bongs, bowls, rolling papers, or lighters. 

“ 

DURING THE RECEPTION, 

in lieu of the traditional champagne toast, 

a celebratory smoke may be proposed to 

toast the newly joined bride and groom.” 

CANNABIS CONSUMPTION IN 

THE CEREMONY/RECEPTION 

Using cannabis prior to the big day, especially during 

bachelor/bachelorette parties, is nothing new, but 

publicly using it on the wedding day is. However, the 

use of cannabis can fit in to all aspects of the wedding 

and reception. Some use it to ease the normal tensions 

and anxiety associated with wedding day jitters. It can 

also be a great bonding experience for the bride, groom, 

and wedding party. Some couples incorporate it into 

the actual ceremony with a couples’ first toke or bong 

hit upon being declared legally bound. The bride and 

groom may request that those in attendance may also 

share in that experience if they wish. 

During the reception, in lieu of the traditional champagne 

toast, a celebratory smoke may be proposed to 

toast the newly joined bride and groom. Some weddings 

may have cannabis bars instead of, or in addition to, 

traditional bars with alcoholic beverages. Hookah bars 

or vaping areas are not unusual for some cannabis weddings. 

Locating these areas in separate rooms or simply 

away from the main gathering allows guests to choose 

if they’d like to partake or not, as well as offers some 

privacy for those who do. The use of cannabis during 

a wedding reception can create a mellow atmosphere 

among those in attendance. In fact, receptions that offer 

cannabis and not alcohol can have a lower potential for 

altercations amongst guests. 

It also takes a smaller amount of product to have a 

strong effect, which means stocking a cannabis bar 

with flowers, concentrates, and edibles can be much 

cheaper than stocking a wet bar with alcohol. Andrew 

Mieure at Top Shelf Budtending estimates hiring a 

budtender, which is recommended for assisting novice 

consumers, costs approximately $500 per event. The cost 

of cannabis on top of that can vary, with an estimated 

consumption rate of about two ounces of dry flower or 13 

grams of concentrates per 100 guests. 


enjoy 

“ 

ANOTHER OPTION 

instead of smoking or vaping is 

to offer edibles in the form of 

beverages or baked goods.” 

Another option instead of smoking or vaping is to offer 

edibles in the form of beverages or baked goods, such as 

cannabis tonics, brownies, cookies, gummies, or candies. 

Of course, not all cannabis weddings are so organized; 

some simply state on the invite that guests can or are 

encouraged to BYOC (bring your own cannabis). 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR 

CANNABIS NUPTIALS 

You need not be a grower, seller, or employee of a 

dispensary to make a living supporting the cannabis 

wedding phenomenon. There is a marijuana-themed 

corollary for almost every aspect of a traditional wedding 

(sorry, no hemp paper marriage certificates just yet). Weed 

wedding planners, photographers, and bakers abound, 

ready to cash in on all things kush. Obviously, not everyone 

is comfortable being around marijuana or its use. Those 

proprietors of businesses that cater to wedding events that 

either use themselves or support marijuana’s legal use are 

poised for success in those markets where it is legal to use 

cannabis recreationally. 

Even in municipalities where it is lawful to consume marijuana 

recreationally, it is not typically permitted for public 

use and may not be consumed on government-owned premises. 

This can mean that many traditional sites for weddings 

and receptions like parks and public gardens are off-limits 

to cannabis weddings. However, any privately owned location 

can be utilized for tying the knot with pot, providing 

that it is done so with the property owner’s permission. 

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Cannabis wedding expos are starting to pop up in 

neighbourhoods where pot is legal. Weed wedding-themed 

(weeding?) websites, which are having great fun with all the 

puns to be found (like loveandmarij.com), are proliferating by 

highlighting the myriad ways in which folks can interweave 

cannabis into their wedding day festivities. Even “traditional” 

wedding websites are starting to discuss the recent trend 

of weed weddings and giving tips on how anyone may 

incorporate aspects of it into their own ceremonies. 

“ 

EVEN ‘TRADITIONAL’ 

wedding websites are starting to discuss 

the recent trend of weed weddings.” 

Though it will not ever likely eclipse the popularity of the 

chapel wedding, marijuana weddings are on the rise, with 

outfits like Colorado-based Irie Weddings booked for more 

than a dozen weed-themed weddings in 2016. Make sure 

that you RSVP (Ready to Smoke or Vape Pot) promptly when 

you get your first invitation to one. I am sure that cannabis 

funerals are not far behind… 

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. 


enjoy 

by Watermelon 

I find it quite ironic that the most dangerous 

thing about weed is getting caught with it. 

- Bill Murray 

A FOOL OF MYSELF 

A Cannabis Culinary Column 

TENTH COLUMN. 

TENTH COUNCILOR. 

As we’ve read in her previous columns, 

Watermelon isn’t a stranger to politics, the law, 

and change. Now, she’s combining the three and 

running as a candidate for Vancouver city council. 

This marks my tenth column, and we are really starting 

to cook with cannabis now. We’ve covered the basics, 

such as cannabis conversion, time-honoured recipes, and 

why I profess to be an “expert.” We then moved on to some 

advanced concepts, like how to fight the law and win, glutenfree 

options, and “Fried! Fried Chicken!” 

If you’ve been following along, you know for certain that 

cooking with cannabis does not need to be a daunting task. 

It becomes a very creative process once you get the hang of 

it. Essentially, it’s an herb. Use it like one. The options are 

endless: juice it, dry it and crush it, soak it in booze, toast it in 

the oven, sauté it in duck fat, etc. 

Most recently, I infused stovetop popcorn with two 

tablespoons of Ms. Envy cannabis coconut oil in a pot with 

a tight-fitting lid. Simple! Delicious! Mildly intoxicating! 

Another time, I sautéed a teaspoon of dried sativa flowers 

in peanut oil to mix in with peanut butter. Then, I made a 

modified classic: PBBJ (peanut budbudder and jam). Rocket 

scientist need not apply. 

I love to invent things. Food. Myself. Sometimes, I rearrange 

the furniture and pretend that I moved. Embracing change and 

moving forward is always exciting. 

After all this talk about running for mayor, I am suddenly 

running for city council in Vancouver’s by-election. Geoff 

Meggs stepped down to become chief of staff for the new 

B.C. premier, John Horgan. So, there is one open seat to fill 

on a council of 10, not including the mayor. 

Dana Larsen, who ran the Sensible BC campaign, called me 

up to pitch I run as a “cannabis-friendly councilor.” We would 

call our party Sensible Vancouver. He would run the campaign. 

I would be the candidate. So far, it’s the perfect storm. 


myhydrolife.com

Cannabis and its burgeoning new industry will be a great 

benefit to this city, if done in a meaningful way. Along with 

offering effective, non-toxic new medicines, it also offers a 

dynamic, new, green industry and economy. Why inaugurate 

this new economic opportunity with impossible or arbitrary 

regulations that make regular citizens unable to compete? 

After a long struggle for the legalization of cannabis, we 

cannot hand over the helm to our prohibitionists. 

British Columbia has always had a thriving cannabis community, 

regardless of its legal status. How could it otherwise? We 

must integrate these existing players or suffer mutiny for years 

to come. We need only to look at Colorado and Washington 

states to see who has best practices. Colorado integrated compliant 

stake holders and has had great success. Washington did 

not and still suffers a thriving black market. No good captain 

sets sail knowing mutiny is on the horizon. It would be a huge 

waste of time and money. Plus, you’ll most likely lose your ship. 

B.C. BAKED SALMON 

WITH “ASPARAGRASS” 

“CANNABIS and its burgeoning new industry will be a 

great benefit to this city, if done in a meaningful way.” 

SALMON 

Several 5-8 oz. servings of fatty salmon 

(such as chinook or sockeye) 

1 g dried cannabis per serving of fish 

Rock salt 

• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)* 

• Place fish on lightly greased casserole dish 

• Rub dried, crushed marijuana on each 

serving of salmon 

• Sprinkle with rock salt 

• Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes 

• Remove foil and brown the top a bit. Notice the 

white fat oozing out the sides of the salmon; that is 

the perfect fat for conversion, along with fish skin 

*You could also pan fry this dish with similar success. 

Sensible Vancouver intends to inspire a large group of people 

who wouldn’t normally vote, as well as win the hearts of 

those who do, to come out and support us. It is obvious now 

that harms caused by prohibition are worse than whatever 

is being prohibited. We want to reduce those harms until 

we can legalize all drugs, decriminalize prostitution, and 

regard shelter as a basic human right. We’ve been gaining 

overwhelming support from dispensaries and their users by 

simply talking to them about our idea. We are also reaching 

out to other communities, such as sex worker advocates, and 

asking what more needs to be done. 

If you use a dispensary and want to see it stay open, please 

join our efforts and vote Mary Jean Dunsdon in this coming 

Vancouver by-election on October 14, 2017. 

Personally, I am very excited about the near future. I want to be 

a fresh voice for Vancouver city council. I want nothing more 

than to help inclusively usher in this new era of legal cannabis 

in Canada. I am so full of enthusiasm and Canada is so full of 

promise right now. We have so much to get right after so much 

we got wrong. Let’s get it right. 

ASPARAGRASS 

2 tbsp butter 

2 g shake flour 

2 cloves chopped garlic 

1 lb washed and trimmed asparagus 

• Start the butter and shake flour on medium-low heat 

• Toss in the garlic 

• Add the asparagus. It will depend on how cooked 

you like your asparagus as to when you put it in 

• Use tongs to keep turning asparagus in weed butter 

garlic sauce as it cooks 

• Plate alongside B.C. Baked Salmon 


y Gibson Lannister 

MIGRATION 

BONOBO 

British-born and LA-based 

ambient electronic artist 

Bonobo keeps things 

moving with Migration. 

Bonobo’s music is everchanging, 

smooth, and 

sophisticated. He has 

allowed himself inspiration 

from many different world 

sounds and absorbed them 

into his own. Migration will 

take you to a new world. 

4 

WAITING ON A SONG 

DAN AUERBACH 

Dan Auerbach, lead singer of 

The Black Keys and The Arcs, 

has released a second solo 

album. Waiting on a Song is 

further proof that he is the 

hardest-working man in rock 

and roll. Dan once again puts 

forth an endless stream of 

amazing tracks. 

4 

MADE BY GOD 

(CHAPTER 1, 2, & 3) 

DIE ANTWOORD 

South African hip-hop group 

Die Antwoord is shaking it up 

with Made by God (Chapter 1, 

2, & 3). Each of these albums 

features instrumental re-imaginings 

of their best tracks. I was 

really surprised by how much I 

liked these albums. Plus, without 

lyrics, I can finally listen 

to my favourite Die Antwoord 

songs around my kids. 

4.5 

Gibson Lannister has 

been a musician for 

more than 15 years and 

continues to expand his 

knowledge of theory 

and technique. 

SILVER EYE 

GOLDFRAPP 

Silver Eye is the seventh 

studio album from UK’s 

Goldfrapp. The electronic 

duo of Alison Goldfrapp 

and Will Gregory 

incorporate some gritty 

alt-rock and industrial 

sounds into their dreamlike 

futuristic style. Take a hit 

of your favourite strain and 

time travel with Goldfrapp. 

4 

SAVAGE TIMES 

HANNI EL KHATIB 

LA-based singer-songwriter 

Hanni El Khatib returns 

with his fourth album. He 

has truly projected his 

sound and personality 

into Savage Times. Taking 

influence from rock, blues, 

country, and disco, Hanni El 

Khatib pushes himself as an 

artist. And at 19 tracks long, 

Savage Times delivers the 

goods and then some. 

4.5 

BORN YESTERDAY 

HOLLERADO 

The kings of Canadian 

indie rock, Hollerado are 

breathing life back into the 

scene with their new album, 

Born Yesterday. This album 

has been well worth the 

wait. Born Yesterday is all 

about the good things in life 

and taking advantage of 

them, so don’t wait to check 

out this stellar album. 

4 

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