Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i High Times

Love Thyself Re “The Self-Loathing Stoner” (Dec. ’15): All of those nagging complaints and self-criticisms happen to the best of us. People doubt themselves, and stoners are only human. I take comfort in the fact that any negativity that might be taken from Rick Cusick’s essay is negated, in the very same issue, by the sensible, forward-thinking presidential candidates (“Pot & the New Prez”) and, even more so, by the wise words of Penny Lane and Darcy in the Letters section. “I try to live a good life,” I feel, sums up the universal stoner philosophy. How could that be taken as a bad thing? I won’t preach to the converted about the benefits of cannabis, but I will ask stoners not to be so hard on themselves. Don’t let…

Sharon Osbourne In July, Osbourne opined that pot legalization is “going to end in tears” because of the increase in car accidents—despite the fact that highway fatalities in Colorado were at a historic low in 2014. Worse, Sharon gleefully predicted that “new laws” in the US would overturn state legalization. It’s hard to fathom that this is the wife of Black Sabbath’s Ozzy, who gave us the stoner rock classic “Sweet Leaf.” Gene Simmons Simmons’s visceral contempt for pot/drug users is so over the top, his own son Nick penned a commentary for Vice in June entitled “My Dad, Gene Simmons, Is Full of Shit.” He deconstructed his father’s archaic support of medieval-style punishment for drug offenders. Gene continually makes no distinction among various illegal intoxicants, but Nick recognizes a…

Everyone knows the sense of euphoria that results from performing physical exercise. The feeling of elation—along with a lack of physical pain and anxiety—is known as a “runner’s high” and researchers think it’s related to the high you achieve through pot. Scientists believe a neurotransmitter called anandamide is responsible for the runner’s high. Anandamide stimulates the same cannabinoid receptors in the brain that pot does, and produces similar effects. Researchers studying the runner’s high noticed that mice had less anxiety and a higher tolerance for pain after running. However, mice that had no endocannabinoid receptors, and therefore couldn’t be stimulated by anandamide, experienced no difference in anxiety or pain tolerance after doing mouse exercises.…

A bundle of pot fell from the sky and landed on a family’s garage in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. The package, containing nearly 24 pounds of marijuana, crashed through the roof and smashed a doghouse just below; fortunately, the family’s German shepherd was not inside at the time. Nogales is located just a few hundred yards from the Mexican border, and officials believe the pot was accidentally dropped from an ultralight aircraft or pilotless drone, which are routinely used to smuggle bundles of bud into the United States. A drop will be made in a prearranged area, where smugglers on the ground can collect the package while the craft flies back into Mexico. In this case, presumably, the weed was dropped early by mistake. According to the local…

UPGRADE TO HYDRO If growing in soil or a soilless mix is comparable to driving a regular car, then growing hydroponically is like driving a Ferrari: You can achieve much faster growth and substantially larger yields, but the potential for a serious crash is also much greater. Every single element, especially the nutrient solution’s temperature and pH and the level of plant food in the reservoir, must be kept dialed in at all times. Any fluctuations can result in immediate negative results, and plant death is always just one mistake away. But the rapid growth rates and massive yields that can be achieved hydroponically are hard to resist. So if you’re interested in getting behind the wheel of that Ferrari, read on... IS HYDRO GROWING HARD? Soil is forgiving, and…

Gear Up! The process of extracting full-melt, dry-sift hashish requires three separate screens. The example shown here is my Bubblebox, but you don’t need it to produce dry sift—only the screens. The box uses three, at 140u (microns), 107u and 70u. Three screens will give us just the control we need to produce the kind of full-melt dry sift that is, in my opinion, the holy grail of hash. So let’s open up our Bubblebox and get started. If you don’t have a Bubblebox, you can order one at freshheadies.com. If you’re not as committed to having top-quality tools, you can buy just the screens for less than half the price. As you can see, the Bubblebox is built to last, with bird’s-eye maple and double-strength hinges. The screens come…

SUBJECT: Jar Full FROM: 420Animal I just harvested a week ago, and my buds are ready for curing. My question is: How much is too much when loading the jars? Dear 420Animal, In the curing stage, your glass jars should be full but not stuffed to overflowing. That means there should be plenty of air in the jar, so don’t press the buds down to get more inside. Basically, you don’t want to crush them and damage the trichomes, so gently fill your jars with buds and don’t cram more in than will fit comfortably. Also remember to “burp” the jars on a daily basis to let out any accumulated moisture. The slow release of liquid to the air and the replacement of moist air with regular air is the…

The extracts market is growing up. In less than a decade, it’s gone from open blasting in backyards to large-scale production facilities producing high-quality concentrates for an emerging legal marketplace. The state-of-the-art equipment used to produce these concentrates is expensive, complex and, in the hands of unskilled technicians, very dangerous to operate. So, if you want a career as a commercial extraction technician, how do you get started? It’s not like there are trade schools that teach you how to safely blast weed into hash—and, at this point in the game, we wouldn’t recommend that anyone attempt to gain experience by open blasting at home. That sort of activity is just too dangerous to endorse—and besides, the commercial dab industry is based on closed-loop systems, which means that open blasting…

Like all of us, Sabria Still believes the federal government’s war on cannabis is a violation of our basic human rights. Understandably, her desire to educate people about the origins of pot prohibition—and the need to free the weed—has never been stronger. Sabria is a longtime human-rights activist from Maryland. After Maryland NORML was revitalized in late 2014, she seized the opportunity to learn more about policy making and the legislative process. Once she became involved, Sabria was assigned the task of establishing and leading a Montgomery County chapter for monthly meetings and outreach activities. Her affiliation with NORML enabled Sabria to connect with her congressional representatives and ultimately meet face to face with them on Capitol Hill. When Maryland lawmakers considered medical marijuana regulations, Sabria testified on behalf of…

Those who live in states where pot is legal probably will never have to make this choice. But where pot is scarce, it’s not unusual to go a few days without toking up—sometimes even longer. Here’s the scenario: You’re out of pot and are dying to get high. Someone you really detest offers you a toke on a joint. Do you accept? Of nearly 5,000 respondents, 61 percent said yes. But 26 percent said no way. Comments were outstanding though, especially those praising pot’s capacity to promote good will: “Sounds like an opportunity to make a friend of an enemy to me!” Cast your vote in our latest poll online!…

While the marijuana movement has had much to celebrate in recent years, including legalization laws being passed in four states and the District of Columbia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently reminded us that the war against weed smokers rages on. According to the FBI, marijuana-related arrests in the US increased in 2014 for the first time since 2009. Nearly 701,000 pot arrests were made in 2014, up from 693,058 in 2013. That’s a pot-related arrest every 45 seconds—and, incredibly, 88 percent of those arrests were for simple possession. “It’s hard to imagine why more people were arrested for marijuana possession when fewer people than ever believe it should be a crime,” Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project said in a statement. The statistics are a stark reminder that,…

Uruguay, which is fast becoming every stoner’s favorite South American country, has officially granted licenses to two companies to cultivate cannabis for recreational use. The country plans to start selling recreational marijuana through pharmacies in 2016. The newly licensed companies, Symbiosis and ICCorp, are each authorized to grow approximately two tons of weed per year. Both companies are partially financed by the Uruguayan government, which will also provide security for their grows. Uruguay legalized cannabis in 2013 under former President José Mujica. However, the government dragged its feet awarding licenses to ganja growers, which delayed the implementation of the groundbreaking pot law. Now that it’s back on track, Uruguay must still address concerns that the extremely low retail price ($1.20 a gram) will make it difficult for cultivators to sustain…

Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party swept the Canadian parliamentary election, ousting conservative dunce Stephen Harper from power. The election can certainly be viewed as a referendum on marijuana prohibition as Harper, who had been prime minister for nearly a decade, is notoriously anti-pot. During his failed campaign he doubled down on his prohibitionist stance, making the absurd and baseless claim that weed is “infinitely” worse than tobacco. The Liberals, led by 43-year-old Trudeau, on the other hand, ran on the promise of sensible pot policy. The party platform states, “Canada’s current system of marijuana prohibition does not work. It does not prevent young people from using marijuana and too many Canadians end up with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug.” Canada’s newly elected prime minister has…

Show your appreciation for that special cannasseur in your life by giving them a KushKard. These stylish greeting cards are designed to hold “any pre-rolled item” (cough, cough): Just remove the plastic placeholder, insert a fatty, write your message, and send it to a friend! The cards even come with a strip at the bottom to use for striking a match. Chelsea Buttner and Lauren Miele are the “sativa divas” behind KushKards. The NYC-based Fashion Institute of Technology grads fused their love of weed and their talent for design to create a line of cards for every occasion. Miele handcrafted the very first cards by stitching joints onto them, relying on Buttner’s master rolling skills to supply the Kush. Now Kush-Kards offers an entire collection to choose from, with cheeky…

Edible cannabis is unquestionably an aphrodisiac: Imbibing just the right amount creates a feeling of sensuality, contentment and relaxation perfect for a romantic encounter. But if you want to spice up your love life with a dose of edible cannabis, there are a few things to consider first. Make sure your loved one is experienced at eating herb and knows their preferred dosage. A first-timer should start very low—no more than 10 milligrams—since you’re trying to conjure a gentle experience, not a full-out panic attack. Timing is also important, since most edibles require up to two hours to take effect. Be sure to give yourselves enough time to enjoy plenty of cuddling while waiting for the edible to work its magic. Eating a large meal can delay the effects even…

INORGANIC SALTS: These are ionic substances purified from mineral sources, such as sodium chloride (NaCl, or table salt), magnesium sulfate (MgSO4 , or Epsom salt), potassium nitrate (KNO3 , or saltpeter, a component of bat guano) and so on. Neither ion in the salt is carbon-based; if one were, it would be classed as an organic salt or chelate. CHELATE: Derived from the Greek word (chelè, meaning “claw”), a chelate is a compound formed from an organic chelating agent and an inorganic element. Mineral supplements and organic fertilizers alike use chelates because they are more available for absorption. HUMIC ACID: A complex mix of large molecules from decaying organic matter that binds minerals in the soil. Fertile soil should be heavy in humic acid, a big component of humus. Conversely,…

MARGARET CHO ALMOST DEFIES DESCRIPTION: BOTH ICON AND ICONOCLAST, SHE IS AN ARTIST, ACTIVIST, COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AND MUSICIAN WHO HAS BECOME A SORT OF PATRON SAINT FOR OUTSIDERS WITH HER NONCONFORMIST, OFTEN CONTROVERSIAL VIEWS. CHO BEGAN PERFORMING AT AGE 16. SOON AFTER STARTING HER STAND-UP CAREER, SHE WON FIRST PRIZE IN A CONTEST TO OPEN FOR JERRY SEINFELD. SHE MOVED TO LOS ANGELES IN THE EARLY ’90S AND HIT THE COLLEGE CIRCUIT, PERFORMING OVER 300 SHOWS IN TWO YEARS. ARSENIO HALL INTRODUCED HER TO LATE NIGHT AUDIENCES, BOB HOPE PUT HER ON A PRIME TIME SPECIAL, AND MARGARET CHO BECAME A TREASURED NATIONAL CELEBRITY. A STINT WITH THE SHORT-LIVED ALL-AMERICAN GIRL ON ABC SOON FOLLOWED. ALTHOUGH CHO WAS CHOSEN TO LEAD THE SITCOM BECAUSE SHE WAS A NON-CONFORMIST KOREAN AMERICAN…

At 19, Ciara Schuman decided to forgo college and undertake her education according to her own terms. “I traveled to Northern California last year in search of new experiences,” she says. She soon found work as a trimmer on a medical marijuana farm in central California. It was a natural fit for her: “I had started using marijuana recreationally, because I found it enhanced my imagination and inspired my creativity. But I’ve found it also helped me develop a sense of introspection. More recently, I’ve benefitted from the use of cannabis as an alternative to standardized medicine.” Following harvest, Schuman headed down to Puerto Rico, where she earned a master’s certificate from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). But she was still intent on learning the full process of…

I follow politics the way most guys follow sports: For me, presidential debates are like the playoffs, and Election Day is like the Super Bowl. I’ve voted in every election since I turned 18, but in all those years, Barack Obama was the only candidate to actually inspire me—until now. And while Obama has partly delivered on his promises of “hope and change,” he remains—like all candidates—beholden to the special interests that financed his campaign. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, however, is a whole different matter. Not only is he the most progressive, honest and compassionate candidate we’ve ever seen in my lifetime, he also accepts zero money from Super-PACs, Wall Street or any of the nefarious billionaire puppet masters; all of his campaign funds are raised via individual donations by…

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FLOWER OF THE MONTH KIND CONTROL Check out this MK-Ultra top grown in Arizona. Dorkwerk GROW OF THE MONTH READY TO REAP This is a picture from The Herbal Cure’s garden nearing their harvest here in Denver, Colorado! :) @fillyoureyes GROWER OF THE MONTH HARVEST HEAVY These are just some of the colas I grew. Hope you enjoy! Donald F. CLOSE-UP OF THE MONTH BIG SKY HIGH I’ve been wanting to get published in your magazine for quite some time now. Max Cohen at Cannabis Connection in Bozeman, MT. E-mail your hi-res digital photographs to mailbag@hightimes.com.…

Cannabis cultivation has come under a decent amount of heat lately for not being very “green.” A nationwide energy crisis, water shortages in California, ocean levels that are undeniably rising because of carbon emissions—all of this bad news is raining down on the cannabis parade in a perfect storm of environmental catastrophe. Policymakers realize that, given the fast pace and high overhead of cannabis cultivation, too many growers won’t be taking the necessary steps to protect the environment. As with other industries, it will be left to government agencies to come down hard on irresponsible cultivators and force them to respect the environment by implementing stringent regulations. But what if we beat them to it? What if we, the community of cannabis cultivators, make our practices as green as possible…

A drug task force busted six men unloading 3,500 pounds of pot in the parking lot of the Good Fortune Supermarket in the New York City borough of Queens. The arresting officers, including agents from the DEA, the NYPD and state police, were supposedly working an unrelated case when they just happened to notice the six suspects moving boxes from an 18-wheel tractor-trailer into a smaller truck and van at 1:30 a.m. The officers say they became suspicious of the late-night activity and claim that the aroma of the weed overwhelmed them as they approached the suspects (even though the pot was reportedly packaged in vacuum-sealed bags). Whatever the actual circumstances, the bust allegedly yielded $3.5 million worth of pot intended for distribution throughout the Big Apple. Authorities also found…

Some cops with a bit too much time on their hands took to Facebook to troll marijuana growers in Danbury, New Hampshire. Apparently, Danbury police pulled up a few pot plants they found growing in the woods. They then posted a message on the department’s official Facebook page: “If you get home tonight and go for a walk in the woods. And your summers [sic] horticulture project has gone and you’d like to talk to somebody about it, please feel free to give us a call. We will offer you some counseling to get through your loss.” The cops left a business card at the scene so the bereft growers could get in touch. Guerilla growers plant crops in lightly trafficked locations with the hope of making it to harvest…

In 1985, he crawled away from a plane crash as thousands of dollars in cash rained down around him; in the late 80s, he was busted with nearly 300 pounds of marijuana; now, at the age of 80, he’s facing five to seven years in prison for selling as much as 22,000 pounds of pot over the last 23 years. He is the most interesting man in the world. Octogenarian Marshall Dion is rewriting retiree stereotypes. Eschewing shuffleboard and Wheel of Fortune, Dion maintained an active lifestyle by keeping houses in Massachusetts, Colorado and Arizona, as well as a storage facility north of Boston that contained nearly 400 pounds of pot and $11 million. Dion was undone by a traffic stop in Kansas. During a search of his truck, authorities…

Peru: Protests Erupt With Arrival of US Troops Without fanfare in either country, some 3,000 US soldiers arrived in Peru in early September for an anti-drug “training mission.” The troops, along with several cargo planes, embarked from the USS George Washington, sparking protests in Lima, the country’s capital. Thousands filled the streets of downtown Lima, chanting slogans against “Yankee terrorists” and burning several US flags. Gustavo Espinoza, a former Peruvian congressman, decried the “military invasion” and declared that the US had ulterior motives. “What is looming is a sort of ‘sting operation’ ... designed to enhance the North American presence not only in Peru but in the Americas,” Espinoza said, adding: “The empire seeks to change the correlation of forces now in place in the region.” Also pointing to the…

1 Concentrate Coverage $40 dablids.com If you leave sticky marijuana extracts exposed, they tend to get covered in contaminants like dust and hair. The new trays from Dab Lids secure your concentrates under a clear cover that’s perfect for storage and display. Magnets keep the lid secured above the flat, lower-level tray with a silicone mat. You can even have them customized with a brand or logo. 2 Nailed It $325 crystaldab.com Electronic nails seem to be replacing butane torches as the preferred method for dabbing concentrates. The Crystal Dab Quartz Enail heats up quickly (to 850°F) and comes with a digital temperature controller but no bulky box to deal with. This affordable crystal nail will allow you to easily enjoy the full flavor and terpene profile of your extracts.…

ADVANCED NUTRIENTS’ PH PERFECT CANNABIS-SPECIFIC BASE NUTRIENTS  advancednutrients.com Advanced Nutrients’ pH Perfect technology uses a specially calibrated system of buffer compounds to ensure that your nutrient solution doesn’t require any pH adjustment, which can be an annoying task (plus if you use too many pH-adjustment chemicals, you may expose your plants to excessive nutrients and TDS). Not only does pH Perfect self-adjust; it keeps the pH stable until you need to change out the solution. ROTOGRO  rotogrow.com The Rotogro concept represents one of the most advanced concepts in compact cultivation to date. By having the plants grow out of small hydro trays placed in a rotating cylinder, the system maximizes its light usage 100%, eliminating the need for reflectors. The constant slow rotation also serves the same function as using…

Weed is a natural product, but as the center of a fast-growing industry, it takes unnaturally smart technology to keep it moving. Tech entrepreneurs Jessica Billingsley and Amy Poinsett recognized this need in 2010 when they co-founded MJ Freeway, a software company that helps cannabusinesses track their products from seed to sale, keep up with compliance regs, and—most recently—manage transactions without handling cash. MJ Freeway’s reach is impressive. Its software is used in all 23 US states that allow such things, as well as farther afield in Canada, Spain and Australia. The company also has a Latin American presence, but Billingsley and Poinsett won’t tell us where. “We like to just say ‘South America,’” Billingsley offers. “We are being a little bit cagey because we don’t want our competitors to…

Sometimes cannabis really helps me relate to people, but sometimes it doesn’t. What’s the deal? Luna M. Path Hi Luna, The ability to recognize other people’s emotions can get better with CBD, a shade worse with THC, and may not change at all when they’re combined. A high-CBD strain might make you a stellar reader of feelings. Other strains might have no impact. I feel like dabs are all over the media but without any warnings. Prohibitionists are going to go ape! Can’t we do something? Worried Hi Worried, You’re right about the media coverage and the lack of explanation. A recent study found over 100 YouTube videos on dabs; barely one in five offered any sort of cautions. Dabs are hardly as dangerous as a car or a kitchen…

Ah, state fairs. The fried-everything food, the smell of hay and farm animals, the amusement rides and blue-ribbon awards for the best produce. And that includes ganja—coming soon to a state fair near you. Think I’m kidding? Cannabis cultivators in some of the places where the sacred herb has either been legalized (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State) or de-penalized (Washington, DC) want the opportunity to display their produce and compete for blue ribbons at the state fair. After all, why should cannabis consumers be treated any differently than wine and beer fans who enjoy the same type of competitions for a highly prized local product? This past summer, cultivators and marijuana-law reform activists in Oregon and Washington, DC, sought to establish a precedent for including ganja plants at their…

ARIZONA Jamal Allen Allen & Associates, Lawyers 1811 S. Alma School Rd, Ste 145 Mesa, AZ 85210 Ph: 480-899-1025 Fax: 480-248-6389 goodazlawyers.com All Stops, Arrests & Seizures CALIFORNIA Bob Boyd 107 W. Perkins Street, Ste #17 Ukiah, CA 95482 707-468-0500 mendocinolaw@comcast.net mendocinolaw.com Michele Brooke Brooke Law Group 420, APC 225 S. Lake Avenue, Suite 300 Pasadena, CA 91101 Practicing Marijuana Business Law (626) 375-6702 www.brookelawgroup.com Omar Figueroa Law Offices of Omar Figueroa 7770 Healdsburg Ave, Ste. A Sebastopol, CA 95472 (707) 829-0215 omar@stanfordalumni.org omarfigueroa.com Founder of Cannabis Law Institute. Specializing in cannabis cultivation and medical marijuana cases. Free case consultation. ¡Yo hablo español! Christopher M. Glew 1851 E. First Street, Ste. 840 Santa Ana, CA 92705 Fax: 714-648-0501 Phone: 714-648-0004 marijuanalawyer@yahoo.com glewkimlaw.com Bruce M. Margolin 8749 Holloway Drive West Hollywood,…