Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2014 i High Times

• Glass Artist of the Month Pakoh burst onto the pipe scene in the late ’90s, fresh out of art school. With the help of classical glass maestro Bryan “B” Clarke, along with local Rhode Island legends Carla and Patty, Pakoh honed his skills working his way up the ranks of the New England glass scene, eventually becoming the in-house artist at the Carter Institute of Glass in Warwick, RI. But Pakoh was restless. In search of bigger and better things, he moved to Seattle in 2003 to work with pioneers in borosilicate glass like MNP, D-Wreck, Kevin Nail, Amber Pelligrini, Ease and Eli Z. These Seattle artists showed Pakoh how to make more complex glass pieces, enabling him to actualize whatever his imagination spawned. Three years ago, Pakoh and…

Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg is now a cannabis columnist. The openly pro-pot celeb, who co-hosts the daily talk show The View, got the gig writing for the Denver Post’s “Cannabist” section after the paper’s marijuana editor, Ricardo Baca, appeared as a guest on Whoopi’s show. Baca said in a press release that Goldberg’s “curiosity and desire” inspired his hiring her to write a column every two months. Whoopi’s first piece was published in April. The title? “My Vape Pen and I›A Love Story,” in which Whoopi detailed her “relationship” with a vaporizer provided by her daughter. Whoopi refers to a vape hit as a “sip,” and that’s why she dubbed the pen “Sippy.” Goldberg wrote: “I love my Sippy, it’s true. I like the simple pens with cartridges of THC…

In April, the Weather Channel website Weather.com showcased its anti-pot bias by citing cannabis cultivation as a major contributing factor to California’s chronic and complex drought—one that National Geographic speculated could last as long as 200 years. The website’s editors laid it on thick, characterizing pot plants as “thirsty," with each one requiring a somewhat dubious “six gallons” of water daily. By that reasoning, lettuce—another huge Cali crop—can equally be blamed as a drought contributor. And let’s not forget about landscaping in a desert climate; nearly half of Southern California’s household water is used on lawns. Food manufacturing requires huge amounts of water, too. It takes 109 gallons of water to produce one stick of butter (most of it used to water the grass that feeds the dairy cows). Of…

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill in September 2013 allowing “medibles” to be sold to pediatric patients. But due to a medical pot program that is too costly and bureaucratic (requiring approval from both a physician and a psychiatrist)—not to mention a shortage of participating doctors—New Jersey parents have been frustrated by their inability to obtain medicine for their children. And get this: The new law applies only to minors. Once epileptic patients turn 18, they’re no longer permitted to use medibles to treat their symptoms. Christie is reluctant to expand New Jersey’s medical pot laws because that could be a “slippery slope” to legal recreational weed in the Garden State, which he adamantly opposes. Additionally, Christie thinks he has a shot at becoming president, so he wants…

We’ve all heard of the magical properties of hemp oil by now, courtesy of Rick Simpson, but there’s another school of healing thought that finds raw cannabis juice to have slightly different (but equally valuable) medicinal properties. Note, though, that raw cannabis is non-psychoactive: THCA is the acid form found in fresh, raw flowers and fan leaves, but it needs to be decarboxylated or heated to yield our psychoactive friend THC. Weed juice contains überconcentrated amounts of cannabinoids and terpenes, all shown to have therapeutic value. As with hemp oil, there’s a patron saint behind the juicing movement—Dr. William Courtney, who co-founded the Cannabis International Foundation with Kristen Peskuski, who has an amazing story of recovery. Using the juice daily, she went from a life spent in bed sick with…

This month’s featured strain, Grape Ape, is an almost entirely pure indica variety (think Afghanica’s purple pheno) whose ancestry can be traced to Northern California and whose name has become just as mixed as her lineage. Grape Ape, Grand Daddy Purple, Purple Urkel, the Purps—these are all closely related varieties (if not, at times, one and the same) that provide very similar effects. For starters, these strains have some of the best, most out-of-this-world flavor ever tasted. Call it psychosomatic or whatever you care to, but when you smoke the Ape, it tastes like grape! This quality is even more pronounced when grown organically. In fact, while Grape Ape generally tests between 15% and 17% THC, the highest lab result for this strain that came out of a High Times…

Allen St. Pierre is the executive director of NORML. Visit norml.org. There are 40 million cannabis consumers in the United States; six to eight million regularly purchase the herb. There are over 150 NORML chapters in the United States and around the world. NORML has more than 520,000 Facebook friends and 130,000 Twitter followers. In the US, 22 states and the District of Columbia have passed either voter initiatives or legislation creating legal protections—and, in some states, retail access—for medical cannabis products. 16 states have decriminalized the possession of cannabis for adults over 18 years of age. Two states have legalized cannabis production and retail sales for recreational use. In 2008, there were zero state legalization bills introduced. So far in 2014, there have been 15. The total number of…

The wrong side of history—it’s a phrase that’s been used a lot lately by the Obama administration and other progressive politicians and pundits to condemn the outdated views or actions of their opponents. While its overuse may render it a cliché and diminish its power, there are some instances in which I’d argue its use is totally justified: to describe opposition to marriage equality, the teaching of evolution, and the science of climate change. Allow me to add one more to that list: prohibition. Which, by my estimation, puts both High Times and Colorado squarely on the right side of history. Colorado continues to make history. First, its citizens amended the state constitution to legalize the adult possession and use of cannabis. Then, to their credit, Governor Hickenlooper and his…

Move over, corn—Nebraska’s got a new crop to reap, one that doesn’t involve GMOs. In April, Governor Dave Heineman signed a bill into law allowing the University of Nebraska and the state Agriculture Department to cultivate industrial hemp for research purposes. Nebraska’s legislature passed the bill by a landslide vote of 32-1 in March, following President Obama’s signing of the national Farm Bill the previous month, which included an amendment to legalize hemp production for research purposes—but only in states that sanction it. More research? Really? Maybe all those legislators who continue to oppose the cultivation of industrial hemp in this country should bone up on the fact that it’s not the same as pot—and that Nebraska was once one of the nation’s leading hemp producers. The good news is…

Violence Breaks Out Among Mexican Militias Hipolito Mora, a top leader of the “community police” self-defense network in the Mexican state of Michoacán, was detained by state police on March 10 as a suspect in the slaying of two members of the movement. The detention comes amid an armed standoff between rival factions of the self-defense network in the town of Buenavista Tomatlán. Hundreds of police and soldiers were dispatched to the town as the factions seized turf and drew territorial lines across the municipality. The rival outfit, based in Buenavista’s hamlet of La Ruana, is reputed to be led by Luís Antonio Torres González, who goes by the nom de guerre “Simón el Americano” because he grew up in the United States. Torres González told the local media that…

“It was awful.” That’s how Dee Dee Penny, frontwoman for the group Dum Dum Girls, remembers her first toke. Never one to smoke or drink as a teen, Penny took her first puff at the ripe old age of 20, while attending the University of California at Santa Cruz. One night, “I was drunk, and my boyfriend at the time gave me a joint,” recalls the singer-songwriter-guitarist, who lives these days in New York City with her husband, Brandon Welchez (of the indie psych-rock band Crocodiles). “I freaked out and got nauseous and almost passed out,” she continues. “I was so pissed off the next day—because I was too drunk for that to be my introduction to weed!” The second time, however, proved to be the charm. “I was at…

YG My Krazy Life (Def Jam) › Sunny days and drop-top Chevrolets provide the perfect context for YG’s debut, featuring DJ Mustard’s impressive production and an interesting storyline woven into tracks that could easily stand on their own. Mac Dre’s style comes to mind on “Bicken Back Bein Bool,” while “1 AM” evokes visions of Compton, and medicative Swisher smoke fills the forthright “Really Be,” as Kendrick Lamar and YG lament the heartbreaking realities of life on the street. The only problem with this album is one that has plagued many a rapper before YG: Kendrick steals the show. Pierce Watson Total Control Typical System (Iron Lung) › Melbourne-based Total Control display their trademark paranoid urgency here—“Systematic Fuck” and “Two Less Jacks” are satisfyingly jagged blasts—but the album throbs to…

15 fresh, pesticide-free fan leaves 2 fresh buds, two to four inches in length and well into flower, but harvested while the glands are still milky or clear Optional additions: 1 cube fresh ginger Kale leaves 2 to 4 large, hard carrots Fresh-squeezed orange juice Fresh-squeezed lemon juice Fresh berries 1 apple De-stem and soak the fan leaves in cold water for five minutes before juicing. A wheatgrass juicer is recommended if you’re just doing a big batch of leaves, but a blender or juicer will work as well. Blend or juice the fan leaves first, then blend the bud. Sieve out the plant matter and run it through one more time for maximum juice yield. Prepare the rest of the fruits and veggies by chopping the carrots, ripping the…

ON THE EVE OF THE HIGH TIMES CANNABIS CUP IN DENVER, SUPERSTAR RAPPER ICE CUBE TOOK THE STAGE, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS SON O’SHEA JACKSON II, AND WORKED THE CROWD INTO A FRENZY. ICE CUBE IS MORE THAN A PERFORMER—HE’S AN UNRELENTING, CHARISMATIC FORCE, A FIRE-AND BRIMSTONE-PRESENCE. HE’S ONE OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF NWA, THE HARD-EDGED HIP-HOP GROUP OF THE ‘80S AND ‘90S THAT VOICED THE PLIGHT OF URBAN BLACKS WHO WERE UNDER CONSTANT ASSAULT BY POLICE. HE’S STILL AS HARDCORE AS EVER, BUT HE’S BECOMING A HOUSEHOLD NAME, TOO. HOLLY-WOOD LOVES THE DUDE. HE SCORED IN MOVIES LIKE BOYZ N THE HOOD AND BARBERSHOP, BUT OVER THE PAST DECADE, HE’S APPEARED IN FAMILY FILMS AND ACTION COMEDIES. ICE CUBE CONTINUES TO BRANCH OUT AND TEST THE CREATIVE WATERS—AND WEED…

Send your cannabis cultivation questions to @deardanko or deardanko@hightimes.com. SUBJECT: Starting Off With Hydro? FROM: SC I’ve got a couple of startup questions that I need some help with. If I wanted to start growing indoors (in tents) and grow hydroponically, which hydro setup should I choose (NFT, ebb-and-flow, DWC, etc.)? By the way, I’m going to have only about 5 feet of height and plan on running two or maybe three tents, if that helps. And my second question is: Which hydro medium do you most prefer? Thanks again for the great articles, your Free Weed podcast and everything you do for the movement. Dear SC, Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate the support. If you’re a first-time grower, my first impulse would be to try to convince…

Following a stint in the US Navy, Tristan Tucker began advocating for cannabis legalization. He was drawn to the issue of marijuana-law reform once he realized how many of his own conditions—as well as those of his fellow service members—could be successfully treated with cannabis instead of harsh pharmaceutical drugs. Tristan moved back to Texas from Virginia in August 2011. He formed a connection with Dallas—Fort Worth NORML executive director Shaun McAlister and soon began attending meetings of the University of North Texas NORML chapter. By spring of 2012, he’d taken over as chapter president. During his tenure with UNT NORML, Tristan expanded the chapter’s scope by creating a full board of oficers, developing and branding merchandise, and conducting events on and off campus to promote much-needed change in the…

Green Investing The money I spend buying shares in the legal marijuana industry is a loan that I hope will someday be repaid with interest. I am not a day trader. Instead, I want to support one of the few truly great things that has developed in America lately amidst a sea of spying, war and corruption. Millions of people will benefit from the legalization of this plant, whether through jobs, medicine, money, entertainment or release from prison. For more than 20 years, I have watched the War on Drugs in America closely and hoped for it to end. I felt helpless to stop it, but I tried at least to spread my ideas. I didn’t have any money then. Now that I have a little extra, I want to…

Tunisia Despite a democratic revolution in 2011 that kicked off the Arab Spring, this small North African country near the Mediterranean Sea has a big problem with pot: Get caught with a joint, roach or even rolling papers in Tunisia, and you’re looking at one to five years in prison and a fine of 1,000 dinar ($632). You can also be randomly chosen by authorities to undergo urine testing without your consent. Japan Locals caught with a single joint can get up to five years’ hard labor. Busted foreigners are more likely to be deported and banned for life. Sharing a doobie gets all partakers charged with possession. Illegal searches are standard; such evidence is rarely challenged in court. As a result, the conviction rate is almost 100 percent. If…

“Marijuana use may lead to heart attack complications, death, a study says.” Or so claimed a FoxNews.com headline in April. The report came in response to a French study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, in which investigators reviewed five years of data in regard to drug-induced incidences resulting in hospitalization. Authors identified 35 cases of cardiovascular cannabis-related reports during this time period. In 13 of these cases, cannabis was the only substance identified in the toxicology screen and/or the patient’s medical file. With an estimated 1.2 million regular French cannabis users, it seems odd that researchers would raise an alarm over such an infinitesimally small number of cannabis-related cases involving adverse outcomes. It seems even odder that the mainstream media would care, much less promote headlines…

In April the mainstream media, as usual, trumpeted the latest scary anti-pot study, this one published in the Journal of Neuroscience and linking casual pot use in young adults to “brain abnormalities.” But the research was hardly definitive—and, in at least one respect, it was borderline deceitful. The researchers examined 20 pot users, ages 18 to 25, who smoked at least one joint a week (the median number was six, and several of the participants smoked as many as 20 joints a week). Their brains were then scanned and contrasted to 20 nonusers. According to the researchers, significant differences in the shape and density of the amygdala—the brain region associated with emotion and linked to motivation—were observed among the tokers. The study’s researchers and the National Institute on Drug Abuse,…

A New Leaf Alyson Martin and Nushin Rashidian (The New Press) › A New Leaf provides a candid, even-handed look at the path to legalization. The authors take superb potshots at the misguided international efforts to create a “drug-free” world. The details of the political process that pro-pot activists successfully negotiated in Colorado and Washington get a delightful rendition. Critics of our movement (and those who nitpick the new laws) will find some ammunition here, but it’s just enough to keep them reading until they reach the inevitable conclusion: It’s not about freeing the weed—it’s about freeing the people. Mitch Earleywine The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss Dennis McKenna (North Star Press) › Famed psychedelic philosopher Terence McKenna and his younger brother Dennis, a brilliant ethnopharmacologist, together formed the “brotherhood”…

The War on Drugs has produced countless examples of injustice and cruelty being perpetrated against nonviolent drug users. One of them is civil asset forfeiture. The seizure of property has always existed in the US, but it usually involved police agencies impounding ill-gotten gains either under criminal law—a guy buys a car with a fraudulent check, say, then gets busted, convicted and loses the car—or administrative forfeiture (as when drugs are found and no one steps forward to claim them). But all that changed when Congress passed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, which authorized the seizure of property under civil law—in which the standards of proof are much lower and the constitutional protections that exist for criminal proceedings do not apply—and allowed the proceeds from such “forfeited” items…

The Power of Hydrogen When discussing pH and its importance in growing healthy plants, it’s useful to define exactly what pH is. And while there’s some debate over the literal translation of the abbreviation—some refer to it as “possible” or “potential” hydrogen (H), while others insist that it comes from the German Potenz or the French puissance (“power”) of hydrogen—one thing is certain: It’s all about the hydrogen. But why is hydrogen so important? For starters, hydrogen is the very first chemical element that appears on the periodic table; it has an atomic number of 1, meaning that it has only one proton in its nucleus. This is important, because it allows hydrogen to take on two forms: an anion, or a negatively charged atom (also known as a hydride),…

Got a question for Dr. Mitch? Email him at 420research@gmail.com. Isn’t there a story about a guy who said that hemp paper could raise the dead? B. Leif N’Zombies Hi B, As the story goes, a prominent Chinese official named Cai Lun became tired of writing on bamboo back in 105 CE. He invented a process for making paper out of hemp, but it didn’t find favor with the ruling dynasty. Ever the marketing genius, Cai Lun declared that the paper had magical properties and then feigned his own death, after which his wife urged mourners to burn the paper—with the result that, after several days, Cai Lun appeared to return to life. (He didn’t pretend he was a zombie, though.) Burning paper offerings or “spirit money” at funerals—a longstanding…

With Ice Cube, Slightly Stoopid, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Kahlifa, I thought the entertainment for our Cannabis Cup weekend in Denver couldn’t be better—that is, until I learned that Cheech and Chong were appearing at the Fillmore Auditorium that Thursday night. I’ve met Tommy Chong a bunch of times, and met Cheech Marin a couple of times as well. What I’d never done, however, was see them perform together live. So I reached out to Chris Chiari from King Of Quality (who was promoting the show), who generously gifted me 10 tickets for the High Times staff. I arrived at the Fillmore around 8 p.m. with my wife on one arm and an honorary Cannabis Cup judges’ kit under the other. But when security wouldn’t let me in with it,…

FLOWER OF THE MONTH Purp Scurp I’m a photographer in Michigan, and I was hired to shoot some photos. I acquired my legal medical marijuana license and came up with this pic. This isn’t my crop, and I don’t grow marijuana. With permission from my client, enjoy the pics! Derek G. GROW OF THE MONTH Tunnel of Weed This is a shot from our 550-plant greenhouse in Colorado! Vinnie at Acme Healing Center, Western Slope. CLOSE-UP OF THE MONTH Hey Ladybug TGA Vortex grown under 1000W Hortilux super HPS, with FoxFarm Happy Frog soil and Gen Hydro Flora series nutes. Plants grown by FIsho. Photos by Nasha. NUG OF THE MONTH Mazel Top This is a frosty cola of Kosher Kush from DNA Genetics grown in FoxFarm Soil and fed…