Innehållsförteckning för April 2015 från High Times

A comprehensive report released by Hawaii’s state auditor recommends implementing dispensaries in the Aloha State. The Hawaiian legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2000, but the current law doesn’t permit dispensaries and limits caregivers to only one patient apiece. A bill that would allow the creation of dispensaries was introduced in the 2014 legislative session, but lawmakers failed to pass it. The auditor’s report wisely recommends changes to the bill, including granting regulatory oversight to the State Department of Health in an effort to get lawmakers on board. Perhaps most importantly, the report acknowledges the dilemma that Hawaii’s pot patients face. There is currently no way to buy cannabis legally in the state. Because of this, patients must either grow their own pot or turn to the black market. Dispensaries would…

A federal appellate court unanimously struck down a 2011 Florida law mandating drug tests for all welfare applicants—even those not suspected of illegal substance use. The three-judge panel found that Florida officials did not demonstrate there was a “more prevalent, unique or different drug problem among [welfare] applicants than in the general population.” Florida’s Republican governor, Rick Scott, had justified the law by claiming that it protected children from parents who might use welfare funds to score drugs. However, the law backfired on the cash-strapped state, as Florida was forced to reimburse applicants who paid out-of-pocket for their drug tests and passed (each test cost about $30). Since only 2.6 percent of the applicants failed, the state ultimately had to pay out $118,140 in only the first four months—more than…

Every year, Thrasher magazine bestows Skater of the Year upon one exceptional athlete. It's the most coveted award in the industry, a recognition of cumulative efforts and achievements. Superstar skater Wes Kremer earned the award this year. He told muckmouth.com that pot—no surprise—is a big part of the skate scene: "I guess the part that weed plays in my life is more social than anything. If I'm with a bunch of my homies that smoke, I can't help but roll as many joints as I'm able to. You gotta to keep the good times rolling. If everyone's skating and having fun, you're gonna feed off the hype and get motivated to skate, smoking or not. If you ever feel too stoned to skate, just warm up to break the stone.…

“Why don’t you shut it off and see how it’s recording?” is the first thing we hear from Bob Dylan on his The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11. Shut it off indeed—and then record it again. And again. Or just toss it off and fuck around. Well, here it fucking is. You asked for it: the much-coveted creative colossus by the artist who never wanted anyone to hear it. Six discs of crooked, off-kilter, brilliant, relentless creation. Anyone looking for some gorgeous hidden fruit or a coherent artistic statement is wildly missing the point of this collection. This is a chaotic anthropological journey—a dirty architectural dig through the evolving creative process of the world’s most important songwriter. It is presented gorgeously, in a hefty and elegant box…

Wernard Bruining opened Amsterdam’s first coffeeshop, Mellow Yellow, in 1973. His grow shop, Positronics, was the first in Europe. He now champions marijuana oil as nature’s best medicine. You’re the founder of the coffeeshop scene, correct? At least in Amsterdam—but I was doing it because I thought it was the most logical thing to do. In the old days, it was rather difficult to score hash and grass. You had to either know somebody who was a house dealer—dealing it from his house—or you had to go places where a lot of smokers would be. Tell us about Mellow Yellow. It was 1973. We were living together, a group of nine friends in a house—in a room. We were all smokers. In the old days, when you knew where…

If you’ve read the Cannabis Cup feature on page 73—or were following the updates online—you know that Amsterdam officials unfortunately shut down the expo portion of the event this November. What you may not know, however, is that even before Holland’s government shifted to the right and the coffeeshop crackdowns began, I had my own little run-in with the Dutch politie. It was a cold and rainy November morning in 2006, and pre-registration for our 19th Cup had just begun at a small club across from the Melkweg. Throngs of judges were arriving in town after many hours of traveling and were queued up along the street to pick up their passes. To placate the wet and weary crowd, Cup founder Steve Hager handed me a bag of weed and…

IN 1995, I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST CANNABIS CUP. IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST TIME I VISITED AMSTERDAM. I REMEMBER WALKING INTO THE GREEN HOUSE, TRYING TO LOOK COOL AS I ATTEMPTED TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY HOW ONE PURCHASES BUDS IN A DUTCH COFFEESHOP. LUCKILY, SOMEONE WAS DOING JUST THAT, SO I SIMPLY FOLLOWED HIS LEAD. THE DELIGHTFUL MEMORY OF LIGHTING UP WITH A CUP OF COFFEE IN A COMFORTABLE, CONVIVIAL ENVIRONMENT REMAINS WITH ME STILL. The Amsterdam experience at the Cannabis Cup has been an inspiration to activists the world over. The vision of transplanting the Dutch model of tolerance in the soil of one’s home country became a tangible goal. Nineteen years later, the achievements in cannabis legalization that we’ve made in the United States are enormous. There’s still…

Plantformers has added a new landrace strain to their library. The Amsterdam-based company has released Mekanika Haze, a heady sativa that can be traced back to the Amazon rainforest where it is believed to have been used by Santo Daime practitioners for healing purposes. Plantformers is dedicated to gathering landrace strains from around the world and developing new and exciting genetics. The company’s flagship strain, Mekanika Haze, boasts an exquisite citrusy bouquet of oranges and mangos while packing a potent THC punch. The high is cerebral and long-lasting, and growers will appreciate the nine to 10 week flowering time Plantformers achieved without sacrificing the strain’s stability. Keep an eye out for a variety of new landrace crosses from Plant-formers in 2015.…

The $1.1 trillion spending bill that will keep the US government from shutting down for a few months also effectively ends the federal war on medical marijuana. The bill, signed by President Obama, includes the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment, which blocks Justice Department funds from being used to prevent states “from implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.” The spending bill also defunds DEA interference with states operating pilot programs for industrial hemp. According to Drug Policy Alliance director Bill Piper, “The war on medical marijuana is over. Now the fight moves on to legalization of all marijuana.” Despite the excitement, it should be noted that the provision preventing the Justice Department from interfering with medical pot programs expires on September 30, 2015.…

Charlo Greene—who famously walked off her TV reporter job on-air with the words, “Fuck it, I quit” last September—is under investigation by the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). The commission claims it “needs to investigate” whether Greene violated campaign finance law by using funds generated through an IndieGogo campaign to promote a political agenda. Greene is fighting to bar the APOC from accessing her personal records, and challenged the commission’s request that she provide it documents and information related to the IndieGogo campaign. Greene said the campaign should not be subject to reporting requirements because it was fundraising for her organization, the Alaska Cannabis Club, not for passing Ballot Measure 2. She says she will not comply with the subpoena. “This [order] worries me and it should worry any other…

Classically trained pastry chef Marla Molly Poiset decided to infuse cannabis into gourmet patisseries and chocolate after watching her daughter battle leukemia. A self-described “total lightweight,” Poiset doesn’t smoke herself and says that “even five milligrams will affect me” when eaten. Her low tolerance didn’t stop her from winning multiple awards for her cannabis-infused creations, however, including a second-place Cannabis Cup in 2013 for her “Be the Light” Golden Frankincense Truffle, and a third-place Cup in 2014 for her Margarita Truffle. A professional woman in her late 50s, Poiset represents a demographic that’s enthusiastically embracing cannabis but needs low-dose options appropriate for newbies and cannabis-naïve patients. Her approach to edibles is designed for “those who would be turned off by the counterculture,” Poiset says. These highly technical teacakes, called petits…

It’s been over 10 years since the Feds tried to smash the glass-pipe industry by launching two massive crackdowns nationwide. At the time, acting DEA administrator John B. Brown claimed: “People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers. They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide.” With Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter, the Feds told the world that they were taking decisive steps to dismantle the illegal drug-paraphernalia industry. But oppression has a funny way of biting the oppressors in the ass: Over the past decade, the glass-pipe industry has flourished, and there are now more artists working in it than ever before. Naturally, the increased popularity of cannabis has generated a spike in sales, with…

AMSTERDAM USED TO be the Promised Land. Long before marijuana legalization took root in places like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Uruguay, the Netherlands led the world in treating cannabis consumers with respect. But now the national government is closing coffeeshops, targeting hydro stores and forcing growers further underground—much to the dismay of cannabis-friendly locals and the many expatriates from around the world who have made Holland their home seeking marijuana freedom. In fact, this year, Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan—under pressure from the country’s die-hard prohibitionist justice minister, Ivo Opstelten, to change the city’s image from an alleged capital of sex and drugs into a family-friendly tourist destination—seemed to make it his personal mission to stop the Cannabis Cup. Which at first sounds like a funny plot for…

The Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam always brings an unforgettable end to High Times’ calendar year. It’s our final event before the New Year, and the awards ceremony is our opportunity to recognize top activists for their achievements and to honor iconic figures of the counterculture for their inspiring work. Robert “Black Tuna” Platshorn received the 2014 Freedom Fighter of the Year Award. He served 30 years in federal prison—the longest sentence ever handed down for a pot “crime”—and hit the activist trail upon his release by organizing the Silver Tour, a campaign intended to bring the message of cannabis freedom to aging baby boomers and golden-agers. Marc Emery was honored with the Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award. He earned the title of “Canada’s Prince of Pot” for fearlessly distributing seeds…

Send your cannabis cultivation questions to @deardanko or deardanko@hightimes.com. SUBJECT: Strain for Burns FROM: Kristy x Down Under I’m hoping you can help me. My brother was badly burned in a workplace accident. The doctors and hospitals have loaded him up with some really hardcore painkillers, and I’m worried. I am new to the world of weed and have just started my first-ever grow with two plants, Strawberry Cough and Kush… so far, so good. But now my attention is focused on what plants I can grow to help my brother—something that helps with muscle and nerve pain. Can you point me in the right direction? We’re coming into our summer here, so I’ll be able to do an outdoor soil grow. Dear Kristy, Indica strains work best for people…

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML.Visit norml.org. The average US cannabis consumer or cannabusiness owner has no idea that a United Nations treaty exists banning cannabis use, production and sales. So the question is: What role does the UN treaty play in countries whose citizens have voted for legally binding initiatives that replace cannabis-prohibition laws with tax-and-regulate policies? In October, the Brookings Institution published a paper examining this question. Brookings scholar Wells Bennett and John Walsh of the Washington Office on Latin America highlighted the role of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, writing that after the 2012 votes in which Colorado and Washington legalized adult recreational use, the board’s then-president, Raymond Yans, “warned bluntly that permitting recreational use of marijuana ‘would be a violation of international law, namely…

CALIFORNIA Alternate Natural Solutions Inc. 8477 Enterprise Dr. Jamestown, CA 95327 (209) 352-6779 altnatsol.com “Home of the 5 dollar gram” Club Cannex 11004 Magnolia Ave. Garden Grove, CA 92843 Phone: 562-200-1164 www.clubcannex.org rudy@clubcannex.org Compassionate, Understanding, Servicing, Honoring, Inspirational, Passionate Coffee Shop Blue Sky 377 17th Street Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 251-0690 Open 9am-8pm Mon-Sat, 10am–6pm Sunday oaksterdamgiftshop.com The Good Life 4316 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029 (323) 522-3542 Open 7 days, 10AM-11PM facebook.com/goodlifemelrose Twitter Good Life Melrose Also fresh fruits and vegetables. Green Dragon Caregivers 7423 Van Nuys Blvd. Suite C VanNuys, CA 91405 (818) 442-0054 greendragoncoop.com edward@greendragoncoop.com High Quiggle Healing Center 1532 East Broadway Long Beach, CA 90802 Phone: (562) 951-3975 Fax: (562) 951-3902 weedmaps.com “A circle of healing is never ending” Love Shack 502 14th street San…

E-mail your hi-res digital photographs to mailbag@hightimes.com. CLOSE-UP OF THE MONTH This Wheel is Fire Check out this Cheese Candy nugget glistening in the light as it grows! Grove 867 GROWER OF THE MONTH Antlers Away Thanks again for checking out our fourth crop here at 8,000 feet in the Rockies. We only use organics—same as grandpa used. The planters are full of worms/night-crawlers, local decomposed granite mixed with Happy Frog and Ocean Forest soil, bone/ blood meal, and Willie Wiggles worm poo plus tons of love! We did fight unusual humidity this summer. Shitzoo NUG OF THE MONTH Did I Grow That? This is a Purple Urkle clone-only strain exclusive through the Michigan I-94 collection. Follow us on Instagram! Grown by @ether_of_de troit and photographed by @aquariusdreams23 COLA OF…

Cup of Drama I took my girlfriend and myself to our first Cup. I bought early bird tickets in June, saved the whole summer to go, got my luggage stolen within the first three hours, had the whole disappointing debacle of not having an Expo—and still had the best vacation of my life. It was moving to see everyone in the cannabis community band together to say “No!” We aren’t letting the powers that be interfere with our right to celebrate our reverence for the cannabis plant. Big fan since college. Thanks for your time and hard work. Brian H. Thanks, Brian. We were all disappointed in the treatment High Times received in Amsterdam after 27 years of holding the event there. But, like you say, our community did “band…

Kevin Sabet Director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana In January, this mouthpiece for the Drug War wrote: “We have been promised great things with legalization. However, we can expect to be let down. Voters in other states should watch Colorado closely and engage in a deep conversation about where they want this country to go. Buyer, beware.” No, Kevin—prohibitionist, beware! Your days are numbered! Ann Coulter Conservative columnist Appearing on Piers Morgan Live in January, Coulter argued that legal weed actually damages the economy: “You can’t get anything done with a pothead. I’m going to be paying for their food, housing, now for their health care, apparently, because they can’t perform any useful jobs.” Coulter admitted on the same show: “I have done TV after a drink. I’m drunk right…

The Obama administration has instructed US Attorneys not to stand in the way of Native American tribes growing or selling marijuana on their reservations. The new policy opens the door to legal pot shops and grow ops on the 325 federally recognized reservations across the country. The Justice Department requires the tribes to adhere to eight federal guidelines, including prohibiting pot sales to minors, preventing the revenue from going to gangs, and banning the transport of weed to states where it is still criminalized. While marijuana could be a boon—similar to tobacco sales and casinos—for tribes lacking viable income sources, it remains to be seen how many will take advantage of the new policy.…

Chew on this: A biotech company is producing a pharmaceutical-grade cannabis chewing gum containing psychoactive THC. The gum, branded as MedChew, uses a slow-release formula similar to nicotine gum to allow for more eficient absorption of cannabinoids through the mouth lining, bypassing the digestive tract altogether. Axim Biotechnologies currently markets CanChew gum with cannabidiol (CBD), but MedChew is the first THC-specific medical marijuana gum. Axim recently announced plans to build a manufacturing facility in the Netherlands, where it will also cultivate cannabis at a 1.25-acre production site. Clinical trials for the product with multiple sclerosis patients and others are currently underway in Amsterdam. If all goes well, Axim anticipates Med-Chew being available to consumers in 2017.…

Massive March Against Mexican Narco-State On November 20, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Mexico City in a massive demonstration of public anger over government corruption and the abduction of 43 college students at Iguala in Guerrero state. The marchers converged on the capital’s enormous central plaza, the Zócalo, where President Enrique Peña Nieto was burned in effigy and clashes erupted. Some protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at police. The march was part of a national mobilization. Three caravans, led by family members of the missing students, travelled throughout the country before uniting in the capital for the protest. In southern Chiapas state, the caravan met with leaders of the Zapatista rebel movement, which issued a statement in their support. At an earlier march on the Zócalo on…

50 g. almond flour 45 g . white rice flour 130 g. powdered sugar 10 g. honey 145 g. egg whites (4) 2 g. baking powder 5 g. Matcha green tea powder 70 g. cannabis-infused butter (Grapefruit strain recommended) 50 g. French absinthe 6 g. orange zest 10 g. unsalted butter (non-infused) 2-inch square savarin mold Mix 20 grams of absinthe in with the finely grated orange zest. Cover and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C). Weigh all ingredients carefully using a digital scale. Melt the non-infused butter and, with a pastry brush, thoroughly coat your savarin mold with it. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large, stainless-steel stand-mixer bowl using a wire sieve, then set aside. In a sauté pan, melt the cannabis-infused butter until it’s…

Got a question for Dr. Mitch? Email him at 420research@gmail.com. Do states with medical marijuana laws end up having plants higher in THC? Green Lantern Hi Green, The evidence suggests not: Plants confiscated by law enforcement in medical states were only 0.5 percent higher in THC than in prohibition states. If medical states have stronger plants, they must be keeping them hidden from cops. I’ve heard that marijuana can cure HIV. Wonderful news! Herb L. Wrap Hi Herb, Let’s not get ahead of the data. Daily cannabis users had a lower viral load than comparable folks, but only in one study. It’s true that daily users with HIV/AIDS don’t run into problems keeping up with their medication or maintaining their weight, but this is hardly a cure for AIDS. The…

Phil Bourgeois arrived in Washington, DC, to become a NORML volunteer during his senior year at the State University of New York in Brockport. A political-science major, Bourgeois had researched the anti-drug propaganda he’d been fed for years and become outraged by the government’s wasteful and racist enforcement policies. He recognized that the War on Drugs was particularly harsh on people of color and the downtrodden and dedicated himself to the fight for equality—racial and economic. During the 2014 election, Bourgeois assisted NORML by coordinating phone banks in support of legalization initiatives, handing out materials to voters, writing scripts for volunteers, and conducting research into the impact of marijuana prohibition in Alaska, Oregon and DC. “The War on Drugs is one of the biggest civil rights violations of our time,”…

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