The controversy over edibles was ratcheted significantly in summer 2014 after Maureen Dowd, a columnist with the New York Times, reported having a dysphoric experience after consuming a marijuana-laced chocolate bar on a research trip to Denver. After her column about the experience (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/dowd-dont-harsh-our-mellow-dude.html) went viral, reporters in Denver ferreted out that Dowd had been warned about how to consume the product (http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/06/04/was-maureen-dowd-warned-about-edible-marijuana/13113). Dowd noted in that same column that she knew that the candy bar was intended to provide sixteen individual doses, but that information was not indicated on the packaging.
10. Best in Show
Details on our various winning strains maybe be found online: Super Lemon Haze (http://www.leafly.com/hybrid/super-lemon-haze), the Hells Angels strain (http://www.leafly.com/hybrid/hells-angel-og), and Jack Herer (http://www.leafly.com/sativa/jack-herer). A discussion of the cannabis plant’s origins in the Hindu-Kush ranges of the Himalaya foothills is documented in chapter 1 of Ed Rosenthal’s Marijuana Grower’s Handbook by Ed Rosenthal (Oakland, CA: Quick American, 2010).
The article “Despite Outlaw Image, Hells Angels Sue Often,” by Serge F. Kovaleski, New York Times, November 28, 2013 (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/29/us/despite-outlaw-image-hells-angels-sue-often.html) may shed light on my encounter with members.
Trichomes are discussed prominently in the Rosenthal text, particularly in part 4, as an indicator of harvesting readiness.
My understanding of the nonuniform nature of cannabis tolerance was informed, in part, by the discussion in The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis, Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture, edited by Julie Holland, MD (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 2010), particularly chapter 12, “Cannabis and Cognition,” by Caroline B. Marvin and Carl L. Hart, PhD.
Details of future Cannabis Cups may be found at: http://www.cannabiscup.com.
See the article “420 Meaning: The True Story of How April 20 Became ‘Weed Day,’” by Ryan Grim, Huffington Post, updated April 19, 2013 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/20/420-meaning-the-true-stor_n_543854.html) which is extensive investigation into the San Rafael, California, story and shares interviews with the original participants.
The H. P. Lovecraft short story often cited as the inspiration for 420 is entitled “In the Walls of Eryx” and is available to read for free at the following URL: http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/iwe.aspx.
11. Marijuana’s Mecca
See part I of Ed Rosenthal’s Marijuana Grower’s Handbook by Ed Rosenthal (Oakland, CA: Quick American, 2010), particularly pages 21 to 33, for a discussion of terpenes.
The two seed companies mentioned in this chapter are Sensi Seeds (http://sensiseeds.com) and Soma Seeds (http://somaseeds.nl). Numerous videos of Soma discussing recipes and other topics can be found at his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/somamissionTV.
The story of Rosenthal’s ordeal is told in the article “Medical Marijuana Clash Put a Grower in Court” by Dean E. Murphy, New York Times, January 21, 2003 (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/21/national/21POT.html).
The two Amsterdam cafés mentioned in this chapter are Grey Area (http://www.greyarea.nl) and Green House Seeds (http://greenhouseseeds.nl).
Find the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum online at: http://hashmuseum.com.
Articles and photos of the Cannabis Culture Awards I attended may be found at: http://cannabiscultureawards.com/awards/cannabis-culture-awards-2013-amsterdam.
12. Marijuana on the Ballot
The complete text of Amendment 64 may be found at: http://www.fcgov.com/mmj/pdf/amendment64.pdf.
The three advocacy groups mentioned in this chapter are the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org), SAFER (http://archive.saferchoice.org), and NORML (http://norml.org). The law firm Vicente Sederberg LLC can be found at: themarijuanalawfirm.com.
The rationale and execution of the “safer than alcohol” campaign is discussed in greater detail in chapter 11, “The Wall Comes Down: Colorado Makes Marijuana Legal,” in Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? by Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, updated and expanded edition, 2013).
The issues surrounding marijuana DUIs are summarized in “Driving Under the Influence, of Marijuana” by Maggie Koerth-Baker, New York Times, February 17, 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/health/driving-under-the-influence-of-marijuana.html). Another interesting report, “Marijuana Case Filings Plummet in Colorado Following Legalization,” by John Ingold, Denver Post, January 12, 2014, (http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_24894248/marijuana-case-filings-plummet-colorado-following-legalization), found that even in the period of time from the referendum until the law officially took effect, the number of marijuana arrests declined sharply, which indicates that police and prosecutors pursued fewer cases as a buildup to legalization.
13. Looking for the Win-Win
Notes regarding the outdoor event were drawn from articles such as “Denver 4/20 rally Draws Mellow Crowd; Police Issue Dozens of Citations” by John Ingold, Matt Miller, and Kate Gibbons, Denver Post, April 20, 2014 (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25603926/2014-420-rally-denver-day-2); “Police Hold 22 People at Mass Cannabis Rally in Denver” by Nick Allen, (London) Daily Telegraph, April 21, 2014 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10777675/Police-hold-22-people-at-mass-cannabis-rally-in-Denver.html); and “With Sales Now Legal, Cannabis Lovers Take Denver’s 420 Weekend to New Highs” by Jessica Ravitz, CNN, April 21, 2014 (http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/20/us/denver-420-weekend).
Learn more about Ghost Train Haze at http://www.leafly.com/sativa/ghost-train-haze. Details about Breeder Rare Dankness may be found at: http://raredankness.com.
The CBS This Morning clip documenting our win can be found at: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/cannabis-cup-celebrates-all-things-marijuana-on-420-day.
14. Investors
Pegging the exact revenue of the illicit drug trade is virtually impossible, and it’s highly frustrating to see various agencies—from U.S. law enforcement to top drug commissions with the United Nations—bandy about figures that might well be meaningless. A 2005 UN World Drug Report (https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2005.html) argued that the worldwide illicit drug market produced revenues of $320 billion annually, the worldwide marijuana market generated revenues of $141.80 billion annually, and the U.S. market alone generated half of this latter figure, about $64 billion. A 2013 report issued by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (available at: http://www.cicad.oas.org/drogas/elinforme/informeDrogas2013/laEconomicaNarcotrafico_ENG.pdf) repeated these estimates but cautioned that numerous experts regard them as “implausibly high.” Using another methodology, the report continued, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy estimated that in 2012 the total illegal U.S. marijuana market was only between $15 to $30 billion. Government acceptance typically has settled around this range. A 2012 White House report, “What America’s Users Spend on Illegal Drugs,” pegged the size of the illegal trade in the big four illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana) in the country to be $100.40 billion in 2006: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/wausid_report_final_1.pdf.
By comparison, a November 2013 report (http://www.arcviewmarketresearch.com) by ArcView Market Research, a San Francisco–based investor group that studies the legal marijuana industry in the United States, assessed the 2013 legal U.S. market alone to generate about $1.53 billion, with $10.2 billion forecast for the legal market by 2018.
Connect with the rapper Redman via his website: http://redmansworld.com.
A compelling essay about the possible appearance of cannabis in the Bible is found in chapter 2, “Early/Anci
ent History,” by Chris Bennett, in The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis, Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture, edited by Julie Holland, MD (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 2010). Some of Bennett’s provocative essays appear online: “Kaneh Bosm: Cannabis in the Old Testament” (http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1090.html), “Cannabis and the Christ” (http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1301.html), and numerous others: http://www.forbiddenfruitpublishing.com/Chris/Writings. I should add that rebuttals to Bennett’s theories are easily found as well.
15. The New Marijuana Economy
Admittedly, both of the stories—of the illegal grow and the Dopp kit at the airport—related to me were anecdotal, but according to the article “Legalization Complicate Police Marijuana Investigations in Colorado” by John Ingold, Denver Post, July 14, 2014, (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26147592/legalization-complicates-police-marijuana-investigations-colorado), local police are occasionally hesitant to seize and destroy marijuana from grows that they suspect are illegal, for fear of civil prosecution at a later time if they are wrong. It is unclear how prevalent this development is.
At the same time that editorials in newspapers such the New York Times (July 27, 2014) are calling for legalization on the federal level (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html), their counterparts at papers such as the Washington Post are opposing legalization (September 14, 2014) in the District of Columbia (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dc-voters-should-reject-the-rush-to-legalize-marijuana/2014/09/14/aca37112-3ab6-11e4-bdfb-de4104544a37_story.html).
In September 2014, the National Conference of State Legislatures noted that the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill included provisions that would allow certain institutions within nineteen states to grow hemp in pilot studies in university or state departments of agriculture settings. State policies may be found at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/agriculture-and-rural-development/state-industrial-hemp-statutes.aspx.
The list of nations that currently grow hemp was drawn from the following lists at the Hemp Industries Association (http://www.thehia.org/facts.html) and the European Industrial Hemp Association (http://www.eiha.org).
In the firing case I’m citing—“Wal-Mart Worker Fired over Medical Marijuana” by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC, June 28, 2013 (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35913492/ns/business-careers/t/wal-mart-worker-fired-over-medical-marijuana/#.VCc4vb7XE58)—the courts found that the twenty-nine-year-old man who was suffering from a brain tumor was not protected from firing because the marijuana law in his state, Michigan, does not regulate private employment.
The article “Medical Marijuana Research Hits Wall of U.S. Law” by Serge F. Kovaleski, New York Times, August 9, 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/us/politics/medical-marijuana-research-hits-the-wall-of-federal-law.html), nicely summarizes how science has been hampered by U.S. federal prohibition. My further understanding of this issue was enhanced by the articles in part 3, “The Clinical Use of Cannabis,” in The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis, Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture, edited by Julie Holland, MD (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 2010).
My comments on vape pens and e-cigarettes are drawn from personal experience and articles such as “Some E-Cigarettes Deliver a Puff of Carcinogens” by Matt Richtel, New York Times, May 3, 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/business/some-e-cigarettes-deliver-a-puff-of-carcinogens.html).
The issue of edible misuse by children and adults is not likely to go away in the future. The most famous case that drew media attention came in 2006, when a police corporal from Detroit and his wife baked brownies laced with marijuana the officer had confiscated from a suspect. His frantic calls to 911, in which he claimed to be “dying” or “overdosing” of the drug, went viral, leading to media ridicule and his 2007 resignation. See “Cop Who Made Pot Brownies Will Avoid Charges,” Associated Press Report, May 11, 2007 (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18587902/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/cop-who-made-pot-brownies-will-avoid-charges/#.VCdAY77XE58). More troubling is the possibility that children will mistake marijuana edibles for candy or baked sweets. The issue has been covered in numerous media stories, such as “Snacks Laced with Marijuana Raise Concerns” by Jack Healy, New York Times, January 31, 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/us/snacks-laced-with-marijuana-raise-concerns.html). The class action suit I discuss was covered prominently in the Colorado media. See the article, “Class-action suit grow against firm accused of handing out pot-laced candy at Denver County Fair,” by Alan Gathright, ABC 7 News, September 16, 2014: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/class-action-suit-grows-against-firm-accused-of-handing-out-pot-laced-candy-at-denver-county-fair09162014.
16. The Cannabis Ranch
Readers can follow the progress of our project and see architectural drawings and plans at greenmancannabisranch.com.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
activism, 11, 40–41, 71, 122, 137, 143, 145, 157, 160, 162, 189, 209, 225, 227
Adam (grower), 53–56, 58, 60–64, 67–69
Adams, John, 33, 226
African Americans, 38, 42
AIDS, 17, 31, 225
Alaska, 6
alcohol
drug testing and, 92–93
as “gateway drug,” 42
marijuana and, 6, 35, 42, 93, 114, 153, 160, 187, 205, 229, 232
Prohibition, 5, 225
risks of using, 114, 160–62, 202, 207–8, 228, 232
social acceptance of, 68, 92–93
teens and, 114, 207
Amazon, 7
Amendment 64, 157–58, 160, 163, 232
American Medical Association, 39, 56
Anslinger, Harry J., 38, 42
anti-inflammatory properties, 122
anxiety, 17, 126, 230
appetite, 17, 121, 125–26, 230
Apple, 7, 101, 139
Arizona, 75, 93
badges, 82, 86, 90, 95
baked goods
see brownies; cookbooks; cookies; edibles
ballot initiatives, 6, 159
banking laws, 4, 77–78, 80, 202, 227
Ben & Jerry’s, 183–84
Bezos, Jeff, 8, 196
Bible, 189, 233
Big Agra, 8, 202–3
Big Pharma, 8, 202–3
Big Tobacco, 8, 182, 202
Black Dog Tavern, 138–39
borders
Colorado, 9
U.S., 75
branding, 7, 43–44, 46, 102–3, 108, 138–39, 170, 283–84, 191, 198–200, 204, 215
Brandon (grower), 67, 69, 71, 73–74, 102, 139, 173
Branson, Richard, 152
Breaking Bad (TV series), 83–84
breeding plants, 36, 148
Bregman, Paul, 143
brownies, 10, 30, 125, 230–31, 234
Buffett, Warren, 198
Bush, George H. W., 152
Bush, George W., 152
cafés, 36, 41, 146–49, 151–53, 205, 232
California, 18, 37, 44, 53, 93, 132, 136, 150, 152, 227, 231
Canada, 132, 206
cancer, 17, 30–31, 34, 121–22, 144, 225, 230
cannibidiol (CBD), 116–17, 123, 206, 230
Cannabis Culture Awards, 152, 232
Cannabis Cup, 9, 102, 135–36, 140–41, 143, 146–48, 151, 154–55, 167–69, 172, 176, 187, 231
Cannabis indica, 31, 37
Cannabis Ranch, 3, 105–12, 166, 170, 184, 190, 205, 211–19
Canna
bis sativa, 31
case law, 10, 207
cash, 82–83
children, concern for, 87, 115, 207–8, 234
childproof packaging, 31, 210
Chong, Tommy, 143, 164
Clinton, Bill, 152
clones, 57, 73, 86, 97, 211
Colorado
Department of Health, 90
Department of Public Health and the Environment, 30
Department of Revenue, 81, 90–91, 154
medical marijuana and, 4, 13–14, 16–17, 30–31, 109, 138, 143, 154, 158, 160, 225
Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division (MMED), 90–91, 154
Colorado Springs, Colorado, 111
competitions, 128–32, 139
see also Cannabis Cup
consolidation, 197–200
contractors, 68–74, 81, 84
Cook, Matt, 98
cookbooks, 125, 226, 231
cookies, 30
Corey (grower), 102–3, 128, 130, 133, 135, 139–41, 167, 170–73, 175–76, 218, 222
corporations, 10, 31, 78–79, 184, 199, 202–3, 212–13
credit, 70–72
D.A.R.E. America program, 91, 228
decriminalization, 42
Denver International Airport (DIA), 109–11
Denver’s Regional Transportation District, 111
dependence, 41
dosage, 124, 208–9
Dronkers, Ben, 152, 206
drug cartels, 7, 179–81, 203–4, 227
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), 42, 154
drug lords, 203–4
drug testing, 92–93, 162, 186, 207
due process, 207
DUIs, 232
edibles, 30, 125, 165, 168, 209, 231, 234
electrical systems, 61, 63–64, 72–73
see also power usage
endocannabinoids (eCBs), 123
epilepsy, 116, 122
essential oils, 144
EXDO Center, 136–37
fabric, hemp and, 33, 40
failure, 65–74
Big Weed Page 23
