Big Weed (25 page)

The struggle going forward is about normalizing marijuana. It's about making it part of our cultural landscape again, as okay as every liquor store you pass to and from work every day.

The Cannabis Ranch is my chance to normalize marijuana, to bring it to the world on such a scale that it cannot be ignored. The way tourists will progress through the Cannabis Ranch is fraught with symbolism. They'll descend from the reception hall of the visitors' center into the basement grow. From there, they'll walk down a glass-walled hallway, beholding the fragrant jungle coming to life under the lights.

On the far end of the basement grow, they'll come to a set of doors that will lead them to a bank of elevators. After entering, the elevators will rise, and when the doors open, our visitors will be standing in our glass-enclosed greenhouse. Right in the middle of the action.

I said before that I am not an artist, not a poet, not a creative person in the artistic sense. But I cannot ignore the power of a beautiful metaphor. Our visitors will be embarking on a journey that mimics America's own journey of enlightenment. As they move from the basement, they're leaving marijuana's past behind. When they enter the greenhouse, they'll be looking at the future. From the closet out into the open. From the darkness into the light.

It doesn't get clearer than that.

At the beginning of this story, I told you that I was searching for something. That I needed this business to succeed not because I
craved the money but because it might teach me the way to joy and love. Today I know I've found it. I have never known as much happiness as I have growing and selling this gorgeous plant. It's been the most wonderful business endeavor of my life.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I know I'm not the same man who nearly destroyed his health running a business into the ground. Yes, I'm older. Yes, I've fallen down. But I've gotten back up and chosen to push ahead. And despite any obstacles and resistance and betrayal, I have not just survived but thrived.

I'm not ashamed to say that marijuana has been my salvation. And in a larger sense, I think marijuana legalization ultimately will be recognized as one of the salvational stories of the United States.

I can see how the business has touched others in my personal life.

My daughters are growing up absorbing the lesson that their father is following his bliss and creating something that is meaningful to others as well.

My mom is watching her son achieve a dream. Her golden years are also graced with the memory of her late partner, who was touched by the plant before his passing.

My father, the physician, has been blessed with a new educational experience late in life. Recently, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he began experimenting with marijuana-derived cannibidiol as a way to treat his condition. He noticed marked improvement in controlling aspects of the disease. As a doctor, he couldn't resist sharing what he'd learned with others. I was proud to watch as he enthusiastically wrote up his findings and presented them at a medical conference.

Corey, the grower who did so much to make our business a success, has taken my advice and begun consulting with up-and-coming marijuana businesses throughout the country. I know this will be the start of a long and profitable career for him. Proving my point that you must always look for the win-win, I'm pleased to say we will be sharing in that success together.

My friend and real estate broker Dax recently got involved in the industry, developing an app called Green Spott that allows customers to order online through a smartphone.

Most important, millions of people—Americans and non-Americans—who might have been jailed or killed or otherwise targeted by the war on marijuana will instead have the opportunity to lead positive, fulfilling lives.

Many others, millions perhaps, will find their joy and their next career in this business. Maybe you will too. If you're the slightest bit curious, you owe it to yourself to do the due diligence.

Tell you what: Someday soon, the first generation of our plants will be settling into life at the Green Man Cannabis Ranch. The ones under glass will be our first to see what a Colorado spring or summer is like. The first to feel the rays of the sun on their leaves. They don't have to hide anymore, and neither do we.

The next time you're in Denver, I'd welcome the chance to introduce you to our world. Book a long layover. The Green Man Cannabis Ranch will be waiting. I invite you to stop by and say
high.

Acknowledgments

It's not often that an entrepreneur gets a chance to write a book about a fascinating new growth industry that has changed his life. By any measure, I know I'm a lucky man, but I would not have been able to create the book you hold in your hands without the help, motivation, and support of a great number of people. Every one of them deserve a thank-you from a grateful author and friend.

John Zakhem, you're a good attorney, good golfer, and a great friend.

This book began as the spark of an idea mentioned to my literary agent, Yfat Reiss Gendell, who recognized the potential, helped me develop the concept, and found
Big Weed
a good cowriter and home. For this I am indebted to Yfat and her entire team at Foundry Literary + Media. I'm lucky I landed in your stable of authors.

Joseph D'Agnese, Yfat brought us together, and it has worked wonderfully. You have been a competent and calming influence as I moved through the great unknown of writing my first book. I appreciate your professionalism and the outstanding quality of your work. I have enjoyed working with you.

My editor, Emily Carleton, and her executive editor, Elisabeth Dyssegaard, at Palgrave Macmillan pounced on this little book and embraced it passionately. Their entire team, who fearlessly volunteered for a “research trip” to the wilds of Colorado, is responsible for bringing this book to the rest of the world.

To everyone at Green Man Cannabis, you know who you are, but especially: Barb Visher—your personal and professional support has inspired me, enabled me and encouraged me through the many ups and downs over the past five years. To my founding partners, Gary Schwartz, Audra and Scott Richmond, and Mike Visher: So many of the stories in this book are your stories, too. To our longtime employees, Kristin Aichinger, Jen Schmidt, Dustin, Zach, Dane, Sam, Hillary, Holly, and more: Your dedication and care is appreciated beyond words. This company could not be what it is today without your faith and determination. Corey—I mean every word: You are the best among the best.

In a rapidly changing business, you come to rely on the advice of a trusted few. In this regard I am grateful for the advice of Christian Sederberg and Ed Rosenthal.

I could never have gotten this business off the ground without the encouragement, intelligent counsel, and support of Mr. Pink—you are a prince among men and one of the most astute businessmen I know. And no, you cannot be Mr. Black or pick your own name.

And to Dax Gurgan—you are my brother from a different mother.

My life could not be complete without the ones I love. I'm grateful, Dad, that you were here for part of this journey. Mom, without your support I would feel lacking. Thanks too to my brother, John.

To my wonderful daughters, Hannah, Harper, and Hadley (HaHaHa), I am inspired by the love I feel for each of you. I am proud of the people you are and I enjoy your company—I love you each with all my heart.

And Rebecca: You are light and love, a true earth angel, nearly as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside. You are the personification of loving kindness, loving beyond expectation or reason, inspiring, comforting, and supportive. God gave superpowers to the
right human being. The benefit of your readings, channelings, and intuitive insight have given me authentic faith. I acknowledge this wouldn't have been possible without you for a number of reasons, not the least of which because you introduced me to Yfat. Last, and in no way the least, thank you for agreeing to marry me.

Notes

Please note that some of the links referenced in this work may no longer be active.

Introduction

Details about how Colorado used its medical marijuana fund to prop up its state budget was drawn from an article by Tim Hoover, “Ritter Turns to Medical-Marijuana Fund to Help Balance Colorado Budget,”
Denver Post,
August 24, 2010.

Admittedly, the history of the U.S. Prohibition era of alcohol is not a perfect analog to marijuana prohibition, but it's one that is mined often by marijuana activists seeking lessons from that history. I found the best discussion in the book
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).

1. Brave New World

The six qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Colorado are cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, and conditions causing one or more of the following: severe pain, cachexia (wasting syndrome), severe nausea, seizures, or persistent muscle spasms. The Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group, summarizes the United States's medical marijuana laws and patient rights and protections in a PDF available at the URL:
http://www.mpp.org/assets/pdfs/library/MMJLawsSummary.pdf

2. My Education

The distinctions between the various species of cannabis are discussed in
Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Grower's Handbook
by Ed Rosenthal (Oakland, CA: Quick American, 2010).

Throughout this book, my “tasting notes” on various marijuana strains are based on my own experiences with those strains. A more comprehensive list of strains and their attributes can be found at
Leafly.com.

Discussions of human interaction with the cannabis plant in ancient history are drawn largely from
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). See, in particular, chapter 2, “Early/Ancient History,” by Chris Bennett, and chapter 4, “The Botany of Cannabis,” by Lyle E. Craker, PhD, and Zoe Gardner.

The discussion of U.S. history and politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with respect to cannabis is drawn chiefly from
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);
Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Grower's Handbook,
and
The Pot Book,
edited by Holland, particularly chapter 3, “Recent History,” by David Malmo-Levine.

The discovery of cannabis- and cocaine-tainted pipes in Shakespeare's garden was reported in “Bard ‘Used Drugs for Inspiration,'” BBC News, March 1, 2001 (
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1195939.stm
) and “Drugs Clue to Shakespeare's Genius,”
CNN.com,
March 1, 2001 (
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/UK/03/01/shakespeare.cannabis
). Those news reports were based on this scientific paper: J. F. Thackeray, N. J. Van Der Merwe, and T. A. Van Der Merwe, “Chemical Analysis of Residues from Seventeenth-Century Clay Pipes from Stratford-upon-Avon and Environs,”
South African Journal of Science
97 (2001): 19–21.

Quotes from Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and John Adams can be found in
The Pot Book
by Holland. Monticello, the Jefferson residence historic site, offers an extensive, fascinating list of hemp references drawn from the writings of Jefferson: (
http://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/hemp
).

The THC level in cannabis typically is tested and reported each year following competitions in the United States and the Netherlands. The data, frankly, vary according to the labs performing the tests, sampling methods, growing techniques, and types of samples submitted. One gauge is the annual “Earth's Strongest Strains” report published by
High Times
magazine. The 2014 report (
http://www.hightimes.com/read/earths-strongest-strains-2014
) includes my firm's own SkunkBerry strain. In the 2014 review,
High Times
noted that THC content had risen enough across the board that it could now report several strains at 23 percent or higher, up from a previous level of 20 percent.

The average THC content of cannabis found in Dutch coffee shops was reported in “Dutch Cannabis No Longer So Strong,” Netherlands Info Service News Bulletin, June 27, 2013:
http://www.nisnews.nl/adb.html
,
based on a study by the Trimbos Institute commissioned by the Dutch health ministry. In 2011, after a survey by Trimbos found that cannabis sold in shops averaged THC content between 16 and 18 percent, the nation acted to ban cannabis that tested higher than 15 percent.

Details of the collectible market for cannabis-labeled medicine bottles was drawn from
antiquecannabisbook.com
. A complete collection of all editions of the
United States Pharmacopoeia,
the “cookbook” that taught pharmacists how to prepare various medicinal formulations, that reference cannabis—and the 1942 edition that did not—may be inspected online:
http://antiquecannabisbook.com/Appendix/AppendixC.htm
.

There's no definitive cut of the film known today as
Reefer Madness,
but you can watch one version for free online:
https://archive.org/details/ReeferMadness_479
. Likewise, a version of
Hemp for Victory
may be viewed free online:
https://archive.org/details/HempForVictoryfixedVersion512kbMp4
.

The complete schedules for controlled substance may be found at the U.S. Department of Justice website:
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/2108cfrt.htm
. A quick summary of the schedules may be found at:
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/
.

The complete text of the Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972, also known as the Shafer Commission, may be found online:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
.

Details on the gateway hypothesis are drawn from
Marijuana Is Safer:
by Fox et al. The background on Rockefeller, Mellon, and Hearst's role in demonizing and eradicating cannabis is discussed in chapter 3, “Recent History,” by Malmo-Levine, in
The Pot Book,
edited by Holland.

3. First Grow, First Blood

I am by no means an expert on cannabis cultivation, but my notes on the plant's growing requirements—humidity and temperatures—is based on personal experience and on
Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Grower's Handbook
by Ed Rosenthal (Oakland, CA: Quick American, 2010).

4. The Beauty of Failure

Considering the role SkunkBerry has played in my firm's success, I should mention that it is a sativa/indica hybrid. You can find further reviews online:
http://theweedsnobs.com/skunk-berry-review/
and
http://marijuana.com/community/threads/skunk
berry-marijuana-strain-review.309550/
. Jack Herer is another hybrid (
http://www.leafly.com/sativa/jack-herer
) bred by Sensi Seeds. Learn more about the late activist Herer online:
http://www.jackherer.com
.

5. Don't Bank on It

The banking dilemma facing legal cannabis companies has been covered by prominent U.S. news organizations. A sampling of the best articles must include: “Banks Say No to Marijuana Money, Legal or Not” by Serge F. Kovaleski,
New York Times,
January 11, 2014:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/us/banks-say-no-to-marijuana-money-legal-or-not.html
; “Pot's Money Problem” by Alex Altman,
Time,
January 27, 2014, pp. 32–35; and “Pot Businesses Allowed to Open Accounts with US Banks” by Alison Vekshin, Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-14/treasury-lets-banks-offer-accounts-to-pot-businesses.html
. I should add that the headline of the last article proved overly optimistic; banks are still waiting for action from Congress before granting cannabis firms access to banking accounts.

As proof that the all-cash position of cannabis firms is untenable and dangerous, the
Time
article detailed the July 2013 murders in Bakersfield, California, of a medical marijuana dispensary owner and a security guard and the October 2012 kidnapping and brutalization of another dispensary owner in Orange County, California.

The number of Mexicans killed in recent years in drug violence and the details about the $206 million cash seizure, the largest in history, comes from “Cocaine Unlimited: How a Mexican Drug Cartel Makes Its Billions” by Patrick Radden Keefe,
New York Times Magazine,
June 15, 2012:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-a-mexican-drug-cartel-makes-its-billions.html
. Details of the $15 million seizure comes from “Inside the Incredible Booming Subterranean Marijuana Railroad,” a fascinating look at the underground tunnels used by drug lords to smuggle marijuana into the United States and cash out, by Jason Kersten,
GQ
magazine (January 2014):
http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201401/marijuana-railroad-mexican-drug-cartel-tunnels
.

6. The Haze of Paranoia

The official website of the state of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is:
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Rev-MMJ/CBON/1251581331216
.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library regards the Just Say No program as one of the hallmarks of First Lady Nancy Reagan's legacy:
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/details_t.aspx?p=RR1005NRL&lm=reagan&args_a=cms&args_b=10&argsb=N&tx=1203
. An article that offers a contrary view is “Why Just Say No Doesn't Work” by Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz,
Scientific American,
December 19, 2013:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-just-say-no-doesnt-work
.
Another article, “Whatever Happened to ‘Just Say No'?” by Mark Stricherz,
The Atlantic,
April 29, 2014 (
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/ghost-of-just-say-no/361322
) argues that the decline of the program is due in part to the success of medical marijuana programs and the “‘very substantial increase in the number of adults who use marijuana daily or near daily' . . . the share of adults who have tried pot has risen to 38 percent from 24 percent in 1977.”

The official website of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is
http://www.dare.org
. In his article “Drug Abuse Resistance Education: The Effectiveness of DARE,” the sociologist David J. Hanson writes: “Scientific evaluation studies have consistently shown that DARE is ineffective in reducing the use of alcohol and drugs and is sometimes even counterproductive—worse than doing nothing. That's the conclusion of the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U.S. Surgeon General, the National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Department of Education, among many others” (via
http://www.alcoholfacts.org/DARE.html
). For a more comprehensive look at the scientific literature, see Google Scholar's listing of articles on the efficacy of the program:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=efficacy+of+dare+program&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C34&as_vis=1
.

My continuing observations on the history of marijuana prohibition in the United States, the impact of harsh penalties, and the benefits to the judicial system at large when millions of individuals are arrested and thrust through the system are drawn primarily from personal experience,
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); and
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 3, “Recent History,” by David Malmo-Levine. Eric Schlosser's assertion that penalties for marijuana can be stiffer than those for murder in some U.S. states is found in his lengthy essay on marijuana in his book,
Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market
(New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2013).

7. Seed to Sale to Bust

For a look at the modern RFID tagging technology implemented to ensure seed-to-sale integrity, please see “RFID Tag Track Marijuana from Seed to Sale in Colorado” by Rebecca Hiscott,
Mashable,
February 11, 2014 (
http://mashable.com/2014/02/11/marijuana-rfid-tracking
). Some marijuana advocates oppose the seed-to-sale system, arguing that its ultimate steps invade patient confidentiality, as discussed in “Medical Marijuana Seed-to-Sale Tracking System Already Worrying Advocates—but Should It?” by Michael Roberts,
Westword,
October 21, 2011 (
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/10/medical_marijuana_seed_to_sale.php
).

8. The Cannabis Ranch

A photo of the aircraft graveyard in its heyday was posted by a third party to the photo-sharing website Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rlunde/6331214648/
. Readers may view recent photos of the site posted by my company at greenmancannabisranch.com.

9. Family: Hageseth; Genus:
Cannabis

My discussion of adolescent use of marijuana is informed by my personal experience as a parent and by details provided in numerous books and articles over the years. Frankly, the
physiological
arguments for why young people should avoid marijuana are equivocal. In the text
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), particularly their discussion in chapter 3, “Removing the ‘Toxic' from Intoxication: An Objective Comparison of the Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana,” the authors summarize the science behind physiological impacts thusly: “Adolescents should also be advised to avoid cannabis, as it remains unclear whether marijuana, like alcohol, adversely affects the developing brain” (p. 38). A Duke University study, “Persistent Cannabis Users Show Neuropsychological Decline from Childhood to Midlife,” by Madeline H. Meier et al., published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
Vol. 109, no. 40, E2657-E2664, October 2, 2012, (
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/40/E2657.abstract?sid=7a2a7f1f-ca77-40c4-8970-c758ca07561d
), received a good deal of attention when it was used to bolster an antimarijuana campaign in Colorado: “Colorado Tries Hard to Convince Teens That Pot is Bad for You,” by Maanvi Singh, NPR, September 17, 2014 (
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/17/348997416/colorado-tries-hard-to-convince-teens-that-pots-bad-for-you
), but even the resulting public service announcement had to admit that the results of the study were disputed by a subsequent study, “Correlations between Cannabis Use and IQ Change in the Dunedin Cohort Are Consistent with Confounding from Socioeconomic Status,” by Ole Rogeberg,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Vol. 11, no. 110, 4251-4254, March 12, 2013 (
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/11/4251
) which examined the same data. More recent studies have centered upon whether marijuana with higher THC levels will have a stronger impact upon young brains. One article that investigated this issue is “This is Your Brain on Drugs,” by Abigail Sullivan Moore,
New York Times,
October 29, 2014 (
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/this-is-your-brain-on-drugs-marijuana-adults-teens.html
).