Warren Bobrow=WB: Where are you from originally? How did you decide on hemp? I grew up on a Biodynamic farm, what are your thoughts about this methodology in hemp propagation? Does it matter about being organic or Biodynamic?
Trek Manzoni of TriGrow, cofounder of DOPE MARK COFFIN
Warren Bobrow=WB: How did you discover cannabis? Do you smoke? Do you prefer indoor or sun grown outdoor? What did you first want to be when you grew up?
The Hall of Flowers, held twice per year in Santa Rosa, California acted as my muse bringing together the best and the brightest to my trained palate. But don’t take it from me directly, you simply must travel to California yourself and take the journey. As I found covering the craft spirits business and writing six books on the topic, there are different levels of good. A couple weeks ago I led a panel at the Berlin Bar Convent for Park Street University on Cannabis Cocktails. The consensus at the end of the panel was encouraging. High quality craft spirits manufacturers are genuinely intrigued by the combination of their excellent craft spirits and the addition of hemp based CBD. Unfortunately here in the USA, even the mere reference to THC is much more oblique. Through marketing, anything can be invented. Just look at the worm in Mezcal. If you ate one of these things please contact me. And if you drink rum based on the color of the liquid in that expensive bottle, you’ve been hoodwinked again. Most of what you pay extra for has been caramel colored. Oh gosh, why would they do that? Because there are no rules in rum! Rhum? Well that’s another story for another day. They have rules, but you are confused. I’m positive. No need for that in cannabis.
Lana Van Brunt, Hayley Dineen PHOTO CREDIT ARRON WYNIA
I first discovered Sackville & Co at the Hall of Flowers just a few months ago. You might say that I’m late to the party, but hear me out for a moment. First of all, Sackville & Co. is located in Brooklyn. I’m in New Jersey. It’s close by but completely out of touch with cannabis reality evidently.
Sally is known throughout the cannabis industry for her deep understanding of market structure and dynamics and her expertise in brand and product development, sales strategy, and fundraising. PHOTO COURTESY: BLOOM FARMS
Cannabis With A Conscience: Bloom Farms
I love Bloom Farms. Originally I discovered them through their fantastic 510 cartridges. I’ve recently fallen in love with their ultra-high-end flowers. They do what I want them to do!
Historically I’ve had concern over CBD products, as there is a similarity (in my mind) to the unregulated vitamin market of the 1970s. Those who are old enough to remember may find that everyone who had a mailing address was selling a cure for almost every ailment, in the form of this little pill, or salve, or powder to be taken four times a day. The FDA and the FTC frowns upon multi-level marketing method of “healing” without the phrase, “This drug has not been evaluated by the FDA….”
Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me about yourself? What do you do?
Rachael Rapinoe won a NCAA national championship with the University of Portland in 2005, played pro soccer in Europe in 2010, and eventually retired to pursue her passion in the health and fitness industry. Leveraging her Masters in Health & Exercise, Rachael went on to build Rapinoe SC–a top soccer performance training company & lifestyle apparel brand with her twin, US Soccer star sister, Megan. Training thousands of players across the U.S., from youth to the professional level, Rachael’s robust and trusted training brand has made her a highly sought after trainer in the Portland area. She was the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Portland Women’s Soccer team, applying her expertise in training and competition in an effort to better understand the role recovery has in performance and the human body. She started concepting Mendi with her other co-founders several years ago as she grew to understand the role cannabis has in keeping athletes at top performance. With her network of influential athletes and passion for competing, Rachael is shaping Mendi’s products to meet the relevant demand in sports.
I’m charmed by goodbrands, you may not know about them yet, but if you live in California it’s pretty simple, I want you to find them and smoke them.
Wandering around the Hall of Flowers this year, I found their vending machine irresistible. How many vending machines take quarters for beautifully packaged pre-rolled joints that are more than just good?
Carrie Mapes and Patty Pappas PHOTO COURTESY: HELLO AGAIN
Initially I was hesitant to take on this topic, menopause. Why? Being a man, I couldn’t possibly understand (I don’t, really) nor would I ever experience the thrills and deep joys of menopause. (I wouldn’t have that sports car either from what is described as Male Menopause. It doesn’t exist for men, no matter how we plead.) But actually I have experienced menopause from afar, however I won’t go into that in this article. Good thing really. But enough of what I know or better yet, don’t know about menopause. What I do know is that THC and CBD when combined in carefully metered doses (at the source) offer a deep form of relief that just has to be shared in my column. No matter what your personal thoughts are about taking any form of cannabis, this product that I discovered named Hello Again is Taking on Menopause… at the Source. Check it out!
I’m fascinated by tiny in cannabis. Since I smoke alone most of the time, there really is no reason for me to spark up a one gram joint as much as I might want to. I cannot possibly finish a full gram joint in one sitting, it’s just too much for me. Imagine my delight when I discovered Highrize pre-rolls! They’re tiny, weighing about .35 grams or fewer per pre-roll. And as my title reads, they are both friend makers and dog-walkers. You just need a dog to walk. They last about as long as you need to walk your dog, or your metaphysical dog. You know, the one that is there- and then it is not. A new friend is made in every step.