Tag: Cannabis Industry

I Picked Out My Favorite Pot in California Right Now

Posted on by JimiDevine

I hope all is well everyone!

It’s been a week since the Harvest Moon! Lots of amazing cannabis is currently being chopped down across the hills of Northern California. The state’s Central Valley, home to California’s titanic agricultural economy, will also produce more cannabis than ever this year.

With all this excitement on deck, I thought it would be a good time to rundown the strains I’ve been super hyped on lately. Over the past month, I’ve done a few different rundowns.  

In The Strains of Summer, I covered everything that has blown me away since May. This includes the amazing Ziablo pictured above from IC Collective. I’ve had the privilege of seeing the Ziablo a few times lately.

It was shown to me for the first time by the breeders at IC Collective in August. Then again at Hall of Flowers it was some of the best cannabis in the room. And finally, it won the inaugural edition of my new invite-only Transbay Challenge. A cannabis contest featuring some of the San Francisco’s Bay Area’s best cultivators. Expect Ziablo’s stock to continue to shoot up in the months ahead. 

Be sure to go check out my other picks for Summer you won’t be mad.

Next up was Hall of Flowers. The event provides a snapshot of the quality of legal marijuana at that given moment in time. Generally speaking, it was better than I expected for sure. There was definitely still some stuff I was surprised people would want to represent themselves with, but for the most part, there was less bad pot than I expected. 

There were even a few surprises when it came to quality. I searched every aisle for the best cannabis I could find. After locating over 40 things that got me interested, I narrowed the list down to about 20. You can read them all here:

So that’s a lot of the weed I’m excited about right now! I wanted to share before the harvest kicked into full gear. Have a great Fall everyone!

Reflections on Cannabis in 2018

Posted on by JimiDevine

As I sit here a week before Christmas, I look at the year in cannabis and think plenty of stuff went great, but we definitely left some folks behind.

Generally speaking, 2018 was super fun and a lot of folks totally crushed it. We have even more access to medical marijuana across the U.S., even now pending in places like Utah! I can’t help but think of how wild things look for next year. I mean we already know Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York plans to legalize marijuana in the first 100 days of his new term.

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Gelato x Lemon Tree

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Emerald Cup 2018 Finalists

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Tropical Sleigh Ride – Greenshock Farms/Mendo Dope

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Emerald Cup Final Judging

For all the excitement about legalization, it did leave some behind. Many Northern Californians that have cultivated cannabis for generations sat the year out hoping for a better view of the regulatory framework in 2019. Some closed up shop presuming their time was limited or they wouldn’t have a shot in the market formed since election night 2016. And still, others who may have hoped to give it their best shot in the legal industry lost all to fire. Seemingly a tale we tell yearly from June to October these days.

And let’s not forget corrupt politicians who banked millions in licensing fees only to quash any hopes folks had of being a legal business. We can only presume there is a special place in Hell for them.

The actual pot this year was pretty great. Some would argue average quality is down due to the massive uptake in production. I would say that’s true, but anything that bad isn’t making it to the market. The space on dispensary shelves is at a premium these days, so unless you’re selling your own midsy pot, there is no reason you should have to have anything sub-par in your shop. A lot of the not-so-great stuff will end up in oil or a flyover state.

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Another thing that balances out the quality drop is the competition to be the best. Plenty of people are obsessed with not being compared to the aforementioned midsy pot. They did great this year. In the face of new regulations, they continued to produce the best flower in the world.

The event scene was devastated in 2018. Outside The Emerald Cup and High Times Cannabis Cup, things were pretty trash. Some of the local events managed to scrape by, most of the time in the shadows. But local crackdowns and the state kept everyone on edge. Nevertheless, I did go to one licensed event so poorly done I was almost impressed.

I had an awesome year. I had a great time trying to break stories as often as possible. When I wasn’t doing that I was covering the things I just enjoy following in general like cannabis policy, great genetics, and the continuing intersection of cannabis and society as the plant becomes normalized.

I got some new bylines in great publications and think I told at least a few cool stories in 2018, here are some more pictures from the year. Hope your 2019 is dope!

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Banana Jam #9 – Woodman Peak Farm

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NF1

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Wedding Crasher – The Village

The New World of Regs, Judging My First NorCal Cannabis Cup, and Summer Farm Tour 2018

Posted on by JimiDevine

It’s been a pretty wild few months on the cannabis front since we last checked in Champions.

Lots to talk about all over the place, but I’m pretty California-centric these days with the worlds biggest cannabis market struggling to figure itself out at the moment. That being said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the pace of federal progress in recent months. In particular people like Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, and Cory Gardner taking the lead is fantastic. Trump coming out in support of the Gardner/Warren bill blew my mind. Hopefully, the discussion continues through summer and both parties use it to bait voters for midterms then follow through.

I went to the first legal High Times Cannabis Cup in Sacramento in May. It was amazing. It seemed like a different world than what we’ve witnessed recently amidst the July 1 regulations kicking in, nevertheless a good time. Alien Labs crushed taking home all three flower trophies, it was very impressive. The Gelato #41 is really something special when grown by true artists. The Village, of Symbiotic Genetics, crushed it too with some savage Mimosa 6! I also had the chance to interview The Village about developing Purple Punch into the now famous V2 that was the strain of the year everywhere in 2017. Keep an eye out for that in the next issue of Cannabis Now in stores soon.

After I did my write up of the Sacramento cup for Cannabis Now, I ended up doing High Times preview for the NorCal Cannabis Cup a few weeks later! I was also invited to judge the Sativa flower category it was awesome! I’m excited to see what California events can turn into given the way these worked out. But we still have a long way to go, I was absolutely devastated to hear Victorville didn’t give Chalice a permit for sales. 

On sadder note recently we’ve seen more great companies not able to make it in the age of regulated cannabis. Not because they couldn’t comply, in many cases they were either priced out of the permit process or screwed by a close-minded county that decided to not take part in the regulated marijuana industry. Furthermore, some communities like Oakland threw their golden tickets in the shredder or punched the gift horse in the mouth many times with numerous companies bailing in response to over-regulation.

Also if you’re in California, be sure to support SB289 if you want to save California compassion programs that provide free medical cannabis to the seriously ill. The current tax climate treats the cannabis given to these people as if it were entering the market. This means producers trying to help the sick are being devastated by taxes and fees, basically making their efforts to help impossible.

This month I’m going to start hitting farms and am super excited for this year’s crop. Let me know if you want me to swing by your spot, I might get as far up as Washington this summer but we’ll see.

Have an awesome July!

I Covered Lots of Cannabis History This Month!

Posted on by JimiDevine

2017 ended with a bang!

For California cannabis professionals, it was likely their earliest New Years Eve since they were kids as the world’s largest legal pot market went online at 6 AM January 1st.

I enjoyed the occasion over at Berkeley Patients Group where I started my coverage of the day’s festivities for GreenState and Cannabis Now Magazine. BPG hosted what will be among those debated as the first legal sale in California. The purchase was made by longtime activists Mikki Norris and Chris Conrad. The compatriots of Jack Herer marked the occasion by buying three prerolled-joints named after the activist.

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One of California’s first legal cannabis sales at Berkeley Patient’s Group.

From there I helped track the actual sales. First, we took a guess at GreenState at the total sales numbers from New Year’s Day. Later on in the month, we took a look at what people all over California are spending on pot given the array of new taxes being levied by both the state and municipalities.

The legal market has proven challenging for many. Not only those who denied the forthcoming realities of legalization but even those who thought they had their ducks in a row are struggling. And now, a yet to bloom distribution system is struggling to access the quality cannabis the California market demands.  Much of the time this is due to regulatory challenges and costs put on the producers that have provided the state’s cannabis for decades.

On a more positive note, I got to cover the Puffco Peak this month. Puffco has had a seat at the big kids’ table with their award-winning vape pens for years.  Their new tabletop edition is fantastic and made waves at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, even though they weren’t technically allowed into the show! Puffco’s founder Roger gave me the whole tale of the Peak and it was really something.

I also covered the first Mothership Drop at The Cave’s new second location in Walnut Creek California. The drop included the eight pieces of the Dragon Scale collection. I met a Game of Thrones fan who traveled from Texas to make sure he didn’t miss out!

 

This month I’ll be heading to Las Vegas to cover CHAMPS Glass Games final and the Secret Cup Final. I’m looking forward to both so hit me up if you’ll be in town!

 

 

Happy New Year Champions!

Posted on by JimiDevine

Hope everyone made the best of the tail-end of 2016!

I had a great time covering the cannabis industry for some amazing new publications this year including Cannabis Now Magazine, 7×7, Marijuana.com, and The San Francisco Chronicle. What a ride it was watching the battle for cannabis progress unfold over the year, eventually seeing major action at the polls and in state capital buildings.

Next year I’m excited to watch the largest marketplace in the world, and its greatest producers, develop into something special. It will be a rocky road for sure,  be it NorCal vs. Socal, wholesale prices on outdoor demanding less than a buck a gram, or the hill vs. the valley. These are only a few of the puzzle pieces of the tale of 2017 yet to be penned, I look very forward to seeing how it all comes together!

If you want to keep up to date with what I’m writing you can follow me on twitter @JimiDevine, or check out my author page on Cannabis Now where I’m currently a Staff Writer putting up a few things a week.

Have a great 2017!

 

 

Quick Prop 64 Fact Sheet

Posted on by JimiDevine

Hi all,

I probably won’t post much for a few days, catching/following up from a conference weekend can be atrocious. Nevertheless, I really like this basic fact sheet for prop 64 from Chris Conrad and wanted to share. If you have the time, head over to Ballotpedia for the full breakdown and links to all the lovers and haters. Please have more faith in these resources than anime characters on Instagram, bless their hearts.

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I’m Moderating Two Panels At New West Summit This Weekend!

Posted on by JimiDevine

Hope Thursday is treating you fantastic!

Tomorrow I’ll moderate my first of two panels at New West Summit. It’ll focus on the social impact of lab testing which can’t be underestimated. Back in the day a big softball argument on the pro-prohibition side was, “We don’t even know what’s in the stuff, chemicals, toxins.” Thanks to labs like Steep Hill, SC, and CW, we no longer have to hear that long winded argument. Diving into the different aspects of lab testing and where they’re going will be fantastic.

On Saturday, I’ll be moderating a Tech to 420 panel following up on the one I hosted last year. Keith McCarty from Eaze returns for his second year on this one, he’s been up to a lot since the last New West Summit so it will be great to hear the recap from him. The other panelists on this one are also great and I look forward to diving down the weed tech rabbit hole with them

 

Go check out the rest of New West Summit 2.0, it’s sure to be a great time and very informative.

I hunted down the origins of Bruce Banner

Posted on by JimiDevine

So last month the usually hip Oregon decided to ban about 20 strain names, this set in forth a motion of events that led to me getting the facts on Bruce Banner.

I had personally always been a fan of the strain, so when the Cannabis Now editorial squad hit me up to write about it I was amped. It actually worked out funny, I missed the email notification and the homies grabbed a bunch of strains I would have jumped at. It worked out.

Here is the write-up from Cannabis Now.

As far as the strains of the moment, Bruce Banner was at the top of the mountain flying first class for a few years, and now still enjoys generous leg room in economy coach. I was surprised by the amount of inaccurate info on the strain, mainly in regard to how open many reputable breeders were in getting down to detail.

Anyway if you want the full scoop on one of the greatest medical cannabis strains ever to come out of Denver, or at least launch there, go check out the article.

Big thanks to the Dark Horse Genetics for filling me in.