FEDERAL CANNABIS ARRESTS DIP 24% IN 2022

CALIFORNIA GOES TO THAILAND

It’s going down in Thailand’s cannabis scene and you can see plenty of California influence on the marketplace on their new, very open medical marijuana market. 

Earlier this month I visited Thailand to check out what legal medical cannabis looks like six months in. It’s wild. There are now hundreds of dispensaries operating in Bangkok. In some cases, you’ll find a dispensary with a cannabis street cart operating across the street. As Thais wait to see what the final regulations look like, they are doing their best to take advantage of the moment. Currently, you don’t need a doctor’s recommendation to access cannabis. 

And one of the best ways to take advantage of the moment? Proven practices. A number of the first-wave Thai cannabis business people are familiar with California and other American markets. As opposed to attempts to create their own retail theory, the Thais are leaning on the things that have worked in California for the last 25 years. 

One of the funny things is, you’re kind of seeing every kind of dispensary at once. Those who are scared the law might change have a street cart or minimal indoor infrastructure because they are scared it might not last like those in California prior to 2008. The middle of the pack is nicer retail environments with minimal upgrades similar to those years early in The Obama Administration before the landlord letters from the Department of Justice. The final tier of Thai dispensaries is already all the way in. They have LED screens everywhere and primo retail space. As far as they’re concerned. cannabis is completely normalized.

A street cart with a dispensary directly behind it in Bangkok’s Japanese Village. – Photo: Jimi Devine

But the biggest link to California? Commercially viable cuttings. It was very difficult to find authentic Thai genetics. Thailand’s cannabis seemingly isn’t quite ready for full production when it comes to local genetics. We lucked out and had a Thai Stick and a local hybrid that was crossed with some California dessert weed at Phandee in Bangkok, but it was few and far between. The best cannabis we saw was grown by Dr. Dope in Bangkok. Their Double Dawg and Sensi Dawg were the two nicest things we saw grown in Thailand. 

Ron Brandon, the founder of California brand Kingston Royal, emphasized it’s not just American genetics we’re seeing. He thinks the market is emulating stateside practices in every form possible. 

“I think that genetics are obviously a huge thing. You can see that when you walk up to any of these trucks, you walk inside any one of these dispensaries, there’s just a bunch of genetics from American brands bred by American breeders,” Brandon told L.A. Weekly. “I think California is a culture in itself, whatever, it’s the epicenter as far as cannabis goes. So I mean, you’re going to see a huge influence from California in every single aspect. You see the mylar starting to transition out here in the stores as well. California did dispensaries bigger and better than anyone first, right? And you can see that they just took the California model.”

As for the thing that surprised him the most about the scene six-months into legalization?

“It feels just like back home, right?” Brandon replied. “For the most part, but then there’s the Thai way.”

Josh Schmidt is helping Cookies move into Asia. Schmidt and his Thai partners brought two groups together to form Cookies Asia Co. Schmidt has been visiting Thailand since 2005 and eventually married a Thai woman. 

“In 2005, I traveled to Thailand with thoughts of taking a three-week break from cannabis, as laws were so strict. Fast forward to living in Thailand four years and having to consume cannabis in secret,” Schmidt told L.A. Weekly. “I grew plants on my balcony and at my in-laws’ in the Northeast and was worried daily someone might find out and cause problems. I used to go to a Reggae Bar on Khao San and get bags of pressed Lao brick to hold me over. I dreamt of days like today in Thailand, as good cannabis was the one thing I was missing from my daily routine.” 

Schmidt went on to point to Thailand’s rich underground culture pushing the plant along since those days. 

“Similarly to USA, we are seeing a convergence of underground and new players and it’s creating a fresh, vibrant scene very few have experienced before,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt reminds everyone to play it cool when they visit. 

“Being a Californian in Thailand we have to remember that Thailand is still only legal for medical use and we shouldn’t exploit the laws or push any boundaries,” he said. “We have to respect the law in Thailand and learn about “Thainess.” With a uniquely rich history, Thailand is very different from California (or the West for that matter) and we always need to remember where we are and what the Thais have done to keep their heritage and traditions uniquely “Thai.” I have been blessed to be a part of Thailand’s growing cannabis community and am excited for what is to come over the next years!”

We’ll keep an eye on the developing market in Thailand and its impact on the wider cannabis conversation in Asia. 

CONGRESS PUSHES BACK AGAINST VA ON POT AND PTSD

The nearly decade-long battle to get American veterans access to medical cannabis continued on Capitol Hill this week. 

With the exception of seeing little kids with extreme forms of epilepsy like Dravet’s Syndrome, nothing went further in changing the national conversation around medical cannabis than supporting vets with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This movement was a direct result of first-hand experiences with medical cannabis safety and efficacy when it came to PTSD, as more veterans continue to take their own lives. In its own 2017 study on cannabis and PTSD, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) noted over one-third of patients seeking cannabis for medical purposes list PTSD as the primary reason for the request, and 15% of VA patients at outpatient clinics are using medical cannabis in the last six months. 

Cannabis Caucus founder Rep. Earl Blumenauer picked the fight up this week, to get vets access to cannabis. He originally started pushing the effort in 2014. In 2016, things looked great, but the language ended up getting stripped in final negotiations by then-Illinois Senator Mark Kirk. 

At the time, Blumenauer noted, “It’s incredibly frustrating and disappointing that despite broad bipartisan, bicameral support, a handful of out-of-touch lawmakers put politics over the well-being of America’s wounded warriors. Our veterans deserve better. We will continue to seek every opportunity to make sure they have fair and equal treatment and the ability to consult with, and seek a recommendation from, their personal VA physician about medical marijuana.”

But things are looking up. On Wednesday, Blumenauer passed an amendment to end the VA’s prohibition on providers assisting veterans in accessing state-legal medical cannabis. Not only did it pass, it passed unanimously in a voice vote. In this heavily divided Congress, surely that is a reasonable sign of how bipartisan supporting veterans is. 

After the amendment passed on Wednesday, Blumenauer told L.A. Weekly,

“Veterans in Oregon and across the country have shared with me how medical cannabis has literally saved their lives. It is a gross injustice that the VA continues to prohibit its providers from helping veterans access medical cannabis. My amendment with Brian Mast would finally allow the VA to help veterans complete forms in compliance with state-legal cannabis programs, allowing them to access a far less addictive alternative to opioids in managing PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other chronic conditions.”

Blumenauer also came out against the VA’s move to strongly advocate against medical cannabis as a treatment for PTSD this week. This recommendation came despite the VA noting some participants from its own focus groups, “spoke about the benefits of newer pharmacologic treatments (e.g., ketamine) and were interested in exploring other newer treatments such as psilocybin, cannabis, LSD, and other psychedelics.” 

The VA cited that same 2017 study we mentioned before when it came out strongly against using cannabis for PTSD. But that study’s own authors noted there are very few methodologically rigorous studies examining the effects of cannabis in patients with PTSD. 

“We found only two observational studies, which suggest that cannabis is potentially associated with neutral effects on PTSD or depression symptom severity, and employment status, and negative effects in terms of violent behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicidal ideation,” the authors noted in their findings. “However, the strength of evidence is rated as insufficient due to the potential for bias in the two included studies in this review and the small number of controlled studies reporting data on benefits and harms of cannabis for treating PTSD symptoms.”

So how can something that notes how limited the information being used is be the ethos for the VA’s prohibition on medical cannabis for PTSD? And with all the discussion around vets and cannabis, how is this still what they are citing in the debate all these years later? How has the VA not pushed this research further in that time period?

In a letter to the VA’s leadership, Blunenauer said, “The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense have a long history of claiming the best interest of our veterans and servicemembers only to deny the reality of medical marijuana as a key treatment option for those impacted by post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Blumenauer went on to note the updated June 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD perpetuates this misguided denial of services to our nation’s veterans. 

“For decades, I have heard from veterans across the country that medical cannabis has been a life-saving treatment for PTSD,” Blumensauer told the VA and DOD leadership. “I urge you to reconsider the antiquated and insufficient recommendation against the use of cannabis or cannabis derivatives in treating patients with PTSD.”

Etienne Fontan of Berkeley Patients Group and Veterans Action Council was pleased with Blumenauer’s success. 

“We want to thank Blumeneur and the Cannabis Caucus for keeping true to their words to help veterans gain cannabis access via the VA. Many politicians talk a lot of talk, but very few walk the line like they have for us. We are grateful for their continued support on this issue,” Fontan told L.A. Weekly, “This has been the work of many hands and organizations to get us to this point, and we are not across the line yet. This is a significant first step in the direction that many veterans want to see nationwide. It must still get through the House, and the President must sign it, and we will remain skeptical until the process plays out fully.”

Fontan closed by noting activists have been disappointed too many times in the past with promises that never see fruition.

ZUSHI CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

In a market where truly exceptional cannabis is a rarity, The Ten Co.’s combination of premium quality, remarkable branding and Zushi remains unrivaled.

Our last conversation with The Ten Co. came on the heels of their monumental success in 2021, when they claimed top honors at the inaugural Zalympix event. The competition scene reached new heights after Greenwolf, Los Angeles’ premier heat retailer, stormed out the gates with their top-shelf box contest.

Now, two years later, Zushi has once again emerged victorious. During its initial triumph, some skeptics attributed the win to mere hype. Yet, the myth and allure surrounding Zushi were proven to be well-deserved, evident in the four-hour-long queue that formed at their booth during the recent Zalympix ceremony. However, the mystique surrounding Zushi was even more pronounced two years ago, causing people to fall into various camps of belief. Some staunchly reaffirmed their faith in Zushi after the W, while others criticized the influence of hype. There were also those who may not have personally favored Zushi but acknowledged why it emerged as the winner.

This time, subjectivity was eliminated through blind entries. Zushi had to withstand the scrutiny of over 120 entries just to secure a place in the finals. Once there, it faced fierce competition within the most challenging Zalympix box to date, alongside a plethora of exceptional Z terpenes, as we previously highlighted when reviewing the entries. Undoubtedly, this victory was well-deserved.

We reached out to Staks, the founder of The Ten Co., to inquire if he ever felt concerned about the abundance of exceptional Zkittelz flavors in this year’s competition.

“Absolutely. Z has held the championship title for quite some time now. There were numerous entries that were just as impressive as mine, which was fantastic to witness. It’s about time the industry started emphasizing light green cannabis again,” Staks candidly shared with L.A. Weekly.

Staks acknowledged that the game has significantly evolved since the first Zalympix. He believes that people are actively searching for new and unique offerings that can compete, hence the outstanding quality of this year’s entries. However, until proven otherwise, Zushi remains the reigning king. Staks appreciates the competitive environment within which The Ten Co. operates, considering it beneficial for their business.

Now, the focus is on delivering the hype directly to consumers.

“We are currently directing more attention towards the direct-to-consumer approach,” Staks revealed. “We previously launched but decided to take a step back and now we’re in the process of building up our online delivery capabilities.”

The direct-to-consumer format will enable Zushi to reach consumers as quickly as possible. Given the premium price that people are willing to pay for this product, Staks wants to ensure that the experience is preserved for every individual fortunate enough to acquire one of their bags.

“We have a specified timeframe during which our products can remain on the shelves. If it exceeds this four-week period, or even three weeks, it is promptly removed, making room for a fresh batch. This way, we can maintain stringent quality control,” Staks explained.

While Zushi continues to steal the spotlight, The Ten Co. currently boasts around ten strains in rotation. Additionally, Staks recently cultivated a variety of seeds he acquired from Europe, embarking on a search for the exceptional flavors of his youth, such as Cheese and Sour Diesel. In the coming month, he will undertake a meticulous selection process to identify standout winners worthy of joining their award-winning catalog.

We asked Staks if, when participating in a contest like Zalympix, he meticulously examines every batch or simply puts all his chips down on Zushi.

“I felt compelled to carry on the Zushi legacy for as long as possible. Personally, I believe this strain has so much to offer, and it continues to exceed our expectations,” Staks explained. “We conduct numerous tests with Zushi, and she never fails to impress us. With each batch, we aim for better quality and more pronounced flavors. Our use of live-soil facilities contributes to preserving those unique characteristics. Our plan is to explore different mediums and light spectrums to ascertain what Zushi prefers to express.”

Naturally, we couldn’t overlook the recent Zushi rosin craze. Two-gram jars of their limited release in collaboration with West Coast Alchemy were fetching a staggering $1000 each. This price tag represents the highest ever seen for rosin, yet demand remained strong. The remarkable hype surrounding Zushi flowers seamlessly transferred to their terpene-rich products.

Regarding the price, Staks clarified, “The price point was determined by the market; it had nothing to do with us. The exclusivity and rarity of our collaboration with West Coast Alchemy played a significant role. We never produced these in large quantities; a few batches were exclusively reserved for family and friends.”

Keep a close eye on The Ten Co.’s website for upcoming flower releases and merchandise drops.

JUDGING ZALYMPIX 2023 QUALIFYING ROUND

We just wrapped up judging the preliminary round of the biggest Zalympix competition yet. 

The 2023 installment of Greenwolf’s massive contest is bigger than ever in terms of entries this year, not just hype. Greenwolf opened up the competition to over 100 farmers for the next installment. 

That’s a huge jump from the 16 we’d seen in the previous boxes to 109. Obviously, there was going to be a need to switch the format up a pinch given the scale of how big the contest is this year. Greenwolf’s solution? A preliminary round. 

The Greenwolf team assembled a reputable squad to go whittle down the pack. It included past winners, famous growers, and other journalists. Everyone they selected was based on their faith in their palette and opinion on cannabis.

Getting the kit in two boxes.

I received my box on Feb. 8 and had through the 21st to finish the samples. I went into the last day with four left. That worked out to trying just over nine samples a day. I smoked every single entry in a backwood because they are kind of like a cheat code when you’re grading marijuana. If you can taste it through the woods, you know it’s the goods. 

One thing about this contest was the fact it was refreshing to not have to pick a winner. We had to pick 27 things we thought had a shot in the final round. That’s a ton. If I knew something had to be in the box I just gave it all fives. Even if it wasn’t my favorite terps, I just couldn’t deny it a shot at the big show. 

I ended up with 18 out of the 109 in that must-go-in-the-box category. These were fantastic representations of lots of different kinds of weed. There were certainly a ton of dessert terps across the field of entries, but dotted between the Gelatos and Lemon Cherries were both new and old flavors.

There were a ton of OGs. To be expected from a Los Angeles-based contest? Sure. But they were of varying qualities; some leaned on the pure fuel smell while others smelled more like Skywalker or Tahoe cut with a bit more pinene in them. 

Most of the things I scored the highest were rockstar-level gas, which is weed that literally smells like there was some kind of accident at a gas station that needs to be reported. I wasn’t worried about color either when I was scoring. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted the stuff I was picking to be aesthetically pleasing, but a wild nose went a hundred times further in my opinion building than a couple of hints of purple. 

A lot of people entered new gear they thought might be their golden ticket. I’ve regularly checked out the Compound lineup over the last few years as they were testing out new gear. I smelled a lot of notes from last year’s seed drops like Gastropop and Pave. 

Jon Cappetta from High Times was among the others selected to make their way through the entries in search of the 27 he thought worthy.

“Sorting through almost 120 samples in two weeks is a feat for even the most seasoned veterans, but The Zalympix preliminaries were a great preview of the gear we can expect to see making headlines this year. It seems like ‘23 is going to be another year of candy gas, but I’m holding out hope for more unique flavor profiles,” Cappetta told L.A. Weekly. 

We’re going to go deep into Zalympix for 4/20 this year. Keep an eye out. 

THE FIDEL’S X CARROTS DROP WINS EARLY 2023

Fidel’s x Carrots is proving to be the hottest cannabis industry clothing drop of Q1.

As we’ve covered many times here at L.A. Weekly, Shant “Fidel” Damirdjian is one of the local faces shining during these dark times in the cannabis industry. He had a wild 2022 with his victory over some of the best cultivators in the world at Transbay Challenge IV — the Hash Hole exploded to the most famed ‘preroll” in California if you’re even comfortable calling it that, and he opened up his own cultivation spot in the desert without the help of the corporate oppressor. A great year for anyone in cannabis.

Topping 2022

So how does he top it? He comes out of the gates early in 2023 with a fantastic collaboration with Anwar Carrots. Carrots got into the fashion game in 2007; in 2015, he’d launch the Carrots by Anwar line. Vibrant oranges among other colors with stylized carrots and rabbits are par for the course with the popular menswear line.

The collaboration with Fidel’s started just over a year and a half ago. 

“Anwar blessed us with complete creative control the entire project,” Damirdjian told L.A. Weekly. “Dabber Dan and I, my right-hand man, designed every bit of the box. Even the bags the clothing was in. Even the cut and sew on the hoodies.”

They would eventually settle on a 50/50 cotton and bamboo blend made in Los Angeles and find that bright orange they were looking for, after some trial and error over the last 18 months.

The Box

Each box in the limited edition of 500 includes the hoodies and sweatpants set made, screen printed and packaged in LA. There also is a Fidel’s x Carrots T-shirt, headwear, four Croc Jibbets, a commemorative 3D printed carrot with a hash hole, and a half ounce of Fidel’s popular weed.

It’s very fair to argue the cannabis aspects of the box are easily worth more than half its $600 price tag. 

Where Fashion Meets Weed

After the entertainment industry, many would argue cannabis and fashion is where Los Angeles has some of its biggest global influence. We asked Damirdjian his take on that sentiment.

“100% it’s something you don’t see done often; if it has, it didn’t catch my attention and I apologize,” Damirdjian replied. “But I feel like fashion and cannabis have so much to do with one another. They are different audiences within the same audience. It’s a great thing to work with another cannabis company and within our community, but to branch out of it to get the attention of people in the clothing industry, it’s amazing.

Damirdjian argues it triggers so much more love crossing his audience and Anwar’s audience he’s built over the years. He appreciates how wowed people from both sides of the fence have been after months of effort trying to get it right to their vision.

Damirdjian is excited about what’s next; don’t expect to see these boxes again. 

“This is like one and done. I’m trying to touch as many people that follow my following, Anwar’s following with this,” Damirdjian said. “This cost $600 for the box; it’s not something that everyone can afford. But the true collector is getting so much in the box. I’m not just taking money from the consumer, I’m giving so much more.”

Again, a lot of it comes back to being a unique spirit in a crowded space for Damirdjian. 

He knows everyone’s trying to do something different. He considers the Carrots collaboration a sought-after project for anyone, and when he got the chance, he was not letting it slip through his fingers. 

“It took so much time, finances and we did it with so much cadence, but it opened up a lot of doors for me now. I can already see it this early on. I can’t wait till more people consume it,” Damirdjian said, 

Photo: Andy Feliciotti

ADVOCATES WANT CANNABIS DESCHEDULED NOT RESCHEDULED

Last week’s leaked letter from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommending that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance under federal law was lacking for advocates who want to see it descheduled. 

All of the OG cannabis reformers are weighing in. Congressman Earl Blumenauer has been involved in cannabis reform for 50 years. He founded the Congressional Cannabis Caucus in 2017. 

“This is a step in the right direction, but it is not sufficient. I hope it is followed by more significant reforms,” Blumenauer said. “This is long overdue.”

Blumenauer noted he pushed the Biden Administration to deschedule marijuana last December. Later in the spring, he called for more transparency in the wider Controlled Substances Act scheduling process. 

NORML, the nation’s oldest marijuana reform organization, noted the DEA said as recently as 2016, cannabis had no current accepted medical use regardless of all the babies with Dravet’s Syndrome that started the CBD explosion making national headlines for years at that point. The DEA will have the final say in all of this; we know how it went the last four times. 

NORML’s deputy director and longtime policy ninja, Paul Armentano, weighed in on the letter.

“It will be very interesting to see how DEA responds to this recommendation, given the agency’s historic opposition to any potential change in cannabis’ categorization under federal law,”  Armentano said. “Further, for decades, the agency has utilized its own five-factor criteria for assessing cannabis’ placement in the CSA — criteria that as recently as 2016, the agency claimed that cannabis failed to meet. Since the agency has final say over any rescheduling decision, it is safe to say that this process still remains far from over.”

Like Blumenauer, NORML has been calling for cannabis to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act for years. They recommend doing it in a manner that’s similar to liquor and tobacco. 

“The goal of any federal cannabis policy reform ought to be to address the existing, untenable chasm between federal marijuana policy and the cannabis laws of the majority of US states,” Armentano said. “Rescheduling the cannabis plant to Schedule III of the US Controlled Substances Act fails to adequately address this conflict, as existing state legalization laws — both adult use and medical — will continue to be in conflict with federal regulations, thereby perpetuating the existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies.”

Armentano closed, noting it’s the same level of intellectual dishonesty to categorize cannabis next to anabolic steroids as it is in its current situation on the list next to heroin.

With the US recreational cannabis market worth more than ever, it would seem something is going to have to be done to remedy the situation. Last week, California announced it had taken in just over $5 billion since the legal market kicked off in 2018, New York City’s first shop did $12 million in its first six months, and there are about 50 more data points off the top of my head why states aren’t going to let this fly. 

In the end, descheduling is likely. But the road is going to be a bit longer. And you can expect it to be the result of a future Congress and White House taking some kind of mandated action that the DEA won’t have a say in.