Table of contents for December 2022 in High Times

IF THERE’S ONE TRUTH THAT GROUNDS ME IN THESE turbulent times, it’s that weed is good. When the news of the world rocks outside our doors, plants continue to grow. Nature hums on. In terms of cannabis, many people are stewards of nature, tending to plants so that the plants may tend to us. These pages are a celebration of many different types of relationships, starting with the relationship between a cannabis breeder and the cultivar they create. Smoke any of the strains in our Top Strains of 2022 list from a competent and impassioned grower and tell us we’re wrong. These flowers are incredible. Think of the now in weed like the Renaissance. We’re in Florence, Italy and artistic creativity is as high as the ceiling of the dome…

I’ve been tasked by our fearless leader Ellen Holland with writing the High Times State of the Heat address for 2022, a celebration of the flame and all things chronic. Make no mistake about it, 2022 was a good year for the heat. The perils of the ever-expanding cannabis market have forced legacy producers to put their best foot forward or join others in cannabis history if they haven’t already been ruined by the marketplace or the perils of licensing. To an extent, the quality of product on the legal marketplace in California was one of the bright spots nationally for cannabis as other places like Michigan, Maine, and Oklahoma held their own more than ever. As you make your way east from the coast of The Emerald Triangle in…

PINK CERTZ (COMPOUND GENETICS/SENSE) It’s fair to say Pink Certz was a bit of a dark horse from Compound Genetics going into 2022. Strains like Jokerz, Red Bullz, Apples & Bananas, and Pave were capturing a lot of the spotlight, all deserving heat in their own right. Nevertheless, it may be fair to say Compound’s pairing of Grape Gas and The Menthol had one of the biggest 2022s of the pack. Why? Pink Certz would break into Compound’s most elite ranks with a victory at The Transbay Challenge III in San Francisco. Our own Jon Cappetta and Ellen Holland were among the judges that day as Pink Certz took down some of the biggest names in California cannabis to come out as the top dog. When we asked the team…

Compound Genetics Compound Genetics went into 2022 riding on a high and just kept on sailing along. Massive seed drops and a variety of people taking home trophies all over North America with their gear are seemingly commonplace for them at this point, but it’s still impressive. We’ve had a front-row seat to their breeding efforts since the move to San Francisco a few years ago and then the eventual partnership with Node Labs where they phenohunt and stress test the new gear to make sure it’s commercially viable. From that work we’ve seen names like Jokerz, Red Bullz, and Pave explode onto the scene. “2022 has been a year of adapting to my surroundings, opportunities, and adversities,” founder Chris Lynch says. “High levels of success bring new challenges that…

If you have the space and climate to grow plants outside without getting busted or ripped off, do it. Your plants will love the natural sun, your wallet will notice the cost savings, and you’ll be doing the environment a big favor. But the realities of legalization, continued prohibition, and practical considerations particular to growing herb will lead most home growers to choose an indoor garden. Getting started does not take a lot of time and effort, and with a somewhat modest investment, you can have plants growing in a matter of days, with your first harvest only about three to four months away. Grow Tent For the novice cannabis gardener, a grow tent is the way to go. Most varietals of weed require 12 or more hours of complete…

SOFT AND CRUMBLY, THESE LUSCIOUS BROWNED BUTTER AND VANILLA SHORTBREAD bars are glazed with a creamy vanilla bean icing. Infused with 10 mg of cannabis each, strains such as Wedding Cake and Biscotti with doughy, creamy aromas, would pair well with the nutty, vanilla notes of this edible. The showstopper decor is my signature “botanical bandit” style, made with pressed cannabis leaves and organic edible flowers. Inspired by my friend The Velvet Bandit, who spreads positive art through wheatpasting. BROWN BUTTER VANILLA BEAN SHORTBREAD BARS Time to Prepare: 55-60 minutes Makes 20 approximately 3” x 1.5” bars dosed at 10 mg each INGREDIENTS: 3 cups all-purpose flour⅓ cup cornstarch1 ½ cups cannabutter (200 mg THC total), softened1 ¼ cup powdered sugar1 tablespoon choice of milk (whole, oat, hemp, almond)1 teaspoon…

American band Stick Figure released their seventh studio album Wisdom on Sept. 9. Wisdom topped the iTunes Reggae Albums chart, and the album debuted on the spot atop the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart—a spot that is normally occupied by Bob Marley and the Wailers’s collection Legend. Wisdom was written, produced, and recorded almost entirely by vocalist Scott Woodruff. On tour, he’s joined by drummer Kevin Offitzer, bassist Tommy Suliman, guitarist Johnny Cosmic, percussionist Will Phillips, and KBong (real name Kevin Bong) who also has a successful solo career. The new album was boosted by frequently sold out tours and energetic performances at Cali Vibes and Cali Roots. The album was recorded at Great Stone Studios in Oakland, California—former home of Green Day—featuring guests Slightly Stoopid, Barrington Levy, and Collie Buddz.…

LEADING NATIONAL CANNABIS LAW PRACTICES BUCHANAN INGERSOLL & ROONEY PC bipc.com CULTIVA LAW PC cultivalaw.com DUANE MORRIS LLP duanemorris.com FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP foxrothschild.com HARRIS BRICKEN harrisbricken.com JD SUPRA LLC jdsupra.com POT BROTHERS AT LAW® potbrothersatlaw.com VICENTE SEDERBERG LLP vicentesederberg.com LOCAL REPRESENTATION ARIZONA TOM DEAN ATTORNEY FOR CANNABIS 14040 N. Cave Creek Rd., Office Suite 307 Phoenix, AZ 85022 (602) 635-4990 attorneyforcannabis.com CALIFORNIA MANZURI LAW/LAW OFFICES OF MEITAL MANZURI 8961 Sunset Blvd Penthouse West Hollywood, CA 90069 (310) 912-2960 manzurilaw.com COLORADO DAVID RODMAN/THE RODMAN GROUP LLC 600 S. Cherry St., Suite 835 Denver, CO 80246 (720) 663-0558 therodmanlawgroup.com CONNECTICUT NICHOLAS PAINDIRIS 2252 Main St Glastonbury, CT 06033 (860) 659-0700 bpslawyers.com FLORIDA THE LAW OFFICES OF ROGER P. FOLEY, PA 1555 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., #1555 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 (561) 746-7076…

DEAR HIGH TIMES, THE BAY AREA LATINO CANNABIS ALLIANCE, BALCA, IS AN ORGANIZATION curating bilingual cannabis community-centered publications. We focus on publishing the perspectives of budtenders, legacy operators, farmers, advocates, and entrepreneurs from all parts of the industry—cultivation, branding, retail, health care, psychology, equity, and history. BALCA has five key principles that hold our organization together and shape our work and vision: professional development, business ownership, civil rights, education, and culture. This platform grew organically from our experiences in the industry and the need to create a space for not only our voices but others with important perspectives on the ever-changing landscape of California cannabis. In 2018 and 2019, Latinos/as within the cannabis industry met at potlucks, equity, and industry events at locations throughout the Bay Area to share stories…

CONTINUING A DOMINO EFFECT INCREASINGLY SEEN ACROSS THE UNITED STATES SINCE California legalized medical cannabis in 1996, the production of legal cannabis is poised to grow dramatically with the coming launches of newly adopted markets in the East Coast and Midwest. Between this year and 2030, programs starting in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia will collectively account for one-quarter of the legal cannabis produced in the country, underscoring the scale of opportunity emerging in those states. Nationwide, legal cannabis demand is poised to explode, growing from a projected $31 billion in sales by 2022’s end to $73 billion worth in 2030. Pressing economic issues could also accelerate legislation ahead. Historians note how the 21st Amendment repealed national alcohol prohibition in 1933 during the Great Depression. Given how states…

WITHIN THE SENSE GROW ROOM, CULTIVATION MANAGER ROB King slides up along the wall in order not to brush up against the buds. It’s a tight space and reminds me of cultivation facilities I visited before California’s transition to the adult-use marketplace in 2018. That’s not coincidental. This grow, centrally located downtown in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., San Francisco, was one of the first in California to be city-licensed for cannabis cultivation back in the Proposition 215 era. With a room for plants in veg and two flowering rooms with around 100 lights, the team at Sense has the opportunity to be hands-on with each plant they grow. And this attention to detail shows in the flowers they produce, which are consistently some of the…

PERMANENT MARKER (SEED JUNKY/DOJA PAK) Doja Pak had one of the biggest 2022s of anyone with their much-hyped weekly event series and the weed to match. And don’t get mad Hindenburg fans, but we think calling the Permanent Marker the biggest Doja strain of 2022 is a fair call. Doja Pak’s founder Ryan Bartholomew said it all started with a run-in with J Beezy from Seed Junky Genetics at the Emerald Cup last year. The pair had chatted prior but hit off on the in-person meeting. Bartholomew was invited to the Seed Junky facility on his next trip to L.A. not long after. Bartholomew was given the opportunity to build out a menu for Doja Pak bred and cultivated by Seed Junky. Early on Bartholomew would lay eyes in on…

3rd Coast Genetics There’s a reason behind why Michigan-based 3rd Coast Genetics calls itself “the swank of dank.” As purveyors of some of Michigan’s finest cannabis, 3rd Coast Genetics focuses on the strange and the unique. The team behind 3rd Coast Genetics are the creators of Smorez, Butterfingaz, and many other strains that are sought after in the Midwest. 3rd Coast Genetics cultivar names will grab your attention, and they’ll stand out from the typical strains that you see every day. “I am the creative force behind 3rd Coast Genetics,” Max Yields tells High Times. “The 3rd Coast is the shore of beautiful Lake Michigan—the place where I call home.” Yields is the creator of Oreoz, Pure Michigan, Tagalonz, and many other strains, armed with a passion for breeding and…

Musician, singer, actor, comedian, and beatbox extraordinaire, Reggie Watts has layers like an onion. If onions ate edibles, that is. Born in Germany and raised in Montana, Watts’s love affair with cannabis started with the finest schwag a teenager’s money could buy. Thankfully, that crispy weed didn’t hinder him as he stayed on a path that led him to learning all of the benefits the cannabis plant has to offer. Somehow he always gives the audience exactly what they want—not even Watts knows what he’s planning, from a TED Talk and comedy specials to his tones and beats on Comedy Bang! Bang!. His gift comes naturally and what a gift it is. Edibles have also been a gift to him, not just to reduce stress and anxiety, but as a…

Seth Rogen recently spoke to Vogue in an interview published on Sept. 28 and he talked about how he stays busy, his passion for pottery, keeping his wife and family close, and of course, smoking weed. “Smoking weed is so culturally acceptable now, thank God, in most of the country, not enough of it, but most of it,” Rogen said in the interview, adding that he’s from Vancouver and he’s been smoking cannabis since he was 13 years old. Now, cannabis is an essential part of his routine, and one that he told Vogue he can’t live without. “Now, I just smoke weed all day, every day and I love it. And thank God it’s out there because it seems to be what I need. I know weed works for…

CA Protects Workers Who Smoke Off-the-Clock On Sept. 18, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several bills including one that protects employees who consume cannabis on their own time. The laws are designed to “strengthen California’s cannabis laws, expand the legal cannabis market, and redress the harms of cannabis prohibition.” Assembly Bill 2188, led by Assembly member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), protects Californians from employment discrimination based on their use of cannabis off-the-clock and away from the workplace. “For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” Gov. Newsom stated in the announcement. “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the…

I first smoked Sense’s Pink Certz at the Transbay Challenge in early 2022. It was tasty, smooth, well cured, had a really nice buzz, and won first place. A few months later, High Times gave me a jar and asked for a review. Hell yes, I thought to myself: A chance to see if the retail release was as good as the competition cut? Indeed. Let’s get into it. FIRST THINGS FIRST: This cut is gorgeous. It is covered, and I mean COVERED, in trichomes. Sort of an army drab green with dark purple highlights and short red hairs, it definitely passes the eye test. One of the things that stood out to me was the way the nugs in my jar were obviously and lovingly hand-trimmed. No larf, no…

ZOAP (DEEP EAST/WIZARD TREES) Over the last two years, few things have mattered more to elite cannabis than the work of Deep East Oakland (DEO) Farms on its Rainbow Sherbert (RS) line and its various famous pheno numbers like RS-11, Studio 54, and the star of the pack, Zoap. The RS line dates back to 16 packs of OZ Kush seeds DEO bought at the Emerald Cup in the mid-2010s, the last time Dying Breed took part was in 2017. So that’s a testament to years of work in Oakland before the RS line took off. DEO found a bunch of killer phenos. Including a prize Z heavy male. He F2ed the OZ Kush. It was named Pink Guava and had its own little hype wave in Oakland but nothing…

LEMON CHERRY GELATO (BACKPACK BOYZ) Lemon Cherry Gelato is the oldest pick on the list. It was a very protected cut for its first few years in existence. Eventually, it got out there a bit more and is now a coveted cut for any nursery to be in possession of. But it all traces to the Backpack Boyz. “Lemon Cherry Gelato came from a bag seed out of a Gelato #33 Connected pack in 2016,” Backpack Boyz Founder Juan Quesada told High Times. “That was the hottest shit at the time in 2016, 2017, was those black bags.” It took a couple of years for everything to get pumped up to full production, but by 2018 they were really getting it out there. “That was when I finally got it…

“I want to challenge people to rethink that we can make cannabutter and edibles at very low doses, it doesn’t have to be all super high dose.”- Christina Wong CHRISTINA WONG IS A CULINARY CANNABIS EDUCATOR, RECIPE creator, and self-described “baked baker” whose expertise making her own edibles has garnered widespread attention throughout the industry. From beautifully decorated shortbread desserts, elaborate cakes, and a wide variety of other delicious creations, Wong frequently celebrates the intersection between culinary art and cannabis. Through her creative media company Fruit + Flower Co.,Wong teaches others how to properly understand the process of making their own edibles by demystifying the terminology, reviewing the methods of infusion, discussing correct dosing, and providing numerous recipes to put all the learning into practice. High Times took a moment…

1 LIVERWORT Several species of the mossy-like plant liverwort contain perrottetinene (PET), a THC-like compound discovered in 1994 by Japanese chemist Yoshinori Asakawa. PET’s chemical structure is very similar to THC, making it bind to some of the same endocannabinoid receptors. Anecdotal reports suggest that the psychoactive effects of PET from liverwort are weak at best producing a mild hypnotic high. Therapeutic interest in PET continues to grow as early evidence suggests it has anti-inflammatory effects. As about 500 varieties of liverwort are endemic to New Zealand, there is some evidence to suggest that the plant may have been used as herbal medicine by the Māori. 3 FRENCH BLACK TRUFFLES Périgord truffle or French black truffle is one of the most expensive shrooms in the world. Popular in France, truffle…

In August 2021, the National Assembly of Panama unanimously voted 44 to 0 to approve Law 242, which would regulate medical cannabis. The bill required a final signature from Republic of Panama President Laurentino Cortizo, who finally signed Law 242 exactly one year later on Aug. 31, 2022. “I signed the Executive Decree that regulates Law 242 of 2021, which regulates the medicinal and therapeutic use of cannabis and its derivatives; one of the strongest regulations at the regional level, to allow the consumption of processed cannabis and provide relief to thousands of patients,” Cortizo wrote on Twitter in a translation. Law 242 regulates cannabis for therapeutic, medical, and veterinary purposes, as well as use for “scientists and research.” Cortizo also issued another decree that creates the National Directorate for…

KEEP OFF THE GRASS edie-parker.com Edie Parker presents their cannabis-friendly line “Weedie Parker” with a mini grass bag you can store your grass in. There’s a handy pocket in the interior of this bag to hide your contraband belongings, and a magnetic closure. This homage to grass looks like artificial grass. The team behind Edie Parker were determined to develop a cannabis-inspired fashion line, and we think they’ve nailed it with this particular mini bag. Edie Parker also has a collaboration with Paul Arnhold Glass in a colorful line with bongs that were hand-blown in Brooklyn, New York. $275 TO THE LEFT leftcoastextracts.info You gotta love NYC Diesel, the classic cross between Mexican and Afghani landraces. The strain comes from Amsterdam-based seed bank Soma Seeds which released it in 1997.…

What’s the latest word on mixing alcohol and cannabis? I can’t seem to do it without getting really nauseated but some of my friends are really into it. -Sir Mixer Not Data confirms what your mom probably told you: “Never mix, never worry.” Alcohol really is a toxin, as much as we tend to ignore the fact. Combining alcohol and cannabis can lead to more dramatic effects, including difficulties with complex motor tasks. Bummers like blackouts are more likely, too. Generally, “start low and go slow” still applies. A single drink consumed over an evening is probably no big deal. A bunch of shots in an hour, however, can get rough. I heard CBD can fight against COVID-19. How much do I need? How long should I take it? -Al…