Photo: Dr.Joyce Centofani & Pearl Moon of The Bud Sisters, Southern Humboldt.
Humboldt Medicine
Author’s Note: Humboldt Medicine was a series published in Humboldt County’s first cannabis publication, The Emerald Magazine. Many of the farms and companies are no longer in existence since the state legalized for recreation, as noted.
Lawrence Ringo
The Father of CBD
lawrence “ringo” ringo, outstanding in his field of cbd.
Charlotte’s Web, the cultivar high in Cannabidiol, otherwise known as CBD, one beneficial compound in cannabis, was first introduced to the world via a television documentary; what the world didn’t know is that the cultivar actually began in Southern Humboldt, in Northern California.
When U.S. cable news network CNN aired Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s first documentary “Weed” in 2013, Charlotte’s Web seemed like a miracle plant, with little to no psychoactive properties, a lots of healing.
The cultivar was named after the then four year old Charlotte Figi, who suffers from Dravet Syndrome, and was enduring up to 300 grand mal seizures per week at the time. Figi benefited greatly from oil derived from the cultivar, with her story was told on national television via Gupta’s documentary.
Due to the legalities of prohibition, the story of the cultivar’s lineage was left untold. As Charlotte’s Web came from a combination of seeds and starts purchased from the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective after being painstakingly hybridized by Lawrence Ringo.
Another little known fact, is that a group of some 40 children with seizures were already being helped in Northern California with Ringo’s CBD cultivars, long before Figi’s story made headlines. Due to the covert nature of the region, combined with a fear of Child Protective Services, the story was kept under wraps.
Historic Horticulture
Historically speaking, it was the cannabis farmers in Northern California who first focused on hybridizing the psychoactive properties of the plant. Lawrence Ringo – who had been growing weed since he was 15, and then farmed in Southern Humboldt for 35 years – hybridized the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) back down on some of his plants, while raising the CBD compounds up to new heights.
As with many medicine makers who dabble in cannabis remedies, his intent was personal. He’d suffered from severe back pain since childhood. Missing a disk between his third and fourth vertebrae, his bone on bone pain required something more than the pharmaceuticals could offer.
His widow, Kat Hart, said he also developed the cultivars to enhance his guitar playing – demonstrating the versatility of the plant as a crossover from recreational to medicinal in one strum, so to speak.
As if Ringo’s history in weed isn’t colorful enough, he was taught to grow cannabis by the head of a neighborhood Hell’s Angels, after finding and returning a snub-nosed .38, a sapphire gold ring, and a film can of cocaine. He threw the cocaine away, returned the ring and gun, and noted the rather large sativa plant in the man’s yard. When the man asked what he wanted for returning the items, he quickly replied he wanted to learn how to grow weed.
It took him years to develop the cultivars that would help his own back pain, while enabling him to maintain productivity throughout the day. His goal was not to get as high as possible, but rather, to be as pain-free as possible. He saved the seeds of the plants that offered the most relief, and eventually hybridized them to get the strains we are familiar with today.
For instance, the plants grown from New York City Diesel seeds, purchased from Canadian Marc Emery, were crossed with Sour Tsunami starts to get the Sour Diesel we know today. The irony of the lineage of Charlotte’s Web continues, as Emery would spend time in prison for selling seeds across borders.
Ringo relied solely on the cultivars he developed to control his pain. In an O’Shaughnessy’s Journal article published in 2011, Ringo stated, “I’ve been to every doctor and chiropractor. No one can really help. When my back really hurts I do the high-CBD kief. Two pipe loads and I can go out and do anything – ride a motorcycle, work in the garden.”
From Farmer to Innovator
Though Ringo is known for his hybrids, he’s also known for using Light Deprivation, starting in 1980 – a technique commonly used today, tricking plants into thinking it’s time to flower.
According to Ringo’s bio, found on King of CBD Genetics.com, Ringo used the technique by covering his greenhouse, blocking out all sunlight.
This encouraged early sexing, enabled females to be planted in early May, and ensured that large plants would harvest earlier. This ensures fresh medicine through the summer months when there is typically a void of plant material until a fall harvest. Because the CBD cultivars are not trimmed, allowing for whole plant compounds, there is no excess.
On his 40 acres in Blocksburg, California, Ringo honed his skills as a farmer and breeder. He worked with landrace cultivars from around the world, including Mexico, Thailand, and Afghanistan. These are the strains that helped to create the high THC strains we have in today’s cannabis market.
Ringo left Humboldt County for Santa Cruz to raise his boys, but ended up back in Blocksburg, purchasing seeds from Emery’s Seed Company. With eight initial cultivars, Ringo developed 20 new ones, starting Kush Seeds, then the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective, or SoHum Seeds.
The day Samantha Miller of California laboratory, Pure Analytics, called to let the team know his Sour Tsunami measured in upwards of 11.3 percent CBD, while retaining six-to-seven percent THC, Kat said everyone cheered.
This was the first time Miller had come into contact with high CBD cultivars, and the findings were not lost on her. The bigger news, was Miller advised he had eight other cultivars that also had the potential of testing high in CBD.
“At that point we knew very little about CBD, but Samantha conveyed its importance,” Hart shared. “It was really the defining moment for So Hum Seeds as we know it now.”
As Hart explains, Sour Tsunami was the first cultivar to test dominant for CBD, then came Harle-Tsu, Canna-Tsu, and Swiss-Tsu. Current cultivars available in its catalog include ACDC (bread by Dr. William Courtney), Canna Tsu, Cheesel O, Harle Tsu, Hula Budda, Kona, Pineapple Tsunami, Purple Diesel, Sour Tsunami, Swiss Tsu, and OG Cheese Dog.
Ringo’s Harle Tsu is an excellent example, as it stands alone in the Phylos Galaxy with a 20:1 ratio of CBD testing upwards of 22 percent CBD.
Breaking Down the Plant
Ironically, legalization in Colorado allowed the Figi story to be told, which has helped change public perception of the plant altogether.
Hart said it stung when a version of Ringo’s CBD cultivar took center stage in the CNN documentary, laughingly referred to as a “Hippie’s Disappointment,” for lack of THC. Its Humboldt lineage went unmentioned due to the legalities of crossing state lines with the seeds and starts.
Records provided by Hart reveal that Charlotte’s Webs’ ancestry may stem from a combination of Harlequin and Sour Tsunami, but Hart said the profiling shows a grab bag of varieties, albeit, with Ringo’s strains predominantly in the mix.
“Phylos Bioscience genetically tested Charlotte’s Web and it does show a connection, but it also shows that we were not the first to work with high CBD strains,” Hart shared.
What Phylos discovered, is that while Ringo was honing his CBD in Southern Humboldt, breeders in Spain were working on the same exact process. If the universe really is aligned, then cannabis was a conduit in this instance.
Where Charlotte’s Web is concerned, Hart said Ringo remembered selling Harle Tsu seeds to the proprietors of Charlotte’s Web during a High Times Cannabis Cup. If Charlotte’s Web came from those seeds, then its lineage would be unique. But the plot thickens, as Ringo’s assistant at the time shared that the party visited the farm later, purchasing Harlequin and Sour Tsunami starts, complicating the issue.
Continuing Tradition
Ringo passed away in 2014 from lung cancer. With little warning, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and given just two months to live.
Though Hart said they consulted with some of the top experts in cannabis medicine, they were encouraged to do a round of radiation due to the severity and the location of the tumor.
“He immediately began eating the oil,” Hart shared. “He was ingesting his own CO2 high THC oil, with a 3:1 CBD. He never regained any strength after the radiation to even be able to try the chemo.” The severe diagnosis and subsequent radiation treatment were too much to handle in the end.
The genetics he left behind are his legacy, carried on by his children, who were raised farming in Humboldt.
His eldest son, Levi and his wife Danielle, now run the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective, and are the keepers of the cultivars.
“The cooperative was formed to help support local farmers and be able to provide enough CBD medicine to meet supply and demand,” Hart added. “We provide clones of our genetics, the farmers grow it, and the cooperative purchases it. We have a couple CO2 extractors, and have applications pending for a dispensary and a manufacturing facility.”
Hart said she’s not the farmer Ringo was, but, she’ll never be far away from the magic he made.
“CBD is everywhere now and we as a cooperative are very proud of Ringo’s legacy,” she concluded. “He was extremely generous, which is why the cultivars he created are so widespread. He believed in helping others for the greater good.”
For more information about Lawrence Ringo and the cultivars he created, visit the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective: https://www.kingofcbdgenetics.com/
The Bud Sisters
Dr. Joyce Centofanti & Pearl Moon
photos: sharon letts
In the lower right corner, Pearl Moon looks out over all three counties that make up the Emerald triangle at the top of northern california, Mendocino, humboldt, and trinity, from her farm in southern humboldt - sold after california legalized. They are still making their products, but the plant material is now sourced.
Dr. Joyce Centofanti and Pearl Moon of “The Bud Sister’s™ met in 1981 while both were studying ceramics and performance art at the University of Montana in Missoula. Pearl, who refers to herself as “the older sister,” is a native of Montana. She said she taught her “younger sister from Southern California,” Joyce, about herbal remedies and living a holistic life.
“No matter where we were in our lives, we always found time to spend together,” Dr. Centofanti explained. “We love having adventures and creating visual and performance art together. Over the many years we’ve been friends, and the many projects we’ve worked on, we always knew we wanted to find something that we could make together that would benefit people’s health.”
Dr. Centofanti grew up in Vandenberg Village in Lompoc, California, known as “The Valley of Flowers,” where much of California’s cut flower industry provides up to 75 percent of the cut flowers in the U.S. The irony of ending up in California’s other flower industry is not lost on the good doctor.
“I smoked my first cannabis flowers in the Valley of the Flowers!” she exclaimed. “During that time the Vietnam War was still happening and living near Vandenberg Air Force Base we had access to Thai Stick and other fabulous strains to smoke. I have always been around the best flowers,” she laughed.
Dr. Centofanti had a lengthy and often tenured career as Professor for the past 30 years. She holds a PhD in Art Education, and has taught ceramics, visual arts, and special education. But she always found time to visit her friend, Pearl, in the place she grew to love, Northern California.
“I’m a California girl,” she said. “During my high school and undergraduate college days I backpacked a lot in Northern California. There is something magical about the redwoods and how they call you back to them. When I semi-retired early from my professorship I settled down in this area to be by the ocean, the redwoods, and to be in the heart of the Emerald Triangle with my bud sister.”
Pearl Moon left Montana for the Emerald Triangle, which comprises Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties, 25 years ago, following her heart to the redwoods.
“I’m originally from the wild, wild west of Montana,” she laughed. “I came to Humboldt to follow my spiritual path, have fun and not take life so seriously. “
Moon attended and volunteered at Heartwood Institute, a Southern Humboldt institution of healing since 1978, then said she settled down in the “middle of the Emerald Triangle.”
“I’ve been a patient of the plant for 47 years, but thought it was recreational until it helped me stop drinking.”
Replacing alcohol with cannabis helped Moon understand the medicinal benefits of the plant, as she learned how to ingest in many ways, parlaying that knowledge into the business she and Dr. Centofanti have today.
“Without cannabis I would never have been able to stop drinking,” she continued. “It makes me a more understanding person, and not so overbearing. I medicate for pain by smoking and using The Bud Sister’s organic topical pain relief salve. I also use cannabis as a sleep aid, and like to juice the leaf because I believe it takes care of everything.”
Anecdotal stories of juicing leaf putting serious ailments, such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Lupus, and more into remission are common today.
Mendocino physician Dr. William Courtney helped his wife replace upwards of 20 prescription medications for Lupus by juicing leaf daily. In her 20s she was told she would never have children, and today she is still symptom free, with the couple’s three thriving children in tow.
Oregon MS patient and Chef, Karina Wolford of Eugene, was helped off of 23 prescription meds via juicing leaf. After being bedridden for two years with the disease, today she has her own juicing cart in Eugene.
“I’ve farmed my land for 25 years, and it’s where The Bud Sister’s farm is now,” Moon said
When I realized the importance of medicinal cannabis, my growing techniques changed. We are all organic - our leaf is clean, our farm is clean, and that means our medicine is clean.”
Medicating daily, Dr. Centofanti said, gives her energy and makes all her moment’s happy ones.
“I’ve been a patient of cannabis for 43 years,” she said. “I just knew that it settled my mind and made me feel as though I could accomplish anything I wanted to do.”
Dr. Centofanti said she smokes or vaporizes the flower, keif, and bubble hash, but also ingests medibles, and loves to juice the leaf.
“Of course I’m a big fan of using topicals and The Bud Sister’s salve,” she added. “I use it every morning and every evening. Our salve was just featured in ‘Mary Jane: The Musical,’ which is being made into a film now at Dell’Arte in Blue Lake.”
The process of making their own medicine included attending workshops by Wendy Read of “The Caretakers Garden” in Mendocino, with the two just finishing up its “Certified Cannabis Therapy Consultant Program,” an intensive training series with a focus on the Endocannabinoid Receptor System, beneficial cannabinoids, how the plant applies, and how to make medicine from it.
A few years ago Moon helped establish a learning campus close to home in Garberville, with “707 Cannabis College.” Today the two are working together as, “Humboldt Cannabis College,” with an emphasis on farming, making good medicine, and training from seed to shelf, as legalization approaches and more cottage industry medicine makers get organized.
“We learned to make infused salves and tinctures from Wendy after she taught here in Garberville at the Vet’s Hall,” Moon said. “Now we are waiting to take the test that certifies us as official cannabis therapy consultants ourselves.”
Other mentors along the way include Samantha Miller Chief Scientist and founder of Pure Analytics, where the sister’s product is tested; and local farmer and co-owner of Wonderland Nursery in Garberville, Kevin Jodrey.
“Samantha has taught at the college, and we’ve learned so much from her about the scientific aspects of making our salve,” Dr. Centofanti said. “Kevin is an inspiration, a teacher, and mentor to us. He really believes in our product, and we’ve learned much about farming, cannabis theory, business, and cannabis life from him. If we say anything profound about cannabis, it probably came from him!”
Getting information out to the public and educating farmers further about good medicine is a big goal of The Bud Sister’s, as they continue to do projects together. Most recently the two have begun a series of video clips sharing how others have been helped by The Bud Sister’s salve.
With legalization just around the corner, and nearly every conversation in the farming community of Humboldt today a buzz with pending ordinances, The Bud Sister’s are hopeful its topical salves will be better understood, and not lumped together with “concentrates” as they are now.
“Our topical is not ingested, so it will be interesting to see how it gets regulated,” Dr. Centofanti said. “It’s important to stay informed and to be ready for some changes, if needed. We hope legalization will take topical products out of the gray area.”
Education, enlightenment, healing, the cannabis plant means all this and more to the sisters of the bud, best friends forever on the farm with a clear, clean commitment to healing.
“We are real believers in organic cannabis medicine,” Dr. Centofanti surmised. “It’s such an incredible plant, with so many different ways to use it. Our salve is just one method; juicing is another that many don’t really know about yet. That’s why Pearl started the college and why we are getting certified. We want our words to mean something.”
Reference list:
The Bud Sister’s visit, www.thebudsisters.com
The Caretaker’s Garden www.caretakersgarden.org
Pure Analytics www.pureanalytics.net
Wonderland Nursery wwwwonderlandnursery.com
Humboldt Cannabis College www.707humboldtcannabiscollege.com
Mary Jane: The Musical www.dellarte.com
Sunshine Johnston
Sunboldt Grown
Author’s Note: This profile was written in 2019. See Sharon’s series, Face of the Farmer for Cannabis Now Magazine, for a current profile.
Sunshine Johnston came to Southern Humboldt County when she was just seven years old. She graduated from Humboldt State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology with her senior thesis on the “Structural Geology South of Punta Gorda, Mendocino Triple Junction Region.” The degree led her to work on road inventories for Humboldt Redwoods State Parks, and a gig with Pacific Watershed Associates, but today her day job (for the time being) is brokering wine for local vineyards.
A supposed recreational user of cannabis prior, Johnston discovered her medicine after a wrist injury.
“I had made a topical salve for my wrist, the 215 card came later when I realized I was medicating for chronic pain,” she shared.
Since making that first jar of salve Johnston has expanded her apothecary cupboard, adding infusions with many bases, including raw hemp milk, nettles, hydrosol, and other healing herbs from the garden.
“I grow flowers mostly for the connoisseur,” she explained. “My Loopy Fruit is being reviewed by Emily Hobelmann in this issue.”
Looking forward to Emily’s review, as this writer partook of the strain at the end of our interview and the photo-shoot became somewhat of an odyssey with an interesting mix of photos, to say the least. Reminding me of the quip, “Cannabis forces us to be more creative than we really are.”
“My extracts are all made from fresh bud infusions,” she continued. “I use many different bases. The salve is used primarily on acupoints; the infused honey I love because it tastes good; the infused coconut oil is used for baking. I also make a probiotic nettle brew used in the garden.”
Aside from the salve quelling the pain in her wrist, Johnston said she juices fresh bud and leaf, preventing against illness and giving a general sense of well-being.
Her garden is tucked away in a Southern Humboldt backwoods kind of way, surrounded by redwoods. Her home is colorful, warm and filled with friendly faces busily working on projects surrounding the plant. The garden is a mix of flowers, vegetables, herbs, and places to hang.
Today, Johnston is a farmer, joining the ranks of others within the Emerald Triangle of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, helping to make a difference with legalization looming in the state.
“With regulations, I will expand from an experimental research based garden and go into production,” she informed. “I’ll be competing for top shelf placement in a high-end market, and have a farm-to-table-like model.”
Being a part of the cannabis community in Northern California is important to Johnston, and she’s planning outreach to help others in the mix.
“Education is important in this industry, as the stigma was created based on misinformation,” she said. “I’ll be building community by offering workshops and other services as needed.”
A former board member of the progressive group, California Cannabis Voice Humboldt, Johnston has attended both stockholder meetings that took place in the fall of 2014. She’s now looking forward to positive changes within the cannabis community.
“I’m looking forward to public participation and working on the best management practices and watershed stewardship,” she added. “California has taken a lead role in regulation by making licensing attainable and allowing for local control. We have yet to see the how the governing agencies will work out the details, such as the possibility of limited distribution licenses in the hands of big corporations that could potentially dilute the Humboldt brand. Lack of direct sales will hurt the small farmer and culture, with unnecessary lab testing and associated fees and taxes passed onto the consumer.”
Watershed stewardship is a big deal in California and cannabis farmers are garnering more criticism in recent months than Almond farmers, who are purported to use nearly one gallon of water to produce one almond.
As farmers in Humboldt install rain catchment systems, invite inspectors onto their properties, and get permitted in an historically covert region, change is coming for good medicine and the healing that follows.
“During our recent series of town hall meetings we brought in experts on water conservation, and were told that even in a drought we could gather enough water to care for our crops,” she said. “Cannabis farmers will take the lead in responsible water use for agriculture in the state.”
Johnston waxes poetic on Humboldt’s role in the development of cannabis strains and improved efficacy of the plant in general. A plethora of cannabis strains, including cannabinoid (CBD) only strains, were developed in Southern Humboldt, freely shared and sold across state lines for years.
“One of the reasons the Emerald Triangle is a leader in producing and growing quality cannabis, and has the highest concentration of farmers is that we have always willing shared information,” she advised. “It’s not like that in places like Colorado and Washington. As we enter a competitive marketplace it’s important not to lose this part of our cultural heritage that sets us apart from other places.”
For more information on Sunboldt Grown, visit www.sunboldt.org/about.html
Colleen Bones
A Witch in the Woods
Ten years ago Colleen Bones moved from San Luis Obispo, in Central California, to Humboldt County to be close to her husband’s family, but they stayed for the simple lifestyle – and the trees.
Soon after, she became pregnant with their first child, and due to the nature of buying clean and local in the rural region, she became aware of what she was eating, in terms of the baby and her overall health. She also became interested in natural medicine.
“I started my introduction to herbs by drinking tea,” she recalled. “That was my first lesson on the healing benefits of plants, as I didn’t grow up eating healthy. No one in my family knew much about health, in general.”
Her first foray into herbs began when a friend asked if she’d like to take an herb class with noted Humboldt herbalist, Jane Bothwell in Arcata. She said she loved the class so much, she went on to take Jane’s 10 month course at the Dandelion Herbal Center.
Bones said she was immediately impressed and simultaneously intrigued by all the healing plants that surrounded them in nature.
“What I loved most about the class was making the herbal infused oils and salves from the garden,” she shared. “For my final project, I created a very small skin care line, and Witch in the Woods was born.”
To firm up her knowledge of beneficial plants, she next attended the Northwest School for Botanical Studies, located in Fieldbrook.
“I continued to learn about herbal medicine, plant identification, material medica, and how herbs affect the body,” she said. “From there I took all the online courses I could find, attended herbal symposiums, and traveled to the Bay area for weekend courses.”
Today Bones said she has an extensive personal apothecary collection, as plants are now her family’s first choice for remedies. Herbs have become a hobby, as well as a cottage industry business.
“My friends and I are herb nerds, we get together and wild craft,” she laughed. “We forage for seaweed, mushrooms, St. John’s Wort, yarrow – and any plants that grow in season. We make all kinds of medicine, including tinctures, bitters and bone broths. There is so much medicine in the Pacific Northwest, we love learning about new plants and how to use them.”
Bones said the strength of herbs should not be overlooked due to their gentle nature.
“We are so used to taking pills once or twice a day,” she explained. “Herbs are different. They don’t sit in our systems as long as antibiotics or other synthetic, prescription medications. You have to use herbs more frequently. I think that’s why most people think natural medicine doesn’t work. It’s a different mind-set, and you have to be proactive of your own care.”
Her knowledge of beneficial herbs has helped her to formulate Witch in the Woods’ skin care products according to needs, including what she refers to as balancing ingredients.
“I wanted to use plants that would work for all types of skin types,” she continued. “Whether you have oily skin or dry skin, that’s a balance challenge. Each flower, herb, oil, and hydrosol I use in my products is there for a specific beneficial reason.”
A favorite herb is the Rose Geranium, and Bones said she likes it for its aromatherapy benefits, such as uplifting mood and relaxing anxiety; but it also has a variety of topical healing benefits, such as quelling inflammation, reducing hot flashes, or minimizing redness and itching from eczema.
“I use Rose Geranium in my botanical facial toner, facial serum, hydrating face cream, and my honey rose lip balm,” she shared.
Also a beekeeper, Bones said she began the process to help out, after learning of the loss of bees around the world due to pesticide use.
“I use my own honey and propolis extract in my products, but as the company grows, I’m finding I need to source from other beekeepers,” she said “Luckily, this region is blessed with lots of beekeepers.”
Having an herbal product line in the Pacific Northwest has its advantages, aside from the constant supply of beneficial plants to forage, Humboldt being the cannabis capitol of the world, it’s just a matter of time until Bones crosses over to the county’s cash crop.
“I’d love to add a cannabis line,” she offered. “Cannabis has so many incredible healing benefits for the skin. I look forward to exploring the possibilities.”
For now, Bones can be found tabling Witch in the Woods products at local craft fairs in the Northwest, Bay area, Portland, and Seattle.
For more information, visit its web site www.witchinthewoodsbotanicals.com
Witch in the Woods can also be found on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodWitch
Victoria England
High St. Tea
Victoria England’s British roots have crept into her new brand, High St. Tea, inspired by her longtime home of Humboldt and its beloved cash crop.
Born in England, and raised in Mill Valley, California. England arrived in Humboldt in 2004, attending Humboldt State University. By 2006 she felt if she was to stay in Humboldt, she would have to start her own business, thus began Tulip perfume; now distributed widely in retail shops and online via Target, Amazon and many more platforms.
Now 41 years old, England’s love of fragrance began at the tender age of 14, inspired by trips to a scent bar in Berkeley, California, where she began curating her own fragrances. Her Amber Vanilla Bean perfume, developed as a teenager, has been a top seller since the Tulip line began.
“Even before I started Tulip I always wanted to make and sell tea,” England shared from her home in Westhaven. “I am a tea connoisseur and ritual tea drinker, so, when I saw the cannabis market opening up with legalization, I decided to create my own cannabis tea and brand.”
England has been a patient for 15 years, after realizing cannabis helped calm her anxiety, a condition diagnosed when she was 18 years old.
“For many cannabis can heighten anxiety, but for me, it’s helped,” she explained. “In the process, I found that it not only works as medicine, but as a catalyst for my creative energy – which is a blessing!”
England partnered with longtime friend Amy Frugard, who handles marketing and events. Though formulating the tea was not easy for the two to figure out, the final product has been well received in, what can be, a finicky market in cannabis savvy Humboldt County.
“We have found that there are a lot of patients who really respond to the idea of having their medicine in tea form. Being of British decent, I find it very dignified,” she laughed. “When you think about it, tea is already a ritual in most people’s lives.”
Water infusion is an ancient form of getting the beneficial terpenes from plants; it’s also one of the simplest methods. England shared they will be keeping track of the patients feedback, designing new blends for specific need.
“We’ve had the opportunity to work with a local herbal farmer in Fieldbrook,” she explained. “All our material is organically grown cannabis flower. The extracts are made with high quality CO2, from Lost Coast Oils in Southern Humboldt.”
“Our herb farmer also grows Tulsi for us,” she said. “Tulsi is the main ingredient in an Ayervedic tea blend, and extremely beneficial. We have two new herbal blends to be released this summer, lavender with rose for relaxation; and a coffee substitute with chicory root, cocoa, nutmeg and cinnamon.”
As for the future of cannabis in Humboldt, specifically the manufacturing, distribution and use of products, England said she doesn’t have a lot of faith that new regulations will benefit the small farmer or cottage industry, as they have existed for decades.
“The gold and green rush is real,” she shared. “I fear if businesses are not set up properly they won’t make it. I became a cannabis activist in 2010 as a board member for the CCVH [California Cannabis Voice Humboldt], in attempt to be the voice of the small farmer and producer, but that voice became an echo. We can only hope the larger businesses here in Humboldt will try to help the smaller ones succeed.”
The roller coaster of ordinances and rules is often invisible to the average cannabis consumer, with England lamenting on product demands, with little sympathy to how the product gets to market.
“Rules keep changing,” she said. “We try to do things right, then they change the rules. We’ve lost a lot of money and the roller coaster ride is far from over. The one thing that stands, the one thing we can count on is, we are Humboldt! They can’t take the beauty, the peace, and the community away from us.”
Crystal Ortiz
Humboldt Heritage Farms
crystal at home making remedies from her garden. at the time the article was written she did not want to show her face. Today, she’s the owner of a dispensary in downtown Arcata in Humboldt County.
Author’s Note: When this profile was originally written, cannabis was still treated covertly in the County, with Crystal remaining anonymous, as “Jane” in the story. Today, Crystal owns a dispensary in downtown Arcata and is very much part of the out-in-the-open cannabis industry in the county.
After suffering through a diagnosis of Lupus in 1996 Humboldt Heritage Farms principal, “Jane,” began medicating for symptoms on the advice of then California physician Dr. Todd Mikuriya by vaporizing dried Cannabis flowers, then making infused medibles and tea to ingest. She eventually healed her body, keeping her off what can be a long list of pharmaceuticals, in what is known as a damaging and progressive, multi-symptom illness with no cure.
The Mayo Clinic (www.mayclinic.org) categorizes Lupus as an inflammatory disease occurring when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. The site goes on to state that inflammation caused by Lupus can affect several systems in the body, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.
The good news is, Cannabis and other plant-based concentrate’s main job is to counteract inflammation and infection in the body when ingested in concentrated forms, putting ailments such as Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, and other chronic pain and auto-immune disorders into remission without the damaging side effects found with traditional prescription meds.
The late Dr. Mikuriya dedicated his life to educating patients on the medicinal benefits of Cannabis after taking a position with the U.S. Government to debunk a 1973 study by Dr. Raphael Mechoulam from the University of Tel Aviv at Israel showing the plant as being medicinally beneficial, specifically in putting cancer and tumors into remission. After one year on the project Mikuriya announced he could not disprove the plant, resigned his position, and continued to advocate, eventually co-authoring Proposition 215, making California the first State in the Union to allow Cannabis as medicine.
Listening to our Bodies
California patients lucky enough to be counseled by him had life changing experiences with the plant, and Jane’s journey was no different. Using biofeedback and Cannabis, Jane said she was able to achieve balance in her body and a return to good health. She learned how Cannabis works with the body by bringing our own systems into balance. This process is often referred to as homeostasis.
“When I notice something funky going on in my body I don’t need it to yell at me with big symptoms – I listen to the whisper,” Jane explained. “I typically do not need a saturation dose - an inhaled dose is usually enough. It’s tricky dealing with an autoimmune disorder, because when people are in pain the last thing they want to hear is that it’s all in their head. Being aware of the mind/body connection is half the battle.”
Having a positive self-image, using positive affirmations, and practicing gratitude, Jane felt, were keys to her healing, and she considers them equal to Cannabis and other plant-based therapies.
Jane believes she could have easily given into the diagnosis and descended into a life of pain meds, but reported that in one month’s time using Cannabis, she had no joint pain at all, with every symptom showing from the point of diagnosis gone.
Back to the Garden
The “kitchen garden,” once a main-stay at every back door in urban America, is making a comeback with the knowledge of what Cannabis can do, ironically inspiring many to put on apothecary aprons. Oftentimes the inspiration comes from the desire to help loved ones with serious ailments where traditional treatments have failed, with more healing ensuing than one can imagine. Once you know, it then becomes a calling to spread the word.
The most misunderstood element of Cannabis is the THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in the plant. During the past 50 years we as a species have upped the THC for recreation – with much of the work happening right here within the Emerald Triangle.
And while medicine makers and patients like Jane acknowledge the importance of THC in the mix, especially for putting cancer and other serious ailments into remission, many have issues with the psychoactive effects.
“I’m an advocate for rich medicine, and teach about building tolerance and learning how to handle a heavier dose, if needed,” Jane explained. “Don’t get me wrong, I love and acknowledge CBD, but I am not one for isolating Cannabinoids.”
That said, Southern Humboldt hybridizer, the late-great Lawrence Ringo, worked to bring the THC back down, while upping the CBD or the non-psychoactive Cannabinoids of the plant. Ringo developed strains we are familiar with now, such as Harlequin and AC/DC, that were eventually parlayed into the now infamous CBD only strains in other states.
Humboldt patients have long benefited from the medicine coming from the many strains being hybridized and grown here. In medically legal states, medicine makers feel the freedom to share and make products to a point. In legal states they feel safe in setting up tables, promoting more healing and better education.
After putting and keeping her own Lupus in remission, Jane was compelled to help others, creating Humboldt Heritage Farms, taking her products to market, and holding workshops so that others may learn and spread the good news.
Just a plant
Jane’s list of herbal allies has grown throughout the years, adding other beneficial plants to the mix over time, as her knowledge of medicinal herbs expanded.
“I love experimenting with this versatile and magical plant, and have all kinds of fun, personal recipes, from sweet to savory and everything in between,” she shared. “When you have a serious illness, such as Lupus, MS, or cancer, you must learn to keep the medicine of plant-based concentrates in your system to build your auto-immune system for real preventive care, not just deal with symptoms.”
Her knowledge of the plant and remedies made prompted her to create workshops where others can learn and benefit, as making medicine with plants is not rocket science – it’s typically a matter of steeping, stove-top cooking, and blending together the right plants for specific ailments.
“We have been giving introductory classes on ‘Cannabis Medicine,’ at Essential Elements in McKinleyville, where anyone can learn about plant-based medicine – with no 215 card necessary, as it’s an informational class only,” Jane said.
Teaching how plants work with the human body is an important focus of the introductory class, as it enlightens attendees about the illusive Endocannabinoid System - the one biological system explained as working with the plant over centuries, helping to develop the human Endocrine System.
“They don’t teach doctors about the Endocannabinoid System in medical school,” Jane explained.
Understanding how it works is everything. Humans were meant to ingest plants, and all plants have Cannabinoids. It’s a food group unto itself, and it works with all our biological systems like no other synthetic man-made medicine can.”
The list of remedies coming from one small farm’s kitchen is impressive, to say the least, with all strains grown organically, outdoors in the sun, the way nature intended.
Humboldt Heritage Farms Products
Elder Power: Glycerin tincture infused with Cannabis, elderberry and honey
Bless Strips: CBD and THC sublingual
Peace Grease: THC infused creams made of shea butter and coconut oil
Dreadnuts: THC infused coconut oil
Buddha Buddah: Cannabis infused butter
Serenity Soak: Cannabis infused Epsom bath salts
Calm Balm: CBD and THC infused Shea butter and coconut cream salve(s)
Healing of the Nations Extract: Full Extract Cannabis Oil
“Our ‘Calm Balm’ and ‘Peace Grease’ topical lotions soothe sore muscles, deep tissue damage, and nerve pain,” Jane adds. “Patients helped include those suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, and nerve pain, to name just a few ailments.”
The farm’s “Full Extract Cannabis Oil,” or “FECO,” is known to many as a “miracle cure,” with its counterpart referred to as “Rick Simpson Oil,” or “RSO.” One is made with grain alcohol in a distillation method, the other cooked down with solvents. Both are reminiscent of what big pharma could make with the plant for us. The latter, RSO, was reformulated by Canadian Rick Simpson more than 15 years ago for his own terminal skin cancer, putting it into remission and now shared throughout the world via word of mouth.
This strong Cannabis oil is used for treating acute illness, cancers and tumors, autoimmune diseases, and other serious ailments concerning all of our biological systems, including cardio, neurological, central nervous system, all of the organs, and the digestive system. Anecdotal stories include the remission of the most invasive cancers, treating dementia and stroke, putting MS, ALS, and Parkinson’s into remission – the list goes on.
“We mix the extract with coconut or olive oil and fill up capsules for easy dosing,” Jane advised. “This mix, referred to by the farm as “Healing of the Nations Extract” is a strong dose for real illness.”
This writer uses the strong oil concentrate as a replacement for 10 prescription meds previously needed for sleep and other Menopausal symptoms, replacing Thyroid meds, pain meds, and as a main delivery keeping the medicine of the plant in my system after putting breast cancer into remission four years ago.
The treatment for putting cancer and other serious ailments into remission is ingesting 60 grams of strong Cannabis oil (RSO or FECO) in 90 days. Deliveries can be in capsule form taken orally (with a step-up dosing guide to deal with the strong psychoactive effects, or administered in a suppository, with no “head-high,” as reported by those not able to handle the THC in this particular concentrate. The oil is so strong that the daily maintenance dose is the size of a grain of rice.
“Cannabis is non-toxic at any level,” Jane continued. “When you add other herbs and flowers to your regiment it speeds up the healing process. Being able to make medicine from the plants around us is a gift and the essence of freedom. When we are in charge of our own health, we heal faster.”
When asked about pending legalization in California, Jane is nothing short of enthusiastic.
“Finally, legalization!” she exclaimed. “Legalization means everything to Humboldt Heritage Farms. We believe in the healing qualities of the Cannabis plant on every level. From soil to soul, this plant provides food, fuel, fiber and medicine – there is nothing to compare it to. In Humboldt we are on the verge of claiming our cultural heritage among the best cultivators of sun grown Cannabis on the planet. The best medicine and food are the same, and they are grown organically in the sunshine.”
Humboldt Heritage Farms products can be found in select Bay area dispensaries. For more information visit,
Road to Nirvana Golden Milk
1 T. Cannabis infused coconut oil
1 can organic coconut milk
½ C. water
1 t. turmeric (more to taste)
1 t. cinnamon
Pinch of black pepper
Blend all ingredients in a blender until mixed. Warm over medium heat. Add honey to taste. Drink at least an hour before bedtime for a dreamy night.
Humboldt Hands
Fifth Generation Dairy Ranchers Come Clean
Humboldt County is gifted with dairy land. Settlers from Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal arrived with dairy know-how, making Humboldt home from the mid-1800s.
Long before "Back-to-the-Landers" fled San Franciso in 1969 after the "Summer of Love" and Cannabis became its cash crop, livestock competitions were a regular occurrence on the Plaza in the progressive city of Arcata - otherwise known as “60s by the Sea.”
In fact, prior to the industrial farm revolution of the 1960s, Humboldt County’s largest export was agriculture, with myriad dairies providing milk at the door and wooden dairy carts toting milk bottles to the far corners of the County.
History of Place
Sandra Frye is a fourth generation dairy farmer in the rich and fertile Eel River Valley, home to the historic Victorian village of Ferndale, just south of the County seat of Eureka. Her grandfather migrated from Switzerland in the mid-1850s, with Frye's father Harold Scilacci born where the family now gathers around the dining room table.
It's said that the second largest export in Humboldt are its kids, and Frye considers herself part of that movement, leaving the cozy confines of the rural North Coast, marrying and having children of her own, only to return to her roots years later.
"It is interesting as we live our lives, that seasons change and the things that we think in our youth are not important become very important," Frye said, knowingly. "I am very pleased to have my grandchildren growing up on the family farm in a small community rich in a history of farming."
Changing Times
Daughter Stacey got hooked on goats during an after school milking gig, then proceeded to set up a goat ranch in nearby Carlotta with boyfriend (now husband) Chris Leaton.
"They dated, fell in love, married and are now raising a family of and with goats," Frye said of the happy couple whose flock now consists of more than 900 goats and four small children on the family farm.
More sustainable and easier on the land, Frye made the switch to goats when the Leaton's ranch hit overflow, beginning a longtime relationship as the leading goat milk supplier to Humboldt's own Cypress Grove Chever, an internationally acclaimed goat cheese producer.
Stacey said she had wanted to make soap from the goat’s milk after hearing of its superior qualities. When she developed recipes, Humboldt Hands was a happy accident, springing forth from a need to get her husband's farming hands clean.
"I was working on a recipe for a scrubby bar for Chris," Stacey explained. "The book I was using for a reference indicated to add ground walnut shells until they floated. I did not get exactly what that meant, so I just kept dumping them in the pot of hot soap, and we ended up with a soap that was way too aggressive for the shower, but boy did it clean hands!"
Chris sent the bars to buddies for testing - commercial fisherman, lumbermen, farm hands, and the "guys in the hills," aka: trimmers - all approved, stating it cleaned up grease, epoxy, motor oil, and that pesky resin from Humboldt's finest.
Up at four in the morning, Stacey makes up to 70 pounds of soap before she and Chris' own four kids (not goats) hit the floor. What began in the kitchen now takes up a work room by the barn with plans for an expansion.
Original recipes for Oatmeal & Honey Goat Milk Soap, Hum Bug (soap bugs hate), Humboldt Scrub (scented with Mahogany), Goat Milk Lotion(s) (scented with honey, sweet pea, vanilla sugar, and cucumber melon) are all made daily and distributed to retail stores throughout the region.
Of its most popular line, Humboldt Hands, matriarch Frye said, "This is Humboldt County and Cannabis is a large part of the economy here - it has been for years. Our business is farming. Our goal is to develop a business that will allow the family to continue to farm the land, make a living and have opportunity for the sixth generation to enjoy the same wonderful lifestyle that farm life provides."
For more information on Humboldt Hands, Humboldt Scrub and other Fern Valley Goats products, visit www.fernvalleygoats.com , or call (707) 786-9664.
Humboldt Hands was developed by fifth generation dairy farmer, Stacey Leaton. Its shape and sloughing ingredients gets off resin from Humboldt's Finest.
(6) Fifth generation Humboldt County dairy farmer Stacey Leaton rises at four a.m., making up to 70 pounds of soap from the family goat farm each day.
(11) Sixth generation future Humboldt goat farmers with the next wave of baby goats, (front to back) Remy Leaton, Shasta Leaton, Brooklynn Leaton, Ryder Leaton, McKenna Johnson
(12) Sixth generation future Humboldt goat farmers with the next wave of baby goats (front to back), Remy Leaton, Shasta Leaton.
(13) Fifth generation Humboldt dairy farmer Stacey Leaton created Humboldt Hands accidentally for husband Chris Leaton's farm hands. It also gets off Humboldt finest' resin from toiling fingers.
(14)(16) Fifth generation Humboldt dairy farmer Stacey Leaton creates resin-eating Humboldt Hands soap from the milk of more than 900 goats on the family farm.
(25) Humboldt dairy farm, Fern Valley Goats is home to more than 900 goats, providing milk for cheese, soap and a future for another generation.
Humble Flower Co.
Like many who come to Humboldt County, Humble Flower Co. owner Thea Wayne came for school. Drawn to the redwoods and the beautiful coastline, she was just 17 when she arrived from her hometown of Homer, Alaska seven years ago.
Initially a degree in International Studies with the promise of travel inspired the move to Humboldt State University. Her degree allowed her to study abroad in Chile after graduating; then to Nepal, where she created an online marketplace to raise funds for a group of women she worked with.
“I lived in a small village outside of Kathmandu and worked closely with a women’s agricultural cooperative,” she shared. “They compile their savings together so that women can take out loans from the collective savings to expand their farms – or start a small business.”
Wayne said she interviewed and photographed the women, while compiling information into a fundraising website.
“They are now in the process of raising money for a cooperative facility,” she happily reported. “I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and explore the idea of working in the non-profit world.”
Although Wayne said she loves to travel and help others, her true passion is entrepreneurship, and soon the north coast and its emerging legal cannabis industry was calling her home to Humboldt.
The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, as Wayne’s mother is an herbalist, and she was already familiar with the healing power of plants.
“I believe we are moving into a space where alternative and eastern methods of healing are more common and acceptable,” she continued. “I see it as a very important for my cannabis business to focus on natural, organic, and wholesome products and ethos.”
Utilizing the natural healing properties of cannabis and other beneficial essential oils; with a line of Vegan and organic-based products, Wayne feels her customers are receiving the most effective and safe remedies for real healing.
Wayne now has her own line of topical products with simple, but impressive packaging that include lotions, oils, bath salts, and massage oil.
“Humboldt County is a great place to have a cannabis business,” she said. “Farmers and legal representatives in this community are very proactive when it comes to protecting small cannabis farmers and manufactures – helping ease the transition into legalization.”
Wayne isn’t your typical cannabis patient, as she doesn’t smoke or ingest. Her own pain issues are mostly in her lower back. The reasons for her pain are are private, but topicals play a huge role. Wayne said her own self-care was definitely a major factor in choosing what products to develop.
“When assessing what products I thought were missing from the market, I turned towards the natural skin care market – which is expanding just as quickly as the cannabis industry,” she said. “There was a big gap in the market for cannabis-scent-free products. The type of cannabis material I infuse into my own products, mixed with essential oils, leaves little to no residual cannabis scent, setting my line apart from many other topical brands.”
The proof is in the mix, as they say, and Humble Flower Co. customers are pleased with the outcome.
“Not only do these products smell incredible, they they’re also very effective!” Humboldt resident Alexandra Grayling shared. “The salve in particular helps to soothe body aches I can’t massage or stretch out, and the jasmine lotion does wonders to relax me from head to toe. You can really tell how much love and care goes into these products and it feels great to be using something so wholesomely produced.”
Humble Flower Co. products can currently be found in dispensaries in Humboldt County, but will soon have a wider distribution throughout the state.
For more information visit, www.humbleflowerco.com or visit its Facebook and Instagram page @humbleflowerco
Ellen Markham
Honey Bee Buzzed
Boston native Ellen Markham split her time between Portland, Oregon and Humboldt County in Northern California, before making Humboldt home.
“Humboldt is where I feel the most at home,” she said from her home overlooking the ocean in northern Humboldt. “I want to grow my business here.”
Like many medicine makers using cannabis today, Markham said she began making products for herself.
“I initially treated my own arthritis, pain from old injuries, and autoimmune disease with cannabis products made at home,” she shared. “But most of my professional career has been in the natural products industry as an educator and sales manager.”
Markham said she has always had a passion for plant-based medicines and natural approaches to good health, working first in the mainstream topical industry for companies such as ProGest, Frontier/Aura Cacia, and Spectrum Organics.
“My years of working for manufacturers of topical hormone creams provided me with the knowledge base to create my own cannabis infused products,” she explained. “The burgeoning cannabis industry is similar to the early days of the natural products industry, in so many ways.”
The similarities in the natural products industries and the cannabis space are strikingly similar, in that plant propaganda exists, with consumers confused as to what works. This writer’s own mother used white distilled vinegar to clean windows until the industrial revolution added synthetics to the mix.
To site history, when the Clean Air and Water Acts were implemented in the U.S. in 1973 and 1974, respectively, manufacturers were forced to change their formulations with much hesitation. For example, the popular window spray, Windex, created a more green mix, safer for the environment, but the cleaning products companies had already done a great job marketing synthetic solutions to the point the average consumer didn’t believe natural formulations would work.
Today it’s a different story, and cannabis patients and their medicine makers have ironically opened the door, once again, for natural remedies to be accepted.
Committed to using healthy, natural and organic ingredients whenever possible, Markham said she has always thought of cannabis as medicine, despite the rhetoric of the past.
“I’ve been interested in higher CBD strains of cannabis for some time now,” she said. “Currently, I serve on the Board of the Lost Coast Botanicals Cooperative, a Southern Humboldt cooperative, dedicated to providing high quality, organically grown high CBD plants and medicine.”
The name of her company, Honey Bee Buzzed, isn’t about getting high, as the slang would suggest, as Markham actually became a serious bee keeper five years ago.
“I became a member of the Humboldt County Beekeepers Association five years ago, after moving my bees from Portland to Humboldt – in the back seat of my little sedan, I might add,” she laughed. “One of the many reasons I’m committed to using clean, organic ingredients – with no pesticides – is for the sake of the bees. They are responsible for pollinating such a huge percentage of the food we eat and their populations are dwindling.”
Increasing awareness of the plight of the honey bees and other pollinators is important to Markham.
“Raw honey’s anti-viral and anti-microbial properties are just some of these health benefits,” she added. “I use raw honey and beeswax in my products – the raw beeswax still has bits of propelis and pollin in it, and are highly beneficial – without the cannabis added. Add cannabis and you have a truly medicinal product.”
Currently her Honey Bee Buzzed honey/cannabis infused product line includes infused honey, a eucalyptus and lavender infused bath salt soak (that is divine); orange mint and grapefruit lip balms; a massage bar molded with a lovely bee comb design; pain salve and tinctures. Other products in the making include low-dose CBD edibles – with honey added, of course.
California is still historic as being the first legal state for cannabis as medicine, since 1996. Markham’s products can be found in medical dispensaries throughout the State. If you are lucky enough to visit Humboldt County at the top of the State, visit The Heart of Humboldt or the Humboldt Patient Resource Center (HPRC) in Arcata for her products.
With California now empowered with its own medical regulations in place via the Medical Marijuana Regulation & Safety Act (MMRSA), and the State now legal for recreational weed - thanks to sole funder Sean Parker (Napster) and his Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) - Markham believes it’s a game changer.
“I share many of the concerns that other have about big business coming in and taking over the market, but right now I’m focusing on becoming compliant and getting the proper permits to operate under MMRSA,” she informed. “Humboldt is not only known for great cannabis, it’s also known for promoting healthy, handcrafted, boutique products from the garden. There will always be a place for small, niche manufacturers.”
Markham said she feels fortunate to be involved with a group of female cannabis professionals in Humboldt, planning for the future together.
“We are in the process of planning a community kitchen,” she explained. “It will be a space for women-owned businesses in Humboldt County, so that we can build a sustainable future in the cannabis-infused product marketplace.”
With women historically in the kitchen practicing apothecary, the future looks like a healthy shade of green for Humboldt medicine makers – and the people they help.
For more information on Honey Bee Buzzed products, visit www.honeybeebuzzed.com or www.getsava.com for orders in California only.
Dr. William Courtney
AC/DC: Alternative Cannabinoid Dietary Cannabis
Author’s Note: This profile also ran in series, Higher Profile, for High Times.
When the cultivar AC/DC first hit the market many supposed it was a tribute to the 70s rock band or the infamous scientist who first discovered the electrical current, Nikola Tesla.
But, it was actually Northern California physician, Dr. William Courtney, formerly based in Mendocino County, who created the cultivar with a high cannabindiol or CBD content, specifically for juicing leaf.
Dr. Courtney’s education began at the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology. He then earned a Doctorate in Medicine from Wayne State University, interning for his Residency in Psychiatry at California Pacific Medical Center. He’s currently a member of the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine, the International Cannabinoid Research Society, the international Association of Cannabis as Medicine, and the Society of Clinical Cannabis. He also teaches Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses in clinical cannabis.
Known for advocating for juicing the fan leaf as a dietary supplement, Dr. Courtney helped put his now wife Kourtney’s Lupus into remission after she traveled to California to be helped by him. Kourtney was told she’d never have children, but ended up marrying the good doctor and they proceeded to have three children together.
He next made headlines in 2013 when he crossed over from the non-psychoactive delivery of juicing leaf, to the high tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, concentrate of cannabis oil, successfully helping to put an eight month old infant’s brain tumor into remission.
The Father of AC/DC
Dr. Courtney is the father of AC/DC, creating the cultivar from Cannatonic seeds acquired during a visit to Barcelona, Spain from Resin Seeds.
As detailed in the New Settler Newsletter (Autumn 2011) Courtney’s trip was purposeful, as he is known for being on the lookout for high CBD strains.
“We gave some presentations while there,” Courtney was quoted. “But, the primary goal was to find more board prolific genetics.”
The story includes hash making locals and weed-eating goats, but Courtney brought the seeds home, potted them up and the rest, as they say, is history.
According to Leafly.com highlights of AC/DC are it is a sativa-dominant phenotype of the high CBD cannabis strain, Cannatonic, with a ration of 1:20, or one part THC to 20 parts CBD. In fact, the CBD often tests highest than others at upwards of 19 percent, with no psychoactive properties to speak of.
There is actually no compound within the plant called THC. In its raw form the compound is called THCA, and doesn’t become the psychoactive compound of THC until heated. Like its sister compound, THC, THCA has anti-inflammatory properties, with many neuroprotectant properties, promoting brain function health. It’s also been sited with slowing the growth of certain types of cancer cells.
“If you don’t heat marijuana, you can go up to five or six hundred milligrams and use the plant strictly as a dietary supplement by upping the anti-oxidant and neuro-protective levels which come into play at hundreds of milligrams of CBDA and THCA,” he explained. “It is this dramatic increase in dose from 10 milligrams of psychoactive THC to the 500 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams of non-psychoactive THCA, CBDA, and CBGA that comprises the primary difference between traditional medical marijuana treatments and using cannabis as a dietary supplement.”
In other words, juicing allows the patient to get the maximum whole plant compounds without the high. Aside from using a juicing machine, a handful of leaves can also be added to a blender with other fruits to make a beneficial smoothie.
Alternative Cannabinoid Dietary Cannabis
Cultivar names can be vulgar, are often silly, or plagiaristic, but when Dr. Courtney thought up AC/DC, it was nothing short of meaningful – with humor thrown in for good measure.
From a hand written note, Dr. Courtney penned:
The strain of plants we have recently identified I’m now calling ‘Alternative Cannabinoid Dietary Cannabis’ – that’s AC/DC.
The name, in part, was selected because of the humorous nature of cannabis strains.
In this case, the humor is: If you heat the plant, you will decarboxylate THC-acid and you will get high, you will get your 10 milligrams. If you don’t heat it, you can go up to five or six hundred milligrams and use it as a dietary cannabis. – Dr. Wm Courtney
The Beneficial Living Center: Humboldt’s One Stop Garden Shop
A Garden of Goodness Under one Roof
Imagine a world where indoor gardeners are environmentally sound, using natural, biologically safe products, with waste reduction a common goal, and happy plants produce in abundance, nurturing body and soul. Such a place does exist in Humboldt County, at The Beneficial Living Center in the progressive town of Arcata - otherwise known as “60s By the Sea.”
The atmosphere at the Center is laid-back and friendly. General Manager Luke Besmer takes a break, strumming his guitar in the big, sunny main room, surrounded by a jungle of healthy, thriving plants, while customers come and go with equipment, hemp clothing, and bulk containers of compost tea, bat guano, and other life-giving nutrients.
Don’t let the idyllic atmosphere fool you, though, for the Center is serious about the way they garden, and dead set on making an environmental difference in the way others tend theirs - a tall order to fill in the oftentimes covert world of indoor gardening.
“The elephant in the room with indoor gardening is… the elephant-sized piles of spent equipment and containers that litter our garages, spare rooms, spare houses, and storage units,” Besmer explained.
This amount of waste in an industry that is inherently green, Besmer agrees is, “… thoroughly not cool.” But, due to varying climates, gardening indoors is often the only reasonable option. The challenge lies in what to do with all the waste that accumulates.
One simple solution they employ is to provide refillable containers with bulk matter, nutrients for example. In addition, Beneficial Living Center believes in re-using indoor equipment (lights, ballasts, trays, fans, etc.) via consignment and resale, offering these at less than new prices.
They also take customers to more complex understandings of growing. “At the Center, we encourage the most efficient use of materials, products, and electricity,” he emphasized. “We teach people how to re-vitalize and reuse their soil; we advocate for the integrated use of super-efficient plasma lighting; and we give our customers compost tea credit for bringing in used gallon containers.”
Compost tea in reusable containers is where it all began, with Co-founder Seth Geddes', “Beneficial Tea Company,” and the promise of a greener future in a co-operative environment.
The philosophy continues at the center with the way plants are grown and what is used to boost their productivity without putting a strain on the world's eco-system.
“Conventional agriculture has promoted a gardening paradigm based on microbial sterility and applications of intense, man-made chemicals,” Besmer said. “This unnatural regimen is entirely counter-productive when it comes to growing a truly healthy plant that expresses its phenotypic potential in full and total glory.”
Biologically based fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides, Besmer said, work with nature rather than against it.
“Mother Nature has already developed the most efficient gardening tools, now it’s just a matter of learning how to properly use them,” he continued. “For example, the bacteria in one of our products, Sea Green, contain microbes that have been cultured in such a way that promotes that profilteration of salt - fertilizer salt, that is – eating bacteria. By using these bacteria in your garden, engineered entirely by Mamma Nature, nutrient uptake is mitigated in a way that is both natural and extremely efficient.”
The feeling of the center is one of a co-op, where many garden entities have come together under one roof for the greater good.
“Seeds for Life,” a living seed bank created to conserve and regenerate bioregional seed diversity makes its home at the Center, discouraging the mono-culture found in large-scale agriculture.
Demonstration areas are set-up throughout with vegetables growing via several hydro-options, including an in-house Aquaponic System by local company, “Grow it Right Aquaponics,” where fish and plants live and work together.
“We feed the fish, the fish feed the plants, and the plants clean the water,” Besmer said. “The fish waste is converted via bacteria into nitrates for the plants to uptake. It’s nature working with nature at its finest.”
The aqua bed is about the size of a twin bunk bed, with lettuce thriving under lights above, and colorful Koi fish living in the water below. A truly organic set-up and reflection of the how close we are to the cycle of life around us, with the fish more than willing to provide.
Nutrients from the sea are a growing trend in the world of gardening, and another local company making its home at the center is “Eco-Nutrients,” with fish, crab, and kelp the main ingredients for all its products. Company founder Kirk Sparks said the fish and kelp live their entire life in a cold bath of 92 minerals, otherwise known as the Pacific Ocean, “maximizing mineral retention.”
Formerly a commercial fisherman, Sparks said harvesting kelp from the sea in his fishing boat is a natural, and he’s making a difference for the environment in the process.
“In 1993 the Water Quality Control Board was threatening to close one of our landfills,” he said. “By using fish and crab remains from local fisheries in our nutrients, we were able to reduce landfill by 50 percent. “I always say, this is the best job I’ve ever had, because it’s positive, and does no harm.”
Doing no harm is a loud message at the center, and workshops are key in bringing the gardening community together for the common goal. Recently, a testing workshop was conducted by “Humboldt Analytics,” a local company, bringing a combined 30 years of experience to the table in indoor and outdoor gardening - testing plant matter, water, and soil for the indoor and outdoor gardener.
In Humboldt County the outdoor gardener has environmental challenges, such as the leftover remains of the timber industry, but the indoor gardener is equally challenged, and finding the right blend of light, soil, and water is everything in ensuring a healthy, safe, and prosperous crop.
Katie Couch and Brad Crafton are Co-Owners of “Humboldt Analytics,” and recently sponsored a Testing 101 workshop at the center. Couch said it’s time to step up and get in line with the big boys.
“All major agricultural industries use analytical services to protect their time, investments, and their valued customers,” Couch said. “With all the varieties of crops being grown, there needs to be a standard, or way to quantify the work being done. No one can afford an unsuccessful garden, and we believe it begins with the soil.”
Workshops are popular at the center and large room filled up quickly. A packet filled with more information than the average domestic gardener will see in their lifetime is handed out by Crafton. The packet contains charts, graphs, and everything there is to know about soil, media, compost, plant tissue, nutrients, potency and screening for safety and productivity.
Crafton begins to talk about biologics and how they work with nature. He is smart, but the gardeners in this room are wicked smart. If you ever wonder where the Sci-Fi Channel found the inspiration for the series, “Eureka,” this room could have easily fit the bill, as the gardeners pontificating here are Master Gardeners, horticulturists, at best - with the knowledge of scientists and biologists.
“You can’t fool this group,” Crafton said at the workshop’s end. “Some of them have been gardening for decades, this is their life, their livelihood, and they know their stuff. We have to keep on top of the latest and the best practices and products to keep up with their needs.”
Outside, the sun is shining on the vegetables growing in experimental containers, made of pallets, stuffed with hay. A rain gutter has been redirected into a large cistern at the side of the building, and Besmer fills up a bucket with water, hydrating tomatoes, squash, and a plethora of healthy vegetables.
Across the street is the historic and environmentally famous Arcata Marsh – a natural wildlife habitat that doubles as the city’s waste management system. When it was created it was the first in this Country, cycling out waste with the tides. That’s apropos for the Center that makes its difference within the ever-changing climate of indoor gardening.
The Beneficial Living Center is located at 148 South G Street in Arcata, California, located at the top of the State in Humboldt County. For more information visit its Web site, ww.beneficialbiologics.com, or call (707) 633-6125.