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Academy of Cannabis Culture Opening In Seattle

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 1, 2011 Culture, Growing, Products

A new institution of higher learning is opening in Seattle. The Academy of Cannabis Culture and Technology is scheduled to officially open on September 7.

ACCTech plans to offer courses and seminars on Washington’s medical marijuana laws, as well as a range of classes providing patients with professional instruction on cultivating their own medicine and cooking with cannabis.

The Academy didn’t waste any time getting things started — it’s already held its first seminar before officially opening its doors. On August 27, Seattle attorney Kurt Boehl educated medical marijuana patients on how to comply with Washington state’s complex medical marijuana laws.

Cheeba.com Offers Marijuana-Based Search Engine, Ads

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2011 Products

Graphic: Cheeba.com

They’re calling it the industry’s very first marijuana-based search engine.

Companies looking to target America’s multi-billion dollar marijuana industry have often had a hard time reaching potential customers online, because ad networks like Google AdSense and Facebook have been none too cannabis-friendly.

The big guys have arbitrarily removed ads for supposedly “promoting drug use” or just for featuring an innocent little pot leaf.

Enter Cheeba.com, the latest push from the Medical Cannabis Network (MCN), a marijuana-based search engine which, according to the company, “creates online advertising opportunities never seen before for marijuana-related businesses.

“While ad networks like Google AdSense seem to flat out ban companies from reaching out [to]the cannabis community, Cheeba is stepping in to give the green light for 420-friendly online advertising,” the company said in a Monday press release.

Facebook Makes Teens Smoke Weed, Addiction Center Claims

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 26, 2011 Culture, News, Products

Photo: Kush Weed

Did Facebook make them do it?

In the ever-popular game of “blame the messenger,” a new study claims that teens who regularly use Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other online social networks are much more likely to drink, smoke and use marijuana.

Supposedly, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace encourage them to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. Meanwhile, the reality show “Jersey Shore” can inspire them to try prescription drugs. All this, that is, if you believe a questionable new study about the use and influence of online social networks.

The National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI has been conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), reports the Secaucus New Jersey News.

Growing Marijuana: Yes, There’s Room For Another Grow Book

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 24, 2011 Growing, Products

Photo: Mobipocket

Tommy McCarthy’s “Growing Marijuana” isn’t just an instruction book — it’s a celebration.

If you’re entering the increasingly crowded market of marijuana grow books, you’d better be good. There’s a plethora of cultivation guides available, from some of the biggest names in cannabis culture, and if you don’t want to get lost in the crowd you’ve got to shine.

Shine is exactly what outdoorsman Tommy McCarthy does in his book Growing Marijuana: How To Plant, Cultivate, And Harvest Your Own Weed. If I’m going to be taking cultivation advice from someone, I want that they should be as passionate about pot as am I, and McCarthy bountifully proves himself in this delightful book.

“…[P]lants your pot garden produces with seeds culled from a bag of street marijuana may vary noticeably because the plants they came from were of different species and strains,” McCarthy writes. “I actually kind of like this grab bag of mixed greens, because you never know when you’re planting just what will come up — as I stated at the beginning of this book, personal-use growing should be fun.”

Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal Leading Grow Class Wed. Night

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 24, 2011 Growing, Products

Photo: Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal at Hempfest last weekend. Ed will be leading a medical cannabis cultivation seminar tonight (Wednesday, August 24) in Seattle.

Ed Rosenthal, the Guru of Ganja and author of The Marijuana Grower’s Handbook, the official course book for Oaksterdam University, will lead a ganja growing seminar tonight in Seattle.

The indoor medical cannabis cultivation seminar, presented by Northern Waters Patients Network, will benefit the Seattle-based Cannabis Defense Coalition.

Attend this class and learn the terminology of the indoor gardener: seed germination, clones and cloning, hydro, N-P-K balance, pH, light cycles, begging, flowering, pruning and trichomes are just a few of the terms you’ll be using correctly after a session with Ed.

Rosethal will present a comprehensive overview of cultivation. Gardeners at all levels, new or advanced, will find tips and techniques to save time, labor and energy. The seminar will include Q&A time with “Ask Ed.”

Rosenthal starts at the basics and takes you through the entire process of how to grow a personal indoor garden — with little or no experience required. You will learn what equipment to use, how to care for plants, the different stages of plant growth, and how to harvest beautiful buds.

What Do You Look For In A Medical Marijuana Dispensary?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 23, 2011 Dispensaries, Products

Graphic: Dispensary Business News

What do you look for when choosing a medical marijuana dispensary?

If you live in one of the 16 states where medicinal cannabis is legal, Dispensary Business News is interested in how you select a shop. Is it price? Location? Ambience? Selection? Specific strains? (If your state doesn’t yet allow medical marijuana, keep working until they do.)

This is a good way for you to help keep the best dispensaries in business, and give new ones a fighting chance to win your business.

Seattle Hempfest Photos: Sunday (Day 3)

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 23, 2011 Culture, Products

All photos by Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Seattle Hempfest, the world’s biggest and best cannabis protestival, for the first time ever ran three days this year.

We’ve already given Toke of the Town readers a look at the first two days of Hempfest — now here are photos from Sunday, Day 3 of the event. Enjoy!

A NORML Life: Cannabis Documentary Is Top Notch

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 22, 2011 Culture, Products

Photo: Cinema Libre Studios

Director Rod Pitman’s just-released cannabis documentary, A NORML Life, goes beyond the recitation of facts and figures to capture the beating heart of the legalization movement, in all its passion, its commitment and its excitement.

It’s an extraordinary job by Pitman, producer Doug Ross and a rich cast of cannabis characters including Seattle Hempfest founder Vivian McPeak (who, near the beginning of the show, rightly says America’s marijuana laws are “fixing a problem that never existed,”), and it wastes no time in going for the emotional resonance which is the reason many of us are involved in this movement.

The documentary, which compellingly tells the proud story of advocates fighting for the legalization of marijuana, was released by Cinema Libre Studios on DVD last week. The film presents a strong case that the use of medical marijuana is effective, and that it is a safe alternative to pharmaceutical medicines.

Seattle Hempfest 2011 In Photos: Friday and Saturday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 21, 2011 Culture, Products

All photos by Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ unless otherwise noted

Hempfest 2011, the biggest ever (as in, for the first time ever, three days, man) is still happening at Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle until 10 p.m. Sunday night. The first two days saw plenty of memorable moments.

For me, speaking for the first time from the Share Parker Memorial Main Stage on Friday was a sure enough rush. Looking out, seeing and hearing that many cheering, happy people was definitely one of the high points of my weekend — and one that I was able to replicate again on Saturday from the Seeley Memorial Stage, where I spoke just before 4:20 and got back up onstage with a big crowd of folks at the magic moment.

Here are some of the best photos from this weekend to remember.

Find The Right Marijuana Strain For You At Leafly.com

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, Products

Graphic: Leafly.com

Leafly helps you make sense of the plethora of medical marijuana strains available.

Leafly.com, online for just over a year now, is a powerful resource which can help medical marijuana patients find the strains which work best for them. Since its debut in June 2010, patients have used the site to explore the dispensary options available and to match strains with symptoms.

When I entered one of my favorite strains, Afgoo, Leafly told me the effects, medical uses, and where I could find it, listing five dispensaries from 10 to 35 miles away.

Toke of the Town had a chance to chat with Mike Juberg, on the sales team at Leafly.com, about what the site has to offer.

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