Hempfest 2013 - Saturday

What a happy place! I've never seen so many smiling faces in one place, ever. We couldn't have had a better time. We walked down to Seeley and listened to Tribal Voices. They said they've been opening Hempfest on Saturday for the last 17 years.

Jerry and Jorge Cervantes

Tribal Voices

We listened to great panels in the Hemposium. I got a picture of Jerry meeting Jorge Cervantes after the panel on growing. What a nice man! And so very knowledgeable about growing cannabis. 

We had a wonderful conversation with a lovely Tibetan man who also attended His Holiness the Dalai Lama's lecture in May. We each shared our impressions of His Holiness and agreed that we each left the lecture changed somehow. The feeling we experienced has continued to stay with each of us. I felt elevated just speaking with him. It was a lovely way to begin the day. 

Cannabis Lawyer panel

The panels were great. First up..the cannabis lawyers. I love those guys. They don't mince words and are extremely helpful. There was a Knowledge Tent in front of Hemposium and after each panel finished, they went out to the tent to answer questions. The Know Your Rights panel was comprised of Aaron Pelley, Jeff Steinborn, Kurt Boehl, and Douglas Hiatt. The consensus of opinion of the panel was to remain silent - cooperative - but silent when contacted by the police. Steinborn's basic premise was to break only one law at a time. It was fascinating to listen to these guys. 

Medical Benefits of Cannabis panel

The doctors were next. Dr. David Bearman, Dr. Jake Felice, Dr, David Ostrow, and Dr. William Courtney. They covered several issues, but the one that kept coming up was the efficacy of higher CBD varieties in treating basically everything. Breeding higher CBD varieties as opposed to higher THC varieties produce plants with less psychoactive ability than their typical counterparts. Dr. Felice uses cannabis in his medical practice and discussed that various CBD components are effective in the treatment of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, inflammatory conditions, immune system problems, anxiety and yes, more. Dr. Courtney stressed the importance of daily raw ingestion of cannabis for everyone, including children. He recommended that the leaf not be harvested after the third month as its potency declines after that. He spoke about CBD Acid, which he called a stunning gift. He noted that in a study done with mice, researchers saw a drop in diabetes from 86% to 28% with the introduction of cannabidiol. It helped with optic neuropathy and insulin resistance. It's effective in both prevention and in repairing the damage that results. Dr. Bearman spoke about cardiac patients who experience 30 point drop in the blood pressure when on cannabis. This was an unbelievably important panel discussion. This is the kind of information people need to illustrate what a incredibly healing plant this is and how ridiculous our government's stance is on it. For the love of God, cannabis cures cancer. It controls severe epilepsy. It connects autistic children with their families. It saves childrens' lives. We need this kind of honest conversation. We need these facts.

Growing medicine panel

The next panel we heard were the growers. Okay, we tend to worship these people. Jorge Cervantes was on the panel, as was Josh Rettie, Stinkbud, and DJ Short. Jorge is Jorge - enough said there. Josh Rettie, I believe, is from Washington. Stinkbud has a medical cooperative and does some cool stuff with aeroponic growing. In response to a question on light time for flowering, DJ Short shared a great tip. He recommended 11 hours on, 13 off. This produces more bud than the traditional 12/12 configuration. He also recommended switching that 13 on/11 off for veg. They talked about not keeping mother plants around too long, which is true. They lose their vigor after a while. It's better to rotate them out. Stinkbud indicated that his yields with hydro are far greater, but that there's nothing like growing in soil, particularly outside. Jorge felt that greenhouses were useful as well, especially when considering protection of the plants.

I have to say, I wasn't sure I wanted to return this year to Hempfest. Last year was hot and I got a blister on the bottom of my foot..the first day. It was horrible. But I persevered. And in view of the successful legalization efforts last year in Washington, I thought it would be fun. And it has been. Oregon just legalized dispensaries. We've already rescheduled it to a 2. Sure would be nice if we'd legalize it completely. 

Instead of Hempfest, it should have been called LoveFest, because love for this plant was everywhere. Or I was high. In any event, have a happy, hempy day!