215 Gatherings

[Drunk Monk]

Deep Green @ Craneway Pavilion 4/23/11

4 shows in 5 days. Wow. Just like when I was young.

This was a great show but I'm still recovering from it so I'll tell you more later. Soon come...

[Drunk Monk]

DG was at the Craneway Pavilion, a refurbished warehouse in Richmond just before the bridge, part of Richmond's revitalization project. It has gorgeous views of the Bay and dm wished he made it there before sundown. Easy highway access, plenty of parking and out in the middle of nowhere. Very nice. When dm got there, a newbie that dm has been watching wondering if it would be worth it to take him under wing quickly scooped up dm as the main common ground between dm & newbie (apart from being asian) is mmed cards. He got dm wristbanded and took him immediately to the vapor room.

So here's the scene. It's a huge warehouse with a stage on one end and a dancehall dome on the other, and tons of booths all about mmeds - hemp clothes, food, club showcases, all sorts of ridiculous stuff. Dr. Bronner's soap had a major booth. There were talks during the day from Ed Rosenthal (pot guru), Mountain Girl, John Barlow (Dead lyricist and web activist - was quoted a lot with the wikileaks scandal), and many more. Dm is sorry he missed the talks as they seemed thought provoking, or at least kind of funny. Right smack in the center was the tasting dome, which was three guys with volcano vapes, serving up bags of freshly vaped strain of the hour - or several hours - for free. All you had to do was stand in line, and the lines weren't that long and a very entertaining crowd. Most of the night was dominated by All Star Jack Frost, which is allegedly a top shelf strain, although Dm wasn't sensitive to that as when vaping, well, it's not as tasty as smmoking. The headliner was one of Dm's fave bands, Heavyweight Dub Champion, which is sort of a dystopian rasta trip, but it wasn't all of them and they were fronted by some hippie chick rappers, Sasha Rose and some others. When the hippie chicks got on stage there was such horrible loud feedback that dm had to leave. Before that, HDC was enjoyable, but dm didn't really tune in much after that.

Dm found himself stumbling from the booths to the vape room to the stage to the vape room, to the dancehall dome to the vape room. What a party. Hope it becomes an annual event.

[Drunk Monk]

JAH BLESS OAKSTERDAM

Oakland to host nation's 1st marijuana street fair
Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 2, 2011

Oakland -- Oakland has stayed at the forefront of the cannabis legalization movement, with advocates and city government working hand in hand for more than 15 years.

Now, folks will finally get the chance to light up outside City Hall. Legally, that is.

A cannabis street fair touted as the first in the nation is set for this weekend, featuring speakers, music, booths and vendors. But perhaps the most unusual attraction will be the "215 area," a designated spot directly in front of City Hall where those with a valid medical cannabis card will be able to ingest, smoke or vaporize their pot. There will be devices to help folks make their own hash, a marijuana derivative. The open-air lounge, so to speak, is believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

The "215" in the name is a reference to Proposition 215, the 1996 state ballot measure that legalized personal use of medical marijuana.

"Patients need to take their medicine when they need to," said Kim Cue, a Berkeley resident who is chief executive of the International Cannabis & Hemp Expo, which starts Saturday at noon. "Being a patient myself, that's something that's mandatory."

In the years since voters approved Prop. 215, Oakland has increasingly found itself at the forefront of a fight to test the limits of the law. The city is believed by Oakland's elected officials and cannabis activists to be the first in the nation to license dispensaries. A battle with the federal government involving an early cannabis-buying cooperative in Oakland went to the Supreme Court in 2001 - which the dispensary lost. City voters in 2004 passed Measure Z, making possession of small amounts of pot the lowest priority for police. Underground pot clubs have been operating ever since. In 2009, Oakland voters passed a measure to tax and regulate cannabis businesses - the first such tax in the country.

The city also has an array of cannabis-related businesses, particularly in a section of downtown known as Oaksterdam. The city's pot identity is something the expo's promoters, as well as locals, want to tout.

"Oakland needs to be the tourist destination for cannabis," said Salwa Ibrahim, who handles government relations for Oaksterdam University, which trains students for the industry. "We felt like a street fair for the cannabis industry would help solidify that."

The university alone has some 2,000 students a year, more than half of whom come from out of state. The cannabis expo has been held the past two years at the Cow Palace, but a state moratorium on drug use in state facilities nixed a return, Cue said.

Oakland's two-day event will close off the area bounded by Broadway, Clay Street, 14th Street and 16th Street, including Frank Ogawa Plaza. Only adults will be allowed inside, and there will be a single point of entry, Ibrahim said. Tickets start at $20. Organizers expect at least 20,000 people.

For Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University and the owner of one of the city's four dispensaries, the street fair represents a bit of a milestone.

From a time when marijuana use was on the fringe of society just a decade ago, it's moved to the mainstream. Politicians no longer fear being associated with it.

"It shows that Oakland sees that cannabis can be taxed and regulated and incorporated into the rest of society," Lee said. "We're just one of many battlegrounds in a very big war."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...1KRCA5.DTL

[Drunk Monk]

So, at Lil Wayne, which I went to on a complete lark, I was informed by our booking person that I was the only one booked for Saturday's event, along with a +1, a kung fu sista (US national wushu team member actually - she's going to Turkey to compete in worlds in a month) who just got her EMT. I took her to the Comedy Jam and I'm proctoring her into RM. The shift was 9:30AM to 8PM, and she could only be there until 1:30. I called in some favors from the JNK (jedi nite krew) and got three other vols - two by 1:45 and the last one right at 4:20.

So the deal was this - it was $20 to get in. There was no buying or selling of anything medicinal, but all the major local clubs were represented, so if you wished, you could just walk a block outside the event and pick up meds. There was a premium $300 VIP ticket which gave you a big box of samples. A 215 card + photo ID got you a bracelet which permitted you to medicate anywhere but on the grass (big sign - no grass on the grass) and the VIP lounge, the most pleasant place for medicating, which was tables and some nice chairs, plus a DJ, was right alongside city hall. There were a ton of booths, mostly clubs, but also a mobile grow room set up (in a cargo truck), hemp oil for wood finishing (a deck sealant), evaluations, resources, a cool booth of antique cann apothecary bottles - even my lawyer was there. He did our trust & will, but he said that market tanked with the economy a few years ago, so now he's defending 215 cases - 'largest growing market in CA,' he said. He went from a small east bay office, to 3 now, one in the heart of downtown Oaksterdam and another at a 420 address. There were live bands, speaker panels (heard some funny stuff about Wilfred), a pounding Jamaican style soundsystem thoring some heavy dub and roots (we were at just the right spot - a block away - where the mix settled; any closer and your eyeball humor vibrated too much to see straight). There were rolling contests - how many js can you roll in 4 min 20 sec? The Js had to meet standard requirements for weight and smokability - there were contests going all day - competitors entered with a donation to a cancer group and I'm not sure what they won - bragging rights maybe. Most of the winners were coming it at a baker's dozen +. It was hilarious to watch.

There wasn't any RM action. Mostly gave out knuckle bandaids (what is it with stoners and busted knuckles?) Also spent a lot of time explaining that we were not medical evaluators or suppliers of medical goods, but the real medical with sunscreen, ibuprofen and knuckle bandaids.

Overall, there was this absurdity to the event, as it was really just a show of the power of 215 in Oaksterdam. An open-air smokefest on the steps of city hall? What other city has that kind of balls? Oakland is a ghetto steeping the a cesspool of poverty and violence. The 215 industry is good business for them and after staging an event like this, they've demonstrated they have it together. But the absurdity was constant - Dm and his crew, who, accept for the new EMT, are all 215 positive, and there were many giggles and shaking of heads with the blatant use - so IRIE!

I was honored to be present for such a historic event.

[Drunk Monk]

Guess where DM is for 4/20? In sacto for the high times cannabis cup with JAH med. it’s a new gig for JM - 20 person crew, 2 days, hotel included. Dm hasn’t really indulged since dec. after several shots Redbreast> jaymo> some gawdawful honey bourbon from the roommate> intense port (not in a good way) nice buzz, even a few laff jags but now dm is tweaking. His roommate passed out on the clicker, leaving the tv on. Dm should have brought sedatives and forgot his pjs. 

3.5 hours from Fremont to sacto which only a little over 100 Miles. Holiday traffic. Had the iPhone in the charger the whole way only to discover that it wasn’t working 20 mins out and that was the only directions. But dm made it with 4% power left.

---

Tweakin sux man

[Greg]

Wu-Hoo!

Did you mean you wanted to forget your PJs? Punctuation and grammar are tricky.

[Drunk Monk]

Punctuation and grammar are tricky.

Especially when tweakin

That may have been a Freudian slip...

[Drunk Monk]

High Times Cannabis Cup 4/20
A new venture for JAH Med. We have a new bright uniform jMed (the JAH has been impeding opportunities - ironic because JAH rules here). They are recycle bin blue - really bright for the earth tone, thug & day glo fashion here, but a good show of face. 

We have a tight crew or 20 with 6 jnk. Yesterday was super windy and cold. I packed for heat. HT took great care of us with nice all access laminates, decent lunch & dinner, and good facilities. Yesterday was mellow. Pot festivals are mellow.

First night spent with the goodness, a fine partner in crime. We had an amazing breakfast at bacon & butter. I had the grilled cheese Benedict and he had the carnitas & waffles. 

The vendors were hysterical - the pot scene is so insane now. The music sucked. Doors were at 12 - music didn’t start until 5:30 and ended early before 10. They blew 4:20 - announced it too early and the launched into the ‘power hour’ where some storytellers invited everyone to join them toking every minute for the hour but then talked about some dude who drinks his urine through his nose (complete with photos) and that was a buzzkill.

Day 2 - today - is Easter. Better acts but a shorter day - ends at 8. Most of my jnk bail at 2. I’ll see it thru. Someone has to and I’m enjoying the break from the real world here in canna land

[Drunk Monk]

That was irie

Back in svale for the night. Big gear change for tomorrow.

[Drunk Monk]

Let's see, what to mention.  Horse cock dildos? Passing out on the clicker? Strange bedfellows?  Cop response vehicle? 

Let's just say the pot scene continues to be beyond DM's wildest imagination.  It's just insane.  Canna fashion is still edgy - sure, there are a lot of fails, but that happens on the edge.  It's easy to get cut. But in terms of new color schemes and T-shirt tech (like foils and day glows) they're still ahead of the pack.  They got bank now.  The tech and quality of presentation is impressive.  

The music sucked.  Saturday's line-up was painful.  Sunday's line-up featured Afroman (kinda funny) Too $hort (amazed he's still alive - didn't really tune in tho) and Schoolboy Q (seen before, about the same).  It wasn't about the music at all.  It was about the vendors.  Embarrassingly, HT had a major fail when all the ATMs were drained by Saturday eve.  Sunday must have sucked for the cannabiz.

[Greg]

Afroman? Did he have more than the one song? Or is that all he needed?

[Drunk Monk]

I dunno really.  I only heard one song.  Maybe that's all there was.

[Drunk Monk]

I had been asked to put together a crew for this - to reunite the Jedi Bunny Krew.  But I already knew it was going to fail.  That was only a few months ago.  JM was all in a tizzy.  Should we do it?  How should we respond?  Being Sagacious G, I said 'be patient, they will fold'.  JM was all 'but, but, but...'  

Obvs they folded. That was such a no-brainer call. JM has a Zoom meeting this week do discuss all the fests that we are not doing. There's one in July, Northern Nights, that's a big EDM that I've never done next to the RotR site. JM is all in a tizzy. Should we do it? How should we respond? 

[Drunk Monk]

ttt 4 2021

In the wake of the aforementioned High Times gatherings, a new player emerged over the last few months - Canna Bless Fest. It was slated for the same weekend as BottleRock, on the property just south of the Reggae on the River site, right on county line. The Hog Farm is holding Kind Buds Campout that same weekend. That's why it's the Emerald Triangle.

JAH Med begged me to come, trying to ply me with a relatively flat, rattlesnake free campsite and good scotch (that was tempting) but BottleRock is closer and a dear RM friend will put me up at her house. She lives 10 mins from the site. I did get a Jedi to volunteer for CBR, a talented one at that, and that took some major cajoling because he's never soloed before and he's dealing with a lot of stress because of his mom's cancer prognosis (not good). 

CBR just postponed to next spring. Maybe. 

Jazz Fest may be the canary in the delta mine. I hope BR and LiB are still happening...