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Thinking of joining us for the 4/20 Holiday this year? Check out our sweet deals here!
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The Cannabis Historian, vol. 2: What is Kush?
By Timothy Anderson, Purchasing Assistant, Harborside Oakland
Ask any patient of Harborside Health Center, 'What is kush?' and their diversely worded responses will all boil down to a single definition: exceptional cannabis. More specifically, kush has come to encompass a loose-and sometimes unrelated-group of cannabis varieties. But kush has a different, and much older, meaning. To find the origin of the term, we must travel to the cradle of civilization (and of hashish-making): the mountains of the Middle East.
Gently spilling westward from the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush mountain range acts as a natural barrier dividing the modern territories of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The craggy terrain of the Hindu Kush is also home to what we know as Cannabis indica. Cannabis genome scientists of the future will hopefully be able to tell us the story in greater detail, but for now we can speculate that the transformation of cannabis from lanky sativa to stout, resinous indica was quite the adventure. History clearly records the use of cannabis in the region at least as far back as 2500 years ago, thanks to the adept reportage of Herodotus (c. 484 BC - 425 BC). Exactly how the plant arrived at this Middle Eastern mountain range from its probable place of origin in China is a mystery. However, one can guess that since the Hindu Kush region has funneled trade between India, Asia and the Middle East since time eternal, cannabis was probably a very early traveler down what is called the Silk Road. Once arriving to the Hindu Kush range's challenging mountainous climate, the gigantic sativa plants from Asia or India acclimated and transformed into a compact indica bush through hundreds of years of environmental influence and quite likely, aided by human intervention.
The mountainous range of the Hindu Kush
acts as a natural barrier dividing modern
Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is also home
to what we know as Cannabis indica.
You may be asking yourself how this history lesson relates to the sparkling flowers of OG Kush often found on the top shelf at Harborside Heath Center. An excellent question, yes, but one for which the Cannabis Historian has no answer. It is anyone's guess as to how OG-or the rest of the Chem Dawg family-bear any relation to genetics originating from the Hindu Kush region. It is safe to say, however, that there's indica somewhere in those glorious mutts. Other varieties of cannabis often carried at Harborside are easier to trace to their origins from the land of Kush. For example, we frequently see the self-same named Hindu Kush (a pure specimen from the region) and Master Kush (a cross of two different Hindu Kush indicas). 'Hash plants' from Afghanistan and Pakistan also come from this region; of the latter, the Pine Tar Kush commonly available at Harborside may be the closest to a 'pure kush' as anything. Try some if you get the chance and savor the spicy Old World flavors of a true indica.
We contemporary medical cannabis patients owe much to the unknown farmers of this mountainous region-without indica genes, cultivation of our medicine as we know it would be almost impossible. Pure sativa varieties will grow upwards of 20 feet tall and can take anywhere from three to six months of flowering to come close to maturity, if they ever even fully mature. If Cannabis indica had not been introduced into the modern gene pool, therefore cutting that time to full fruition to two months or less, cultivating cannabis indoors would be a frustrating experience at best. The next time you look longingly towards the clone shelves at Harborside, appreciate what you see there as a miracle of plant breeding.
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To All Harborside's Patients and Staff:
We want to take this opportunity to inform everyone of the Discovery Channel decision regarding the future of our groundbreaking television program, "Weed Wars." But first, we must take a moment to offer our personal thanks to everyone who played instrumental roles in this process and to honor the accomplishments of our efforts.
To our patients: We feel such honor in our hearts to be able to stand next to you in this struggle to free cannabis and tell our story in "Weed Wars." You all made sacrifices during the filming of this series by tolerating cameras in your place of wellness. Many of you shared your personal stories about medical cannabis with the world. The courage you exhibited with this storytelling cannot be measured by ratings or expressed with words. You are the true stars of "Weed Wars" and you lit up the world with hope. You gave people a living example of change they can believe in. You have planted the seed of truth about medical cannabis to thousands of Americans. This seed will take bloom in hundreds of different ways by patient activists who have been inspired by "Weed Wars." Our movement will grow stronger as a result of your stories being told to America. The contribution of "Weed Wars" to the advancement of safe access to medical cannabis will be felt for generations.
Perhaps the most important acknowledgement we have to offer is to all of our managers and staff. You let the world know medical cannabis collectives can be more professionally run than many mainstream businesses. Many of you also shared very intimate details of your lives with the world. You put your best foot forward in the way you represented our company and our brand. And you did all of this without big money from Hollywood or any other materialistic advantage. You did this because you wanted to represent our movement and share your knowledge of this miraculous plant. You are the true heroes of "Weed Wars." We could not be more proud of a group of people than we are of all of you. Your work has been seen by millions of people all over the world. You have set a glowing example to many future generations of medical cannabis activists and business people. It is not often that a group of people can look back in time and say, "We made history," but this group can. No one can ever take that away from you.
We must also express heartfelt thanks to Braverman Productions for their outstanding work as filmmakers of "Weed Wars." Not many of you will ever know all the battles Chuck and Alex Braverman fought on behalf of our collective and patients. They brought so much passion, wisdom and integrity to this process. They have an amazing team of photographers, editors, sound designers and storytellers. To be able to work with that kind of talent is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will always be grateful for their efforts.
For the first time on a major television network, medical cannabis collectives were shown from the patient point-of-view rather than the law enforcement point-of-view. Never before had America been exposed to our side of the story or heard the sound of our voices. "Weed Wars" has forever changed that as sites like YouTube will continue to show the world for years to come. In addition, "Weed Wars" received rave reviews from almost every major media outlet in the country, including local publications like the San Francisco Chronicle, the East Bay Express, and the San Jose Mercury News. The program is currently being aired in Holland and Denmark, and will be seen in most of Europe and Latin America.
All the accomplishments of "Weed Wars" won't be fully realized for another generation, as all the people who saw the program move through the world and activate themselves with the cannabis plant. We are certain that 10 and 20 years from now people will stop us on the street and mention how "Weed Wars" changed their lives.
Nothing would please us more than to be able to continue with future episodes of "Weed Wars." Unfortunately the Discovery Channel has made a much different decision and will no longer continue with future episodes. We do not know why, nor do we understand why, they made that decision.
- Stephen DeAngelo, Executive Director & Andrew DeAngelo, General Manager, Harborside Health Center
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JB's Product Pick
Super Pure Super Melt Concentrate
Always striving to stay ahead of the pack with our innovative use of technology and our passion for quality meds, Harborside Health Center has recently blazed a path in the realm of cannabis concentrates. Starting this March, Harborside has teamed with chemists from around the country to develop a product that is so special, it's being offered exclusively at Harborside Health Center as solvent-free, HBC Pure Wax.
HBC Pure Wax is a new concentrate that we're sure you'll be seeing a lot more of in the near future. HBC Pure Wax is made from only the flower material of the cannabis plant, which ensures a more pure, potent end product since there is less plant material to filter out. What makes this concentrate unique is its process of production; the wax is produced in a hyperbolic chamber using hyper-barometric pressure with a reverse nitrogen boil. This nitrogen boil reduces the ambient temperature around the cannabis to about -28 degrees Fahrenheit, making the trichomes brittle and causing them to break away from the plant material itself. The trichomes are then forced through a series of filters that filter out trichomes not by their size but by their density. Any non-cannabinoid material is removed by these filters and 100% of the cannabinoid profile of the plant is retained, including the lower and higher level terpenes.
This process makes for a very clean, pure, fragrant and tasty smoke. Since this concentrate is so pure, it is recommended that users start with a dosage of about 10 mg. This means that, depending on toleration levels, a patient might be able to get about 100 doses in a one-gram sample, which makes this medicine quite affordable at $35 / 0.5 g and $70/g.
HBC Pure Wax is currently only carried at Harborside Health Center. The varieties we'll have available are Tangerine, Bud-deaux Blend, Shiskaberry, Sweet Tooth, and Jamaican Thai. We hope to provide other strains to patients in the near future, so make sure to ask about HBC Pure Wax the next time you are in Harborside!
-John Brown, Web/Marketing Manager, Harborside Health Center Oakland
HBC Pure Wax
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BEING WELL
Alexander Technique:
Self-care and relief from chronic pain brought on by stress, anxiety and tension
In the 1890s, Frederick Matthias Alexander developed the Alexander Technique and its principles as a personal tool to alleviate breathing problems and hoarseness during public speaking. Since then people of all ages and lifestyles have used the Technique to improve the quality of their lives. Now taught for over a century, many prominent individuals have publicly endorsed the Technique. Among them are: George Bernard Shaw, Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, Hillary Swank, Paul McCartney, and Sting.
Stress is accepted as part of everyone's life. Through the practice of the Alexander Technique one can reduce the negative effects of stress and pain incurred on the body. Under duress, the body develops anxiety and fear that combine to distort our senses, our balance and our ability to think clearly. We manifest this by a tightening of the neck and shoulders, pulling the head back and down, shortening and compressing the spine.
Most individuals are not conscious of the physical manifestation-this starts a process of shutting down, which causes the back to go into a stand-by mode, leaving the limbs and head short of efficiency and support. The muscles in the back begin to pull at the joints and tighten. Breathing is made shallow and movement demands effort. In this way we can never enjoy our potential and we become victims of chronic pain.
We are all creatures of habit and often we do not take the time to think about our body's habitual use in daily activity. It is here through cognitive techniques that we are able to undo the harm we cause ourselves by giving ourselves time to think and determine whether we are using our bodies to full advantage or not.
With Alexander Technique, innocent activities like working over a bench, bending and lifting, vacuuming, sitting at a computer or physical exercise all can be accomplished in the right way, instead of dragging one down into exhaustion and, in the extreme, hopelessness.
Hundreds of students have benefited from attending my classes in the Alexander Technique at Harborside. They have restored themselves to an awareness and consciousness that has improved both the quality of life and their ability to find their maximum potential when it is needed. In our classes I teach students the recognition of those habits that are creating pain, and how to create physical and mental conditions that allow the body to do right thing by itself so that we don't abuse the amazing design that nature has given us, and we can move freely with grace.
Alexander Technique is held Sundays, 12-1pm and Thursdays, 3-4pm at Harborside Oakland.
-- Alan Bolton, www.alanboltonalexanderteacher.com
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Staff Spotlight
Rudy Ramos, Facilities Administrator, Harborside San Jose
Since he took over the Harborside Health Center-San Jose (HHC-SJ) facilities department nearly a year ago, Rudy Ramos has impressed the team with his humble diligence and task-mastery. "I basically get everything that everyone needs to get their job done," he says.
Previously a project manager for a construction company in Monterey, Calif., Rudy has overseen several large projects at HHC-SJ, like changing the carpets in all public areas, the expansion of the sales counter, doubling the size of the processing area, re-arranging the cubicles in the warehouse, procuring and hanging stage curtains on the bathroom areas-as well as dozens of other improvements, upgrades, repairs and maintenance-all while keeping an adequate stock of office, cleaning and packaging supplies for every department in the organization. Currently, he is hard at work on upgrading HHC-SJ's holistic and retail areas.
According to management and staff, Rudy is extremely helpful and flexible. He will show up as early as necessary and works late, on weekends, and adapts to even the most extreme changes in routine with enthusiasm and proficiency. When something doesn't go according to plan, Rudy will do whatever is necessary to fix it, and to learn from the situation. He has quickly become a key player in the HHC-SJ team and his contributions help everyone there to continue to provide patients a warm and professional experience.
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