The School of Dank - Cannabis

The School of Dank event in Seattle, Washington is a three-day event that brings medical cannabis patients and experts in the field together to discuss growing methods and cultivation techniques. Other topics include cloning, soil preparation and recipes for edibles. There’s even hands-on instruction and glass-blowing demonstrations by local artists.

Presented by Jinxproof and hosted by SubCool, the School of Dank is an event with heart because all proceeds will go to benefiting autistic children. Last year’s 2011 School of Dank, also presented by Jinxproof, brought in $13,000 to help autistic children and their families living in the Pacific Northwest of America.

SubCool, author of The Dank and The Quest for the Very Best Marijuana, is also legendary for his many strains that have won awards all around, including The Void, Deep Purple, Agent Orange and more. Many of his strains have ended up in the pages of High Times. How did this legend in the field of cannabis botany end up teaching at the School of Dank?

“I found out that Jinxproof, had a child who was autistic,” SubCool says. “When I ended up talking to him, I learned a lot about their day-to-day struggles and how difficult it is to raise autistic children.”

In addition to conversations with Jinxproof, he also met a lot of other parents with children who also suffered from autism. Their first-hand testimony made him realize how important his teachings were. “I’ve read letters, notes and referrals from people telling stories about what it’s like to deal with the economic challenges they face," he says.

Taken as an edible or in the form of a tincture, cannabis is cheaper and safer than the pharmaceuticals whose side effects are sometimes worse than the symptoms. SubCool is proud of the fact he’s saving hard-working parents from losing money they don’t have for chemicals that don’t work.

 “I met one woman who had really bad arthritis. When I showed her how to make her own tincture she was able to save money and grow her own medicine,” He says. “I’ve always enjoyed being a guest speaker, so when they invited me to teach other people I was honored.”

While SubCool is best known for his books and strains, he’s almost famous for his YouTube show, “The Weed Nerd.” Each bi-weekly episode features recipes, advice and more. SubCool’s incisive logic, humorous attitude and straightforward teachings are worth watching every episode for, but despite the breadth of his knowledge the man remains humble. “It’s just me getting high and talking about weed. It’s really mind-blowing how I’ve gotten 1.6 million hits on YouTube for just hanging out and acting like an idiot.”

Jinxproof is proud that this year’s event will feature even more glass blowing panels, tutorials and demonstrations that the year before. “Bob Snodgrass is going to be here, and he’s a legendary glass blower from Portland, Oregon.”

In addition to some of the most gorgeous glasswork you’ve ever wanted to lay your lips on, the School of Dank will also feature games, raffles, auctions, bong pong and more. Jinxproof and SubCool have spent the last year preparing, and the one thing they don’t want to do is host an event that feels cheap.

“I won’t name names, but there are a lot of for-profit cannabis events that just end up being a bunch of people in a room smoking pot,” Jinxproof says. “There should always be some sort of goal in mind, whether it is to educate people about cannabis or to teach them how to grow it.”

www.facebook.com/SubCoolSchoolofDank

www.subcoolschoolofdank.wordpress.com

www.snodgrass.net

https://www.youtube.com/user/subcool420

The Awesome Power of Joe Rogan - Comedy

   
    Joe Rogan is more than just a talented comedian— he’s a 21st-century Renaissance Man. Aside from performing stand-up, he’s a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was the host of the popular show Fear Factor, and played a key role in the late, great sitcom NewsRadio.
     His Spike TV comedy special, "Talking Monkeys in Space," will air March 27, on Comedy Central, coinciding with its release on CD and DVD. Also look for him in the upcoming big-screen release, The Zoo Keeper.
     Even with all his success, Rogan remains an outspoken proponent of marijuana legalization. As a user himself, he certainly debunks the idea that cannabis smokers never get around to doing anything.
     In an interview with CULTURE, Rogan spoke candidly of his career, his cannabis advocacy, and why politicians deserve roundhouses to the head.
     You’re a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Are you training in other forms of martial arts?
     No, basically all I do is Jiu-Jitsu these days. I don’t have a lot of time for anything else. I hit the bag but that’s about it. There’s no brain damage, either. It’s a cumulative thing. That’s why I don’t like to box.
     I’m a huge fan of martial arts. It’s the only sport I follow. I like combat sports but I used to watch professional pool. Pool used to be huge in America, and somewhere along the line it dropped off. People used to dress up in suits to watch it, but something happened and now it’s not as popular.
     A related question: If you had the chance to kick one celebrity in the head and get away with it, who would it be?
     That’s a good question. It would have to be a politician. It would be someone responsible for how fucked up the world is.
     I always wanted to kick Kim Jong Il in the head.
     Yeah, but that’s something the North Koreans should do. You can’t go overseas and mess with other governments like that. That kind of thing has messed up our country.
     You mentioned in one of your shows that around the time you were doing Fear Factor, people forgot you were a comedian. What happened?
     Well, it’s not that people forgot—they just didn’t know. They didn’t know who I was. They just assumed I was only a game show host. They just stop being funny. I think most people had no idea who I was.
     What did you do to turn that around?
      I just kept doing comedy. I think people were coming to see me because of Fear Factor. People came to see me and didn’t know what I was going to do. It’s a matter of doing more comedy. Putting out that last CD (Shiny Happy Jihad) helped out, plus the special on Spike TV, but it was a lot of constantly performing, becoming popular through word of mouth. I was just constantly moving forward. Now I’m more known for comedy and the UFC.
     What can fans expect from the CD/DVD release of  "Talking Monkeys in Space?"
     I did a special for Spike TV, but there’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes material, question-and-answer stuff. We’ll give people microphones and let them come up and ask questions. It’s a fun thing to do at shows—it’s not some act, and people know that you are talking off the top of your head and end up asking interesting questions. It’s a more organic experience. If you like a guy and you see his routine, that’s nice, but there’s a difference between your routine and riffing.
     Are you looking at doing any more movies or TV shows?
     Well I did  The Zoo Keeper recently. Kevin James is in the movie and I play his enemy. I know him from when I was really raw. I had known him way back when I was only doing shows for two years. I don’t mind doing movies, but I prefer UFC and comedy because I prefer not working with actors.
     A lot of celebrities support the medical and recreational use of cannabis, but you really speak out about it. Why is this issue so important to you?
     It’s important to me because when I was younger, I had the wrong idea about pot. I had this misconception that pot made you stupid and lazy. But it turns out that those people were just stupid and lazy. Pot won’t enlighten you if you are lazy.
     A lot of people are victims of the propaganda that was released in the ’30s, and we’re still dealing with that now. Look at Partnership for a Drug Free America—it’s a business. We are being lied to, and it’s as if our society is being treated like nothing but infants. People just repeat what politicians say. They don’t research it.
     People would be angry if they understood marijuana and what was being done to them because they are missing out on a staple of life. It allows you to understand yourself in a deep way, to look upon your actions and how they affect people. It’s a great thing for enhancing your creatively. It’s like a turbo charger. It’s not like it’s hurting me. The stuff that I write is better when I’m high.
     Marijuana can help you find parallels in humor, and make those mental leaps. Comics who explore their own consciousness often use cannabis, mushrooms, etc. because those are tools that enhance perception. One comic who does that is Norm Macdonald. He’s a huge pothead. He has such an oddball, left-field brand of comedy.
    What do you think about the effort in California to legalize cannabis?
     I think the issue is that these people running the clinics are not following the law. They should follow the law and keep the clinics respectable, like placing them away from schools and communities. There’s nothing wrong with doing that. It’s just like liquor stores.
     There’s something wrong with selling it only for medicinal purposes. California needs to change it to a system where it’s available for responsible use. When that’s done, people will pay for it, the state will get money from it and this will open the floodgates.
     But I think the genie is out of the bottle. Thousands of people use it. People don’t have to go to some scumbag to get pot. It’s like we’re still living in the Dark Ages. It’s hypocritical that we have these laws in the Age of Information.
     However, I wouldn’t want a strip club down the street. There’s plenty of room for dispensaries and liquor stores. They will get to the point they need the profit and they will take the chance. It’s changed the way people look at it.
     Obama said he wouldn’t go after people unless they violated federal and state law. That really opens the door for responsible use. You allow it and then require people to get prescriptions, but after that, marijuana is going to be allowed, period.
     Are you a medical-cannabis patient yourself?
     Yes. I have been for the past six years.
     Do you feel your support of cannabis has helped or hurt your career?
     It’s impossible for it to hurt. What I wasn’t going to do is not be honest. What I want to do is to tell the truth. Anything I could gain by not talking about cannabis is something I don’t really want, anyhow.