When you think about cannabis you probably think of THC (aka delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), but have you ever heard of Delta-8? Don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t, there isn’t even a Wikipedia page about this cannabinoid. While you might not have heard of Delta-8, it’s been on researchers radar for years as one of the four most researched cannabinoids. You might be asking yourself “why haven’t I heard of it?” While Delta-8 is present in most cannabis plants, it isn’t as abundant as THC. But with recent advances in technology making it easier to isolate specific cannabinoids, Delta-8 has been getting a lot of press. If you analyze and compare Delta-8 to THC’s chemical structure you’ll find that Delta-8 is very similar, with only a slight difference in the location of […]
Sespe Holiday Gift Guide 2018
For the Woke Warrior: A Pot Fairy Purse or Pot Fairy Originals T-Shirt. A cannabis offense should NOT equal a life sentence! 100% of the proceeds of sales from these items are applied to the commissary accounts of persons serving a life sentence for cannabis. Your donation will go towards purchase of necessities like soap, combs, toothbrushes, phone calls home, postage stamps, music, emails and palatable water. Thank you on their behalf. For the Blunt Lover: Pick up a few grams of flower, some Hempwick and a GLUNT! The Glunt glass blunt serves as both a storage and smoking tool. Stores 2 grams of ground flower, and you will never have to buy rolling papers again. You don’t have to smoke paper to smoke cannabis. And with Hempwick you won’t have […]
Ojai Herbal Symposium
We are proud sponsors of The Ojai Herbal Symposium on “Natural Resilience” will take place Friday through Sunday, November 16-18. Internationally recognized medical cannabis researcher Kevin Spelman, PhD, will deliver the keynote address on Friday evening in Krotona Hall on “Insights into Resilience: The Human-Plant Connection.” He will give two other talks Saturday on “Cannabidiol: The Anxiolytic, Anti-Inflammatory, Analgesic, Nootropic, Non-Euphoric Cannabinoid” and “The Terpenes of Cannabis.” The other 12 presenters include widely respected practitioners, authors, and speakers from across the spectrum of modern herbalism, integrative pharmacy, integrative medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and Native American healing. Classes will be accessible to the professional and non-professional alike. Most of the presentations will take place at beautiful Krotona Hall at the Krotona Institute of Theosophy. Sunday afternoon breakout sessions will take place at various locations in downtown Ojai. Saturday […]
CAN-DO Clemency: fighting for drug war POWs
Legalization is sweeping the country (and the world), but so many prisoners of the drug war remain incarcerated. People serving life without parole for a nonviolent offense, like Michael Pelletier (featured here), and Craig Cesal, a first-time offender whose involvement was limited to repairing trucks that had been used in smuggling operations. Both of these individuals were prosecuted under conspiracy laws originally intended to bring down so-called kingpins, but which are now commonly used against low-level offenders (and in fact anyone that has the misfortune to be in close proximity to a drug deal or a drug dealer). CAN-DO Clemency was founded by Amy Povah, who lived this nightmare herself. Her husband had asked her to handle some “financial matters” for him while he was dealing with legal issues subsequent […]
UPLIFTED LOCAL: Leigh Moross / Ojai
by Isolda Restrepo Leigh Moross is one of Ojai’s finest and is one of a kind. She does her darndest, just as the rest of us do, to make the best of each day. One of the main differences being that it’s an actual, painstaking struggle for her to get out of bed each morning. Ms. Moross has suffered many broken and shattered bones, snapped tendons, a dislocated rotator cuff, nerve damage, Rheumatoid Arthritis, a plethora of surgeries, and poor health care. “Every single day feels like I’ve been hit by a car, AND I have the flu,” she recounts. In 2004 Leigh was all packed up to leave her home in Denver. She had landed a new doula position in Hawaii, and was just about ready to leave for […]
A rose by any other name, or why we don’t call it marijuana (or weed) anymore
When Sespe was founded in 2010, our motto was “Weed for the People”; it was quite fitting in the context of our humble beginnings, operating out of the CEO’s kitchen. It had a bit of a defiant feel to it, almost a battle cry, also appropriate to the atmosphere of the time. Our mission then was to bring safe access to the people of Ventura County, a hostile environment where their needs had been ignored, put off, or outright refused since cannabis first came to California. In those early days the powers that be were still overwhelmingly opposed to our efforts, and we needed to channel our inner revolutionary to get where we are today. Throughout the years, our mission has not changed; however it has grown, as we have, […]
Deedee Kirkwood, Pot Fairy
Deedee Kirkwood is a 70-year old mother, grandmother, wife, artist, playwright, and cannabis activist, and curator of the Pot Lifers Museum and Boutique at Sespe. […]
Michael Pelletier, Drug War POW
Michael, a paraplegic since age 11, is serving life without parole for a non-violent cannabis offense. Find his original artwork at Sespe. […]
The Hemperor, Jack Herer
In these heady days of legalization and safe access, we must not forget the pioneers who helped get us here. Jack Herer is one such pioneer, whose 1984 book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” (available to read online for free) is an authoritative history of hemp and cannabis, documenting the 10,000 year relationship humankind has had with this plant, and exposing the 20th century conspiracies and propaganda that resulted in the deadly prohibition that we are only now emerging from. As a veteran of the Korean War, Herer was one of the first veterans leading the fight to legalize cannabis, and took the fight all the way to President Reagan himself. Herer’s passion, dedication, and tireless activism were instrumental in the early days of California’s legalization movement. If you’re interested in learning […]
Proposed changes to cannabis regulations
Fed up with the bans on cannabis delivery in your city? Frustrated with the excessive, hard-to-open packaging on your favorite products? NOW is the time to speak out and voice your opinion to the state’s regulators. If you support these changes (as we do) it is vital to get your opinion on record, as we can be sure that there will be some opposition. The latest version of California’s Cannabis regulations have been released for public comment until August 27. Three of the biggest changes this latest version seems to be tackling are: Only requiring the child-resistant exit packaging instead of individual product child-resistant packaging. Allowing authorized delivery employees of licensed marijuana businesses to deliver into ANY California jurisdiction. Increasing the THC limit on edibles that can be dissolved in […]