Cannabis Food – MJ Shareholders

Study Shows Cannabis was Food Staple for Ancient Chinese Dynasty

MJ Shareholders — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 20:45:35 +0000

Researchers studying an ancient tomb in China have found direct evidence that cannabis was a staple food crop during the Tang dynasty more than 1,000 years ago.

Previous research into the civilizations of ancient China has shown that cannabis was an important crop for thousands of years, with historical texts showing that the plant’s seeds were a staple food consumed in a type of porridge. And now archaeological evidence from central China is confirming the significance of cannabis during the Tang dynasty, which ruled the country from 618 to 907 A.D.

Cannabis Found in Ancient Tomb

In 2019, workers at an elementary school playground construction site in Taiyuan, Shanxi province discovered an ancient tomb buried underground. Escaping discovery for more than 1,320 years, the remarkably dry environment of the tomb had preserved the wall paintings and artifacts found inside.

The researchers determined that the discovery was the tomb of Guo Xing, a cavalry officer who had fought with Tang emperor Li Shimin, or Taixzong, in a series of fierce battles on the Korean peninsula. Among the artifacts discovered in the tomb was a jar containing staple foods, which included cannabis seeds and the remnants of their husks, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

“The cannabis was stored in a pot on the coffin bed amid other staple grains such as millet. Obviously, the descendants of Guo Xing buried cannabis as an important food crop,” said Jin Guiyun, a professor with the school of history and culture at Shandong University and a co-author of the study published last month by the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Archaeology.

The cannabis seeds were significantly larger than those of today’s varietals, suggesting that a cultivar of cannabis had been bred specifically for grain. They were so well preserved that some still showed their original color. The researchers noted that the seeds still had their husks, which can contain the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, a book written by herbalist Li Shizhen about 500 years ago, eating too many cannabis seeds that still had their husks could “make a person run about like mad.”

“Cannabis seeds with husks are not only related to the high lignin content of the husk and its hard texture, which can reduce the chance of mold and prolong the storage time, it may also stimulate the nerves and cause hallucinations due to the consumption of husk for religious and medical purposes,” researchers with the Taiyuan Municipal Institute of Archaeology wrote in a report on the study.

Study Reveals Cannabis Use as Food, Fiber and Medicine

Cannabis was an important crop during the Tang dynasty, providing food, fiber and medicine for the ancient civilization. But the Taiyuan region was wetter and warmer at that time, making rice the most common grain in the area.

However, the artifacts placed in the tomb by the family of Guo Xing did not include rice as would be expected. Instead, the researchers found cannabis seeds, perhaps reflecting the personal food preference of the ancient warrior, who lived to the age of 90.

In ancient Chinese texts, cannabis was known as one of the five staple food crops known as wu gu. Archaeologists have discovered cannabis in tombs found across the country, some as old as 6,600 years old. Previously, researchers have theorized that the presence of cannabis in tombs indicated the use of the plant for spiritual and funerary purposes. But the evidence discovered in Guo Xing’s tomb illustrates the importance of cannabis as a staple food crop as well.

“The cannabis was buried as food for the tomb owner’s feast and health in the afterlife,” the researchers wrote.

Take a trip to Jamaica without leaving your kitchen in “Cooking with Herb” by Cedella Marley

MJ Shareholders — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 22:44:35 +0000

Editor’s note: In Cedella Marley’s new book “Cooking with Herb,” she shares cannabis-enhanced recipes brimming with Jamaican flavors. She also offers a peek into the family life of her well-known parents, Bob and Rita Marley, and the foundation for healthy eating they established with their children. Get a taste of what’s in store in this excerpt and traditional Jamaican recipes shared with The Cannabist:

The kitchen is definitely the most popular place to hang out at the Marley house. There you’ll find music, family, laughter, conversation, and of course lots of delicious, fresh, and pure food being chopped up to go into a salad or pot or simmering away on the stovetop. Life is one giant celebration, right? And we are great at finding any reason, big or small, to gather friends and family for a good party. Some parties, though, well, they are for adults only! So put the kids to bed or send them to a friend’s house because it’s grown-up time. When I want to let loose and just have some fun, I’ll enhance a dish (or three!) with some Herb — just enough to get our spirits high and bright, not enough to put us all into a trance … what fun would it be if we were all just asleep on the sofa? Whether I’m cooking “clean” or with a kick, my food often has an island beat to it because those are the flavors I grew up with and that I crave.

Cedella Marley (via “Cooking with Herb”)

Jamaican culture — from food to music — is alive. It is bright and fresh and bursting with spice and a feel-good positive attitude. Anytime you put a Jamaican dish on the table it’s like a party already, so when you add an Herb enhancement to the recipe, it kicks up the decibels that much more. Using Herb — whether you smoke it, vape it, or eat it — is, to me, just another part of eating clean and good. Herb is natural — it’s a plant from the ground that is as pure as a bunch of thyme or parsley. While edibles are fun, they also are really so much better for you than drinking a cocktail, which can be loaded with all kinds of who-knows-what ingredients. Herb doesn’t impact your liver and it’s not loaded with calories or sugar, so as far as intoxicants go, it’s a nice and natural ingredient you can actually feel really good about putting into your body. In this book, I’ll teach you how to control how much you add to a dish so you can control your high as easily as choosing whether you’ll have one glass of wine or two.

My kitchen is casual. Check your ego at the door! Here is a place to be free and happy and just let go. You’ll often find people gathered around the cooktop eating some seasoned rice straight from the pot or ripping off the crispy edges of a lasagna before it has a chance to hit the table. I love entertaining — from big gatherings on weekends to cozy dinners with my closest friends. This cookbook truly reflects the way I eat — an eclectic and mostly vegetarian mix of vegetables and grains that’s as good for your body as they are for your spirit and soul. My daddy chose to live his life in peace, happiness, and in unity with others. We ate a lot of fish and vegetables at home, though sometimes when at a friend’s house I’d eat what they were serving — maybe curry goat, curry shrimp, brown stew chicken, oxtail with butter beans — I threw down when I got out of the house (forgive me, Mom and Dad, but confession is good for the soul).

Since I was eighteen, I’ve eaten a mostly vegetarian diet. In part I was inspired by my grandmother and namesake, Cedella, who was rarely sick and always just glowed and was radiant. I definitely feel the difference in my spirit and energy when I fill my diet with as many organic fruits and vegetables as I can and if using dairy products and eggs, I always buy organic, antibiotic-free, and cage-free. I know a vegetarian diet is not for everyone, though, so the recipes in this cookbook reflect that philosophy. You’ll find a few recipes here and there calling for saltfish, fried fish, or pan-cooked escovitch-style fish as well as jerk chicken (always use humanely raised and preferably organic, please!).

My parents believed in whole and natural foods — Dad was drinking green juice decades before it was available in just about every grocery store! We ate very little sugar and did lots of cleanses and drank tonics to clean our blood and our insides. They believed in eating for health, and we always ate lots of nutritious home-cooked meals, many that came from our own garden. Mom loved going outside and picking fresh mint for Daddy’s morning tea. For Saturday dinner, she’d whip up her Ital stews (Ital deriving its name from the word “vital,” with the letter “I” being front and center to symbolize the connection to nature and to one’s self, with the goal of eating as cleanly as possible to increase your life energy). On Sundays, the family would gather for dinner around two o’clock. This was our time together, our moment to enjoy laughter and music and a little “reasoning” with Daddy and Mommy. I’m sure, when it was time to chill with friends, my parents probably experimented with adding Herb to food. Forty years ago, they most likely did what everyone else did and chopped some bud up and added it straight to a curry or stew. I think Daddy would be excited to see the evolution of how people cook with Herb now, how far cooking with herb has come (and how delicious it can be!), and how much fun and enjoyment people get when they experience an Herb-spiked dish. I’m really excited to share these family recipes with you and finally to have the opportunity to publicly marry them with Herb.

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Spicy Jamaican Patties (via “Cooking with Herb”)

Spicy Jamaican Patties

Makes 6 patties (5 mg THC per serving)

I can eat patties hot, cold, for breakfast, on a hike, as my dinner . . . you name it! The meat patty is like the Big Mac of Jamaica — actually, along with jerk chicken, this is really like our national dish! It’s so perfect as a way to pass out herb in a fun, neat, and tidy package or tuck into your bag for the movies (hey, we all do it).

You won’t find many burger shops or pizza parlors on the island but patty shops are everywhere. I used to go with Daddy to a place in Half Way Tree in Kingston for patties. He loved them because they were a bit different, stuffed with corn and peas (no meat since daddy was a vegetarian), and they fried their patties instead of baking them. I like mine on the more traditional side, except instead of a meat filling I stuff mine with a veggie mince (a crumbly ground meat substitute available in the freezer section where you find veggie burgers — or if you can’t find it, just use crumbled veggie burger instead).

The sign of a great patty is when you bite into it the filling almost bursts out of the sides, so don’t hesitate to stuff these full up. The patty crust is made with coconut milk and curry powder, which gives it that trademark yellow color, but you can use store-bought pie dough or puff pastry instead if you’re short on time. You can use a 3- or 4-inch round cookie cutter to stamp out smaller pieces of dough for more appetizer-size party bites.

Ingredients

Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons Jamaican curry powder
1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup chilled coconut oil (so it is solid)
7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

Filling
2 tablespoons coconut oil
6 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
½ medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
½ teaspoon plus a pinch fine sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups veggie crumbles or crumbled veggie burger (thawed if frozen)
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canna-oil
1 large egg

Instructions
1. Make the pastry: Combine the flour, curry powder, turmeric, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the solid coconut oil and pulse for eight 1-second pulses to work it into the dry ingredients. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add 7 tablespoons of the water, using your hand to bring the ingredients together into a smooth ball (add the extra tablespoon of water if the dough seems dry). Turn the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and knead 2 or 3 times to get it to come together, then press it into a round about ½ inch thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

2. Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the thyme, tomato, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is thick and no liquid remains in the pan.

3. Add the veggie crumbles and Scotch bonnet and continue to cook, stirring often, until the crumbles are heated through and the mixture starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the CannaOil, then transfer the filling to a medium bowl and set aside to cool (if you use warm filling, the pastry will be too soft to shape).

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes if it has been chilling for more than 30 minutes. Unwrap the dough and place it on a surface lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Sprinkle the top with a little flour and roll the pastry into a sheet ¼ to 1/8 inch thick. Use a 5½- to 6-inch-diameter bowl turned upside down to press 4 circles into the pastry. Then use a knife to cut out the rounds. Place the dough rounds on a the lined baking sheet. Bring the scraps together and re-roll them, then cut out 2 more rounds for 6 total.

6. Whisk the egg with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Divide the filling among the pastry rounds, placing it in the center of each, and patting it down a little bit. Use a pastry brush to brush the edge of each pastry round. Fold the top over to meet the bottom and press the edges together to seal. Use a paring knife or a fork to make a slit or poke a few holes in the top of the patty, then use the fork or your fingers to crimp the edges.

7. Brush the top of the patties with more egg wash, then bake them for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to bake until the patties are golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool at least a few minutes before eating. (If making the patties ahead of time, reheat them in a 200°F oven for about 10 minutes before serving–just long enough to re-crisp the pastry crust.)

Chef’s note: Coco Bread
It’s not uncommon for Jamaicans to stop at a patty shop for lunch or after work and buy a patty stuffed into coco bread for a kind of double-crusted patty sandwich. Coco bread is similar to Wonder bread–it’s sweet and extra tender since it’s made with coconut milk. You can find it in Caribbean markets and maybe even sold stuffed with a patty at a Jamaican restaurant.

“Cooking with Herb“

What else do you feel like making? We’ve got our weed recipes sorted,
appetizers || entrees || desserts

Tree of Life Seeds Introduces REST: CBD + Melatonin and Chamomile Soft Gels

MJ Shareholders — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 19:58:21 +0000

July 2, 2018 – PRESS RELEASE – International precision agriculture provider AgriTask has adapted its novel Agri-platform for use by medical cannabis growers who, unlike other farmers, face a unique regulatory environment. Already in wide use for other crops, the company modified the platform specifically to meet the stringent IMC-GAP regulations for growing medical cannabis.

“Our challenge was to quickly adapt our platform that has been so successful with soybeans, coffee, cotton, various vegetables and in orchards and forestry to a crop that is highly regulated,” says Israel Fraier, chairman and CEO of AgriTask. He adds that “the platform’s flexibility allowed us to take advantage of experience in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Israel and develop a platform that meets the strictest regulations and at the same time improve productivity and increase yields.”

The AgriTask platform integrates various data sources into one comprehensive, easy-to-use system, which serves all management levels. The company’s proprietary app allows the user to benefit from a full range of integrated inputs including satellite and UAV image layers and indexes, automatic climate models, digitalization of field data based on individual protocols, and integrating machinery and third-party sensor data. This permits users to easily detect problems in the growing cycle, define a plan and control the entire process from beginning to end.

“AgriTask’s arrival on the scene was perfectly timed for us and has helped in a whole array of tasks from pest surveys to diseases, and from ongoing operations to costs to names just a few,” says Getulio Ferreira, director of planning and production at Girassol Agricola, one of the biggest seed producing companies in Brazil. He adds that the use of AgriTask’s platform “has enabled us to generate more accurate and reliable data for fast and assertive decision making.” In addition, Ferreira notes the platform enabled Girassol Agricola to take the technological era in the field one step further by totally eliminating the use of paper.

The company has taken its highly successful platform used in a full range of crops one step further to meet the stringent regulatory environment facing medical cannabis growers. The upgrading gives the growers the necessary tools to monitor and document every aspect of the process from the mother plant, to post-harvest processing and shipment reports. This includes tracking and documenting of all activities from pest monitoring, to waste and death of plants, mobility of plants at a specific facility, quantities harvested and quality assessment. Data can be entered into the system by farm workers and managers through the proprietary mobile application developed by AgriTask for medical cannabis growers or automatically via integration to alternative systems.

After harvesting, each batch receives a unique ID, which includes details from the mother plant stages, clones taken, the growth cycle, post-harvest, weight, packaging and all relevant laboratory test results. The ID is prepared in accordance with Israeli Health Ministry regulations, which are currently the most stringent in the world for medical cannabis.

This kind of documentation is a crucial part of the regulatory process that growers are facing in the US and Israel as well as other countries in this relatively new segment in agriculture. As a drug, the regulations ensure that the final product meets the stringent quality level for use by patients. No less important is to prevent any seepage of medical cannabis into the non-medical market.

Equally as important for growers are productivity and yields. The AgriTask platform gives growers up to the minute reports that allow real time assessments regarding the state of their batches and risks and immediate action on critical issues ranging from fertilizer, pest and disease treatment, lighting and irrigation to name just a few.

The system’s capabilities raise the overall responsibility of the staff and facilitate data reporting in real time. The quick response to risks and events effecting the growing of medical cannabis enables the prevention of unnecessary chemical applications on the plants, minimizes batch mortality and produces a cleaner, higher quality product for medical use. The bottom line for the growers is higher yields with far lower inputs and fewer losses from regulation.

Lagunitas Brewing unveils cannabis-infused sparkling water

MJ Shareholders — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 05:45:39 +0000

Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma is delving deeper into the cannabis industry, announcing the launch of a new THC-infused sparkling beverage.

The drink, named Hi-Fi Hops, only will be available at licensed cannabis dispensaries in California starting July 30. It will come in two varieties, including one containing 10 mg of THC, a principal psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The other will have 5 mg of THC and 5 mg of cannabidiol, or CBD, a cannabis compound used to treat pain. The drinks do not contain alcohol.

The product comes on the on heels of last year’s Lagunitas SuperCritical Ale, which contained aromatic compounds of essential oils extracted from marijuana plants but had no THC in the beer. Both drinks were produced with Santa Rosa-based CannaCraft Inc., a cannabis-extract manufacturing facility led by William Silver, former dean of Sonoma State University’s business school.

Lagunitas Brewing Company’s new Hi-Fi Hops will offer THC and CBD in non-alcoholic beverages whose flavor is described as “IPA-inspired.” (Screenshot)

Lagunitas was founded in 1993 by Tony Magee, an avid cannabis user whose marketing long promoted a stoner-friendly culture. So the push into the cannabis drinks market is not a surprising for one of the nation’s largest craft brewers, now wholly owned by Heineken International.

It also not the first or largest foray by alcohol-beverage makers into the expanding cannabis market.

Wine giant Constellation Brands Inc. which owns Clos du Bois in Geyserville, Simi Winery in Healdsburg and Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa, took a 10 percent stake in a Canadian medicinal cannabis provider in October, gaining more insight into the sector.

“Hi-Fi is not the first chapter in the love affair between cannabis and Lagunitas, but it is one of the most exciting,” Lagunitas CEO Maria Stipp said in a statement. “The idea of having a no-calorie beverage infused with cannabis seemed like a perfect next step in our product innovation, and a natural way to marry our past with our future.”

Most beverage producers so far have steered clear of cannabis, especially over concern such blends could jeopardize their federal license to make beer, wine, or spirits because marijuana still is illegal under federal law.

But the lure of a new market is strong and many are exploring ways to enter the sector, valued at up to $7 billion California.

“I think alcohol industry is very much paying attention to cannabis and finding out ways to get involved,” said Rebecca Stamey-White, an attorney who represents alcohol beverage producers who want to enter the market. “Most folks are avoiding products containing alcohol and finding ways to leverage their brand in cannabis.”

Lagunitas found a way around potential legal snags by brewing the hop-flavored water at its Petaluma facility. It was then trucked it over to CannaCraft, where the THC and CBD were added and then canned. CannaCraft will use its own distribution network in California to deliver the product to as many as 250 dispensaries in the state.

To comply with a new child-safety law, CannaCraft worked with its vendor to design an aluminum can that would require two maneuvers to open instead of the traditional pop-top, said spokeswoman Kial Long.

Lagunitas said the new drinks will be full of hops, like its beers. But they’ll also feature fruit aromas, such as grapefruit, and floral fragrances, including lavender.

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