Nothing beats Indian Summer in the Pacific Northwest. Autumn is often more reliable than summer on the Canal, temperaturewise and visually. The Northwest benefits from our tilted planet this time of year, the angle of the sun adding depth and clarity to every vista. Peaks become sharper, valleys more pronounced. Visually, it's an improvement on nature's perfection.

As of July seventh of this year, weed is a legal recreational product in Washington state. As such - and add to that the already bustling medical marijuana industry - legal growing operators are flourishing. Drawn from the shadows of prohibition, a new cottage industry looks to have sprang up overnight. But what is it they say? It takes a lifetime to be discovered overnight?

It's harvestime for outdoor growers in Washington. Bud to be trimmed, dried and placed in the pantry. All over the state small crews of medical marijuana patients who grow themselves, are harvesting together. By all reports it's been a good year for the grow, which equates to a good harvest, which in turn is just good medicine.

Unfortunaely, the same cannot be said for the roll out on the recreational side. With more retail outlets offering smoke than there are state licensed growers to provide it, demand has overwhelmed supply, driving prices as high as $30 per gram (that's upwards of $850 an ounce), all but insuring a healthy black market. Bleak though it sounds, there is an upside to all this legal muck. If you're able to get your hands on some, the State can't pop you for posession, and the Feds won't (at least for now). And that makes me giddy. That, and an extended Indian Summer.



HOME | TOP