Natural Instinct

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ents

02 Digital Pro December 2011

We Are Natural Instinct

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Master Collection Gatsby artSus. Citi aut apedita tiberepe nobit volorias aut ex eum eum, quo eaquibu saperum velia pernam, volecae quia corepro vitatur, vendit exersperum

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As I developed my abilities in, and explored, the various forms of photography, I found myself intrigued by capturing a woman’s natural beauty.

I wasn’t alone. I soon found myself in a network of talented photographers and models from all around the world who were working, many times for free, in the name of creativity.

Now I needed a platform from which to exhibit these nude models from all over, as well as the work of the various photographers, beyond just myself, who had captured the natural beauty of these women. That platform is Natural Instinct Magazine and its web presence, naturalinstinct.us

But wait! I’ve just spoken to the photography side of things, but what about marijuana? Well, it’s simple: I’ve been breaking the law for 14 years by smok-ing it, and quite frankly, I’m fed up.

It was a very easy decision to dedicate Natural Instinct Magazine as a tool for legalization. As things stand now, when I buy marijuana, I instantly cre-ate violent turf wars in our poorer communities. The Mexican cartels kill 10-100 per day, all in thename of collecting our U.S. dollars. People are killing innocent people in Mexico for my $20 bag of weed. You don’t have to be a Poli Sci major, or an activist, to know there’s something wrong with that picture.

Publishers Letter

To advertise here, Call Ryan West @ 517-858-1138

To advertise here, Call Ryan West @ 517-858-1138

As things stand now, when I buy marijuana, I instantly create vio-lent turf wars in our poorer communities. The Mexican cartels kill 10-100 per day, all in the name of collecting our U.S. dollars. Peo-ple are killing innocent people in Mexico for my $20 bag of weed. You don’t have to be a Poli Sci major, or an activist, to know there’s something wrong with that picture.

Young people, especially minorities, who are involved with mari-juana—not necessarly selling it but merely toking it—are tainted with criminal records. There’s something wrong with that picture, too.

Our magazine’s message is simple: Legalize now! We are not sati-fied with simply downgrading the “crime” to a lesser charge that brings “just” a ticket. That means toking grass is still illegal. This even though Mary Jane is far less harmful than alchohol, and far less addictive than coffee or cigarettes. Think if it were legal, and we taxed it: We could easily give health care to those who need it with the proceeds from the taxes. Teachers and schoolscould benefit, We could feed our homeless, or help our tens of thousands of animals who need adequate shelter and love until they find a home... Just to name a few really worthwhile uses to which marijuana tax money could be put.

Although we at Natural Instinct are on a mission to legalize mari-juana, we feel it’s most important for us to focus on the good, the positive, the peacefulness, the fun, and the fellowship of our mari-juana community of over 30 million in the U.S. alone.

We’ll be coming at you every month from now on, with the best in pictures of natural women, and the best in words about that natural product you, and I, and the rest of us all love. Join us on our mission.But for now, just sit back, fire up a bowl, and enjoy Natural Instinct!

I’m just a good ol boy from Florida that has just moved to North Carolina. 2 months ago I was not feeling well so I went to the emergency room. Seventy-Two and Two operations later I was told that I have 3rd stage lung cancer! “What” I’m only Forty. I now have a Twenty percent surival rate. They told me how sick I would get and I said “I have my own medicine”. So every day be for I go to treatment, I’m in the basement smoking out. If it weren’t for this great plant I would be a hell of a lot more sick. It helps my mood ,my nausea ,my pain, and my hunger. All from one plant. So wake up people in

D.C. and do the right thing for people like me. We should not have to act like Outlaws just to feel better.

A Personal Cancer & Marijuana Story

– ziggie

Medical MarijuanaA Dicey PropositionBy Jesse Leaf

Where is medical marijuana legal…and just “how legal” is it? It isn’t cut-and-dried. The line between a pat on the back and 20 years’ doing time can be a thin one, indeed.

The highly debated question of whether medical marijuana should be legalized has been complicated by both sides. There is a difference between outright legalizationof medically employed cannabis, legalization of allmarijuana use, and decriminalization of marijuana. Those supporting the legal use of medical cannabis see it as a proven and legitimate therapeutic agent in the treatment of many illnesses, including AIDS, chronic pain, multiple scle-rosis, anxiety, and insomnia, not to mention relief from the nausea that commonly accompanies chemotherapy treat-ments…and there are other suggested medical uses as well.

Opponents make little or no distinction. They dismissthe medical claims as just an excuse for people to legally and easily obtain their recreational drug at will, labeling it as a dangerous gateway drug to more dangerous narcotics.

As the population, a great proportion of which used oris using mj, became more accepting of the drug, politicalinitiatives to allow its medical use were passed in a growing number of states. As of this writing, 15 states and the District of Columbia allow its use, if under a variety of rules and regu-lations, and despite the overall umbrella ban of the Federal government, which remains in place.

Medical or not, outright and total legalization is the holy grail of marijuana advocates. Open availability makes all other ca-veats moot. The goal seems distant. There is no place in the United States, or indeed on the planet, where cannabis is ful-ly legalized. Fully legalized. No matter where you are on the map (and that includes. Mozambique and the Netherlands), there is a bewildering bevy of local laws, regulations, caveats, restrictions, rules and regulations, if, ands, and buts covering local use, consumption, cultivating, selling, and possession of marijuana. It behooves the aficionado to make damn sure he or she knows them inside and out. The line between a pat on the back and 20 years’ doing time can be a thin one, indeed.

In the United States, medical marijuana use, albeit witha stunning variety of legal small print, is legal in Alaska,Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia,Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washing-ton. But there is little reason for celebration or complacency. Conservative forces in several of these states continue the fight to roll back these laws.

The move is being spearheaded by Montana, subject of much media play including a long article in the New York Times. As this was being written, the recently elected Re-publicandominated legislature was close to repealing the medical marijuana statute approved by voters six years ago. But many Montana towns are not even waiting for that eventuality. In Bozeman, for example, the City Council has enacted several restrictive regulations aimed at curtail-ing what has become a vibrant economic machine that has sprouted around the medical marijuana market.

Construction companies, electricians, gardening supply houses, even bakeries are due to suffer in the constricted environment, hurting the local economy as well as the pa-tients who depend on cannabis. Following Montana’s lead, New Mexico is also seeking to roll back decriminalization in that great state.

In addition to the 15 states that allow some form of medical legitimacy for cannabis, there are many other jurisdictions that have decriminalized the use of cannabis for everybody. This poses a whole other set of problems for the user, medi-cal or not. Typically, but not all the time, decriminalization means no prison time or criminal record for first-time pos-session of a small amount for personal consumption. It is common practice for local jurisdictions to place enforce-ment of criminal marijuana laws on the “low police priority” list. But that may be a dangerous foundation on which to conduct your life. Decriminalization still poses the risk of ca-pricious enforcement. It can mean unpredictable confronta-tions with the justice system (police encounters, arrest, court, and jail time). You never know if your arrest will be treated as a minor traffic violation or a Schedule 1 abuse.

Local jurisdiction really matters. States where cannabis is de-criminalized in certain local areas but not statewide (watch those borders) are Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Mis-souri, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The legal use of medical marijuana remains a fiery topic in state legislatures. Laws allowing prophylactic use of canna-bis are being argued in Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Tennes-see, Texas, and West Virginia. Some form of decriminalization legislation is up for debate in Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.

Full legalization is a tougher nut to crack, and not many politician are anxious to append their name to legislation that would allow free and open use of cannabis. In the Pa-cific Northwest, a bastion of marijuana law reform (Oregon was the first state to decriminalize cannabis in 1973; it was recriminalizedin 1997), activists are regrouping after legalization initiatives failed at the ballot box last year. Organizers in Washington and Oregon have begun gather-ing signatures to place the matter on the ballot this year, al-though many supporters are arguing that waiting until 2012 will give more time to consolidate and place the measure in a more friendly political atmosphere.

For the time being, convincing lawmakers of the medical benefits ofmarijuana seems the most practical route to go, and theone more like to produce positive results.

AlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMarylandMassachusettsMinnesotaMississippiMissouriNebraskaNew HampshireNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginia Virgin Islands West VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

States that don’t

A Personal Cancer & Marijuana Story States That Care

• Alaska• Arizona• California• Colorado• DC• Delaware • Hawaii• Maine• Michigan• Montana• Nevada• New Jersey• New Mexico• Oregon• Rhode island• Vermont• Washington

Digital Pro December 2011 05

DANELLE06 Digital Pro December 2011

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My name is Shiray Anastasia, and I was born and raised a California girl. I’m 19 years old and a college student majoring in Business. I am a strong believer, supporter, and smoker of Cannabis. I do volunteer work as a Calendar Cordinator at Medi Marts, a local Medical Cannabis Pharmacy and love it! I enjoy a good ‘ol joint or blunt, but I per-sonally perfer my Bong Rips and Vaporizer! I suffer from Anxiety and believe that Marijuana is not just a plant, but a MEDICINE that helps cure certain medical conditions, and will continue to help cure those in need. Because of my Anxiety high school wasn’t the easiest, and neither was going about my every day life. Smoking Cannabis helped me be able to function in a way that I was able to be comfortable and relaxed within myself. I appriciate all the posi-tive effects Medical Cannibas has given, and I hope it continues to help others and only grow more. I will continue to help and support Legalizing Marijuana, and protecting patient’s Medical rights as well.

– Shiray


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January’s Mary Jane

Cannabis Cookeryby: Medicinal MikeThe first step in cannabis cooking is to make cannabis butter, or cannabutter, for baking and some cooking. Once you have your cannabutter, the recipes are as simple as regular cooking and baking. In this process you extract the alkaloids into the butter (or margarine) and leave behind the plant material.

The recipe for the butter and process follows.Important: When using fats and water together, realize that your workspace will be very hot-tem-pered—that is, there may be quite a bit of spat-tering—so be cautious not to burn yourself. Your hands and arms will be at risk, and your clothing may get spattered. So please use oven gloves and long sleeves to protect yourself from accidental burning, and wear appropriate clothing.

Tools you will need:• Sturdy grinder to grind the plant material (mari-juana)• Stove to heat up the ingredients• Medium stainless steel saucepan with a lid. Size of pan should ideally be the same as the stove’s heating element, for the even allocation of heat• Measuring cup• Whisk or large fork to mix the material with the water butter solution in the pot.• Cheesecloth to strain the material before cool-ing.• A bowl large enough to hold and cool thecannabutter material• A space in your refrigerator to chill and take apart thewater from butter• Heavy duty SaranWrap to handle and pack together the cannabutter into a smaller, easier-to-handle shape• Freezable container to store the material• Space in your freezer to store the finished product

Please be sure to have all these items accessible for immediateuse during the process of making your cannabutter.

Ingredients1lb unsalted butter3 cups water1 ounce premium, middle, or high grade cannabis (trim-mingsare okay, but not as strong). The higher you go in quality ofproduct, the better butter it will be.Well, now, let’s cook!To prepare:Start by grinding the cannabis (marijuana) very fine. If youdon’t have a dedicated grinder for cannabis grinding, use agrinder that has been very keenly cleaned. It’s very impor-tantto have good cannabis for use.

Cooking:In a covered saucepan, bring three cups of water to a boil.Add butter to the boiling water and let it melt. Once thebutter is melted, reduce heat to very low, so that whencovered, the cannabutter will simmer gently. Now addcannabis material to water-and-butter solution. After addingcannabis trim, keep mixing it and fluffing it up into the panconstantly, so that the whole material does not stick to thebottom and there are no clusters. Position the lid on the panand keep heat on minimum temperature. Let cannabuttersimmer gently for 1-2 hours. This much time is veryimportant, though it should not cook for more than 3 hours.After 1-2 hours have passed, THC will be combined withthe melted butter. During this time, check cannabutter atintervals to ensure proper temperature and also to ensure thatingredients do not boil, which can reduce butter excessively.

Extraction:Turn heat off. Let solution sit for 2-4 minutes before remov-ing it from the heat. As mentioned earlier, proper clothing isvery important at this stage. Now your solution is readyto be extracted. Place the cheesecloth over an open bowl,and ensure that when the liquid is poured through, thecheesecloth will not sink in with it. The idea here is to strainthe solution using the cheesecloth so that you will not havebits of cannabis in the solution. Most of the THC has beenextracted by now. Once the solution has been strainedthrough the cheesecloth and the plant material collectedin the cheesecloth, you will have cannabis solution in abowl, and a cheesecloth full of soggy cannabis material. Bysqueezing, extract as much as you can of the solution fromwhat remains within the cheesecloth. Squeeze as much asyou can into the bowl.

Cooling:Put the bowl of cannabutter solution into your refrigerator,and keep it there for a few hours. As this cooling process istaking place, keep watch on the progress and let it remainthere so that separation of fats from water occurs as muchas possible. When it seems that the process of waterseparating from fats has occurred, and nothing further ishappening, remove the butter from the bowl. As the butteris now solid, we recommend you use heavy-duty plastic wrapto store it in. Collect as much solid cannabutter material fromthe bowl as you can, and dispose of the excess water (whichwill look gritty and dirty). Remove surplus water by pattingthe cannabutter dry. Now, using the plastic wrap, squeezecannabutter to compress it, and then form into a shape thatconforms to your containers, and store it in an airtight andfreezable container. The point of freezing cannabutter is sothat it will not lose its potency and can be used or kept fora longer time. It will melt quickly once it’s warmed. Now it’sready for you to enjoy!

Uses:What can you use cannabutter for? Use it in such recipes asmuffins, cookies, and brownies, where butter or shorteningis called for. When you want to ingest, rather than inhaling,your cannabis, and you want it in something sweet ratherthan something savory, cannabutter is the way to go. Bake itin your favorite recipe, and it’s as good as it was at the timeyou first prepared it. Something sweet, something with zingand now for this issue’s recipes. For those of you who likedbaked goods, we offer Coma Cookies, and for those of youwho prefer to drink your cannabis…and get a bit of caffeinekick at the same time…we offer the Canacoffee Milkshake.

Yeilin

ToTo See all the pics go to www.NaturalInstinct.us

Digital Pro December 2011 05 04 Digital Pro December 2011

The Real Reefer Madnessby Michael Lazar

How crazy is it to spend much-needed mon-ey prosecutingpeople (as felons!) just for toking, when we could legalize pot and be earning money by tax-ing pot sales? Apparently, pot smokers are considered more of a menace than are murderers and rapists. The numbers of arrests keep climbing each year, yet the laws don’t dissuade anyone from smoking herb.

Weed, grass, pot, reefer…whatever you call it, it’s beenillegal for quite some time, and the federal govern-ment ofthe United States of America aims to keep it that way forquite some time to come. Ironically, during the Civil Warand even earlier, such as during the Revolutionary War, there were mandates passed that encouraged—and rewarded— farmers for growing hemp. Hemp was used for the manufacture of military uniforms, boat sails, and boots, amongother purposes.

As a matter of historical fact, Jamestown Colony issued a decree in 1619 stating that all those who settled there were required to grow hemp. And our foremost founding father, George Washington, grew fields of pot around 1797 at Mount Vernon, where hemp was his primary crop. Hell, the United States Census of 1850 showed there were 8,327 hemp plan-tations in the US, and this counted only farms that had a minimum of two acres. That’s a lot of pot!

(But don’t get overexcited—the story gets sad from here onout.) This was during a jovial period in our history. It was a time before people decided that taking a hit off a joint made you a felon, an evildoer whose actions were comparable to those of a child molester, arsonist, or otherlow-life criminal bottom-feeder. Damned be we all…or so these unfathomably unconstitutional and really unconscionable pot laws would make it seem. But wait…it gets better (by which I mean worse). In the early 1900s, pot was criminalized in manystates. Thanks to the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act, which followed soon after, the 1930s saw a nationwide ban, much in the way alcohol was prohibited…and we all know how well that worked out for the country!

On March 22, 1933, after realizing that banning alcohol was not working and never would, President FranklinRoosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, an amendment to the Volstead Act, essentially making it legal to sell, produce, use, and possess alcoholic products. Left illegal per the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act and its powersthat-be was a very tearyeyed Mary Jane, who would go on to create mischief for many: the lawmakers forbade her companionship for anyl aw-abiding citizen.

For those who did partake of the forbidden fruitmuch like Adam and Eve and that shiny red, tempting appletheir reputations were permanently sullied and their ivelihoods placed at stake by a felony arrest on their records. Now a cult classic, a movie of the ’50s used scare tactics in an attempt to convince people they would go insane from merely taking a pull off a pipe or a hit off a bong. Today the movie’s title, Reefer Madness, is aterm well suited to describe the heresy of what can happen todecent folks who like to get stoned after a long day of work.

Yes, those laws and their consequences are the real“reefer madness”: people getting arrested for smoking buds. The same people who are arresting them, however, tie off a few rounds at the local bar after they get off work. But that’s alcohol. Just as intoxicating, and we won’t talk about the potential for liver damage or alcohol dependence…but,since ’33, legal once again.

How ironic. It’s okay to get high in the U.S., if you areaccomplishing your recreation and relaxation via alcohol. But smoke pot and you’re a felon! Heck, even if you do it legally, in accordance with relaxed state rules, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) will come after you.According to a recent report published by the DEA, “As of April 2006…eleven states…have decriminalized certain marijuanause…Arizona, Alaska, California,

Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, andWashington.

In addition, Maryland has enacted legislation that recog-nizes a ‘medical marijuana’ defense.” And if you think they are not raiding and shutting down places that dispense marijuana with their respective states’ blessing,you must be stoned. This in spite of our current sittingpresident’s statement that the DEA will not go after mari-juana dispensaries in these states. In doubt? Look up this landmark case: United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative Et Al. The DEA is targeting all dispen-saries to the full extent of its nationwide powers.

Scary stats Let’s look at some pot statistics so we can get an idea of what this nonsense is costing taxpayers, and how deep the breadth of it really is. In 2003, according to the FBI, pot arrests hit an all-time high. The total number of persons who were arrested nationwide that year was

755,186.

That’s twice the number as a decade prior, in 1993. Moreimportantly, there were 150,000 more arrests for potduring this year than there were for violent crimes.What lesson may we take away from that?

Apparently, pot smokers are considered more of a menace than are murderers and rapists. Similar numbers exist each year prior to 2003. From 2000 to 2003, the average number of pot arrests annually was about 730,000. In 2000, 735,500 national pot arrests were recorded. In 2001, 724,000 people were busted. And in 2002, 697,000 were sent to the slammer for smoking reefer. Here’s where it gets even more interesting: These are not arrests for only dealers. Rather, about 88% of these arrests were of users of pot, predominantly busted for possession. The real kicker: 45% of all drug arrests in the U.S. annually are for pot.

For over 15 years,Flash has been a catalyst in the Miami music and art scene. He is the owner of The Wallflower Gallery, formal-ly in Downtown Miami, and founder of PloppyPalace Productions (www.PloppyPalace.com). Flash brought together all sorts of local artists, musicians, dancers, poets and political activists, andgave them a platform to perform and express them-selves. Unfortunately The Wallflower Gallery was shut down last year - the building is scheduled to betorn down. Since then, Flash, the Funk Finder, has kept, as he says “in motion”, dedicating himself to one of his other passions - the reform ofmarijuana laws.

Flash has produced the Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert Series - showcasing many of South Florida’s top bands and community activists. This event helps to raise awareness and funds for Florida’s medical marijuana campaign through groups like NORML of South Florida (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), PUFMM (People United For Medical Marijuana) and Patients Out of Time. Flash is also on the front lines in the battle to decriminalize marijuana in Miami Beach. He is often on Miami Beach collecting signatures of Miami Beachregistered voters for a petition to change the misdemea-nor penalty against the possession of marijuana from an arrestable crime to a ticketable offense.

Sounds beautiful doesn’t it? No arrest, no jail, no record forhaving less than 20 grams of pot on thy person, just a ticket and a $100 fine. “While marijuana law reform may not be everyone’s issue”, Flash says via his Ploppy Palace Facebook postings, “but can we all agree that people should not go to jail for marijuana possession? We cannot wait for “them”(the politicians) to change the laws, just because the laws are irrational, unproductive, cruel and a waste of money. Only we canb convince the politicians to change the laws by being a strong enough force of voter action.” As of now, they’re a few hundred signatures away from getting thisissue on the November 2011 ballot. This is very reassuring, but the battle is just beginning. As mentioned before, Miami is pretty conservative and might not be so supportive of the cause. Undeterred by this, Flash keeps connecting with people by spreading the word and educating them on theissues. Keep up the fight, brother.

If you’d like to support the campaign for the decrimi-nalization of marijuanain Miami Beach please visit the Committee for Sensi-ble Marijuana Policy atwww.sensibleflorida.comhttp://www.sensibleflorida.com or on Facebook.

Marijuana Testimonials

God dont make mistakes...and god is kindand our whole economy before the early 1900s was based on hemp..the first time I smoked I understood that this is good not bad and isnt what all the lies have been about our whole life...wake up..this is way misunderstood and its our part to change it....– Reverend Brady

Mary Jane is my friend. She helps me unwind after a hard week of theoffice. She’s the only girl I know who helps me redecorate my condo,arrange my shoe collection, crank up some sweet tunes and she’ll neversteal your boyfriend.Ganja has been around since the creation of the earth as we know it. It’s a natural herb and a remedy for many ailments. Cancer patients are given the herb to help ease the pain of chemotherapy and to encourage the appetite. Smoking the Ganj makes my cramps disappear and it can relieve a split-ting headache faster than Excedrin.– Jill

Weed can save this country. All of us smokers know the benefits of this beautiful plant– Lucas Peterson

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