What’s in Your Stash? Cannabis Reviewer Jack Daniel

Southern California cannabis patient, cultivar reviewer, and editor, Jack Daniel, has an admission with a certain item in his stash box.

“I probably wrote one hundred cannabis reviews before I started grinding my buds – and now, I don’t know how I ever did it!” he laughed. “Everything goes through the grinder now.”

Daniel’s grinder is a stainless steel number that grinds with precision, made by Compton Grinders, from Compton, California – made in the U.S.A.

The necessity of grinding flower is two-fold. Firstly, it releases the terpenes of the flower for better flavor, without the charred flower being repeatedly torched.

The flavor or scent of the cannabis flower is where the beneficial compounds of the plant are. Beneficial herbs have scents to attract us; we need them for our health and wellbeing.

Grinding is also more cost effective, insuring no morsel of goodness is wasted.

“In the center of the tray is my daily driver glass pipe from San Diego local glass company, Opinicus9,” he shared. “Though I will dab occasionally, and eat an edible once in a while – bongs are rare, joints are for friends, but my pipe is my trusty sidearm in all situations.”

Opinicus9 is a glass pipe manufacturer in San Diego, in Southern California, specializing in fine, one-of-a-kind glass dab rigs, pipes, and beautiful hand-blown jewelry, with pieces also available on its Etsy site.

On the top right of his stash box is his nug jar, currently full of Beard Glue, and Yeti OG.

Repurposing containers for weed is nothing new, and though there are many fancy containers now on the market, Daniel’s trim jar is a re-purposed Garbage Pail Kids candy container shaped like a trash can with lid.

“All my stems, leaves and anything else that gets stripped prior to the grind goes into the little trash can,” he explained. “When it is full I give it to my dad and he makes his own remedies from it.”

His dad, who is also a California cannabis patient, boils the remains of Daniel’s flower and stems to make a poultice for topical use.

In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a poultice is an ancient remedy wherein plant material is soaked in alcohol and applied topically for pain, inflammation, and infection. A poultice could also be used on the chest or back for lung conditions.

In Latin America, grandmothers still soak cannabis and other beneficial plants in a 96 percent alcohol for topical use. Important to note, these methods are as old as the hills, but modern medicine via synthetic formulations have all but bumped Grandma’s remedies to the curb.

Daniel first partook of the herb in 1996, right after basketball season ended in his senior year in high school, and never looked back.

“I loved weed immediately and have smoked virtually every day of my life since,” he shared.

Diagnosed in 2010 with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his cannabis use became serious, as Daniel was told he had a six inch by six inch tumor, two inches wide, lodged between his heart and lung.

“I dubbed it the malignant pork chop,” he reminisced. “It was during this time I decided to take a closer look at those seedy ads in the back of The Reader. I went out and got my medical marijuana recommendation, and bought $280 worth of the best weed I had ever seen from a dispensary. Safe to say, the cultivar, Master Kush and P91, or Poway Class of ’91, got me through most of my treatments.”

At the time, concentrates to ingest to treat cancer and symptoms weren’t in his radar, and he smoked to control symptoms with success. This led him down a new career path, writing weed reviews for several publications, including Weedmaps, where Daniel was listed as a top ten reviewer.

“Using cannabis during my traditional cancer treatments was a supplement, not a cure,” he added. “Smoking cannabis allowed me to eat on a regular schedule, sleep in a regular schedule, and it made my attitude bright enough to play with my kids.”

Cannabis gave Daniel enough motivation to get to work each day in a construction job – even though he said his mind and body were running on empty. Like many in the cannabis space, the experience changed his life and career forever, and he now spends his days writing about cannabis – with his stash box nearby.

“I like being a freelancer, writing full-time from home – with no boss, no editor, and no fucks left to give,” he laughed.