Travel Tales: Leaving Germany, Irish Adventures, and The Lost Art Workshop

Marge (00:00:05) - In this week's episode of Bite Me, is headed home, and I share a few of my reflections on my time in Germany and what I'm looking forward to when I return back to Canada. Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles where I help you take control of your high life. I'm your host and Certified Ganjier Marge and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here. And thank you for joining me today. Greetings, friends. I'm glad you're here. Thank you for joining me today. Thank you for tuning in. And if this is the first time that you are tuning in, I'm glad that you found me. You're finding me at the tail end of several weeks in Germany, and I'll be heading home soon. And that's what we're talking about today. And if you've been listening for a while, then you know what's been going on, and my heartfelt appreciation goes out to you. Because if it wasn't for you folks listening, I wouldn't be doing this.

Marge (00:00:59) - It's not easy to create a show from scratch and to get people to actually listen. So it's really incredible that you're here and I am eternally grateful for. The fact that I get to do this. How amazing is that? Now I just want to mention a couple of things. Actually, before we get into the meat and potatoes of this week's episode. And that is a new feature. Now when you're looking, it's called fan mail, and it's a new feature that allows you to text the show. And it is something that you'll see. You should be able to see it now. But I when I looked at my own phone, it hadn't come up yet. So it may take a little bit of time to populate, but but by the time this episode comes out, it should be available. And when you look in your podcasting app, you should see right above the description a message. It says text bite me. And that will allow you to send a text message and I will receive it.

Marge (00:02:04) - And I believe I can reply. And it sounds really interesting. And if you want to try it out, I would love to see how it works. It's just another easy way to reach out to get in touch. I also you can always email me at stay hi About Me podcast.com or use leave a voice message with the podcast hotline or DM me on Instagram or join the club. There's a whole bunch of ways you can get Ahold of me, but sometimes this one seems pretty direct and easy. And of course, the feature keeps the phone numbers private so you don't have to worry about giving up your personal information in order to reach out. So why don't we test it out? If you're on the app right now, you can just tap on that box and let me know. How did you discover Bite Me, the show about edibles? I would love to hear some of these responses if it was through a friend or another podcast, or I was guesting on a show or happenstance. How did you discover Bite Me, the show about edibles? Let me know because I would love to hear it.

Marge (00:03:07) - I think it would be really cool and if I get any responses, I will share them on the show. Let's get into the episode now. This is sort of a bittersweet episode for me, because it marks essentially the end of my stay here in Germany, and I also just had the opportunity to spend some time in Ireland last week, and I was able to meet some people from the cannabis community there, and that was super cool. I stayed with some friends who it was a whirlwind visit. I was only there for two and a half days. And Ireland is a small country compared to Canada, but there is still way too much to see and only two and a half days. But boy did my friends really try to pack it in. They really did try to show me as much as we could possibly see over those two and a half days, and wow, it was incredible. The whole adventure was incredible, and meeting some of these people from the cannabis community as well was really heartwarming because it's, you see some of these names sometimes on a screen, and to see these people in person, to talk to them was really fun.

Marge (00:04:15) - And I was gifted some edibles and some sweet treats. And for those, I really appreciated both of those things. I have to admit that most of the sweet treats that I was gifted, I don't think they made it past the airport. They were pretty good and they were not infused, but a nice example of some Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, baked goods. And they were delicious. And I think that's pretty much what I have for dinner when I was at the airport that night. But no regrets. Excellent. And of course, I was also gifted some brownies and cookies that were sealed homemade ones. And they were so good. Way stronger than I needed. So I have been able to make them last because I have to quarter them essentially because otherwise they would knock me on my ass. But it was really nice to receive those. So as it turns out, I have a selection of edibles right now that I wasn't really expecting to have at this point. I mean, I made some of those from I made the boxed mix of brownies, which turn out pretty good.

Marge (00:05:22) - I mean, they're not the best brownies I've ever tried, basically because they came from a boxed mix, but they're adequate and they do the job. And then I got these edibles in Ireland, the cookies and the brownies, which were a far better edible than what I made with the box mix. But they were made from scratch and delicious, just very strong. And so I had those. And then I was also able to trade some of the brownies for some banana bread here back in Berlin as well. I love bartering with edibles. That's one of my favorite ways to make use of edibles. When you have extra is to be able to make some trades. And I do have to admit that I got the better end of the deal because I was trading boxed mixed brownies for made from scratch banana bread. And if you are inferring, did I fly home with some edibles in my luggage from Ireland? Yes I did, they were unmarked, sealed in their own package. So I figured what the hell if I have to throw them out because it's a food item of some kind than I do, but there's no way to know that they were edibles, and I felt pretty safe doing what I fly with any cannabis, even though I've had people tell me, yeah, they don't care.

Marge (00:06:34) - Absolutely not. I feel like that would be too risky for me, and I would never be able to make it through customs without sweating my ass off. And traveling can be stressful enough as it is sometimes, so that's not something that I would do. But I've had a few people tell me that, oh, they don't really care, but a little bit of weed or whatever, and that might be, but I'm never going to find it. Now, I have to admit that this time here in, in Berlin and in Germany has really made me grateful for the cannabis scene back home. Back home, I just got my medical card, which I haven't actually ordered from any of the dispensaries yet, because I got the card literally days before I was going to leave for Berlin and it was like, well, obviously, what's the point? Because I'm going to order it. It's going to be sitting here, so I'll be doing my first order when I go home, which I'm looking forward to.

Marge (00:07:23) - And one of the advantages of having a medical card is that you can access cannabis that's not usually or sometimes not otherwise available in your province. So a licensed producer may be selling to certain provinces, but you with some of the dispensaries that are that you have access to with your medical card, I can get stuff that wouldn't normally be available in Ontario. And I find that interesting because my friend in Saskatchewan, who has been on this show many times, temple grower, I'll link to some of those episodes in the show notes, because we've done some great episodes together and he's extremely knowledgeable. he and I can buy the same stuff and compare notes, which is kind of cool. Something that we've been talking about doing for quite some time. And because a lot of the times what I can get in Ontario is very different than what he can get in Saskatchewan. But. We both happened to be members of the same medical dispensary, so that will be fun to do when I get home. And it also makes me really fortunate for the access that I have back home.

Marge (00:08:28) - That's something that, you know, obviously it just became legal in Germany when I got here, which is unprecedented. And what an incredible time to be in Berlin. I mean, I was here at the birth of legalization, and it's undoubtedly going to create ripples throughout Europe, hopefully. And it's going to incite some positive change when it comes to legalization in other places throughout Europe, the wind of change is blowing through, but it doesn't mean that the access was any easier, especially for someone like myself. Yeah, if it hadn't been for the fact that I got to know some people here and make some connections, it would have been probably pretty tricky to get some cannabis. Maybe not as tricky as I think, but there are certain risks that maybe not willing to take. You know, you can't just come here and just go out and buy some weed. It's just doesn't work like that. But it just legalized, so there will be better access. It's coming. What will legalization look like in Germany in five years? It's going to look very, very different than it does now, just like it looks different in Canada now that we're five years in.

Marge (00:09:35) - Is the Canadian system perfect? Absolutely not. But am I grateful for the fact that I can go home and walk into a store, or I can find an online dispensary or I can actually, honestly, you can access the legal market and the legacy market. Is wheat everywhere, essentially. And of course you can grow and you can DIY your edibles, so the options are almost endless. It feels like. And I am very grateful for that ease of access. Now, Canada could just get on board, probably a little bit better with some of the public consumption lounges and stuff like that. That would probably be a real game changer as far as tourism goes, because people who go to places, other places like to check out the weed and other places and having a place to consume it, not just buy it, would be wonderful. So that's maybe one of the areas that Canada could really improve on and probably should be looking at now that we're five years in, but I digress. I'm grateful that I've have the access that I do back home, but just know for those who are in a place where it's not legal or it's just just at the outset of legalization, it's going to change.

Marge (00:10:43) - And with the news as well that the DEA is going to schedule cannabis, things are happening, folks. Things are happening. And hopefully this is just the beginning of some exciting changes in the world as far as cannabis goes and access and legalization and all those good things. Now, while I was here, one of the things I had attempted to do was get Mila, the hash queen on for an interview. And at the time of this recording, despite several attempts, it never happened. It was a combination of all kinds of things technology, internet connections, cell phones. That's sometimes what happens as a podcaster when you're booking interviews, that things just don't line up perfectly the way you hope to sometimes. I mean, I shouldn't say sometimes I've done 50 odd interviews. I think now for the show, and if you think that they've all gone perfectly smoothly or that people haven't forgotten or we've missed a thing or whatever, no, of course not. And that's just the way it goes. So I was a little disappointed, but one of the reasons I wanted to have her on, besides the fact that she's a fearless icon with an incredible life story, is that she's coming to Toronto.

Marge (00:12:00) - There's going to be a Frenchy Lost art workshop in Toronto later this month. I'll link to it in the show notes. And if you're at all curious about what it is, it's Frenchie Connolly's The Lost Art workshop with McAnally and Bell, and special guest meal of the hash Queen. The famed Hashish and Frenchie can only spend 18 years traveling to producing countries where he experienced traditional processing methodologies in Nepal, India, Pakistan, Morocco and other countries where the knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. We're talking about hash making here. When Frenchie came to the US in the 2000, he encountered a generation of young people who had been cut off from these traditions. Frenchy continued the legacy of passing on the knowledge of how to work with the plant to harvest the trichomes heads. Through his work with his apprentice Bell, Bell lived and worked with Frenchie and Madame Connolly for over seven years, and became a master in the art in her own right. Combining traditional knowledge with modern technology. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you during this full day workshop.

Marge (00:13:12) - And this workshop is from 830 in the morning until it looks like 6:00 at night. So this is a full day workshop which will show you everything you could possibly want to know about traditional hash making with folks who have been around this process for a very long time and are masters at the craft. Madam Cornelia, of course, as I mentioned, will be attending. She's also been a guest on the show in the past, one of my favorite interviews, and she has a wonderful insights into the art of tasting, and that episode is worth a listen. Whether you are enjoying beautiful cannabis, hashish, whether you're tasting chocolate cheeses, the art of tasting is something that applies to so many different things that we enjoy in life, and it's something that you can really do to slow down and savor the food that you're enjoying the cannabis, the wine, whatever it is that you're enjoying the art of tasting is. I think worth trying to hone and develop, because it really does lend the enjoyment of some of these beautiful things.

Marge (00:14:23) - So Mila will also be there to share some of her story, and she has traveled extensively to places most people only dream to visit. She started the Pollinator Company in her 50s. That changed the process of making hash forever. She started the Dabba Doo contest in her 70s. She's not only a fierce woman dominating in a man's world, especially cannabis, which does tend to be pretty male dominated. But she's also an example of not holding back just because you're getting older. And I love that because oftentimes I don't think we give enough credence to the knowledge and wisdom that age brings. And perhaps this is relevant to me as well as I'm not getting any younger myself. I had the pleasure to read her book, which she sent me while I was here in Berlin, signed and mailed from Amsterdam, and it's inspiring to see how someone can tackle whatever problem is before her with strength and determination. And the book is a tome which took her over a ten years to write, which is no surprise because Mila has lived an incredibly varied life.

Marge (00:15:39) - And just to give you a taste, this is from the foreword of Mila How I Became the hash Queen. It was not that Mila's escape from Holland's home for unwed mothers in the middle of the cold winter of 1963 led straight to the mystical Mazar e Sharif and beyond. First, she made a stand in Amsterdam with her child, in love with fabric and food, color and hash and people. Mila opened to King 22in 1966, which offered clothing for the happy and free, which for which she found herself was the principal advertisement. Always fabulously attired in a new dress or jungle print, silk trouser suit and wig, a victim of its own success, the operation of kink became tiresome, so Mila transformed it into an exotically appointed teahouse. Cleo de Moda open noon to midnight, the teahouse so quickly became the central meeting place of the international underground scene in Amsterdam that the always skittish Dutch police leaned in persistently and Mila was forced to close it down. It was the 60s, and somehow she sensed it was India, of all places.

Marge (00:16:55) - That was really birthing the era. So Mila just had to go with her child overland from Amsterdam via Afghanistan. They loved walking, fortunately, because many of the places they favored en route could only be approached on foot. But by then. But they went by van mostly, and boat and bus and dubious trains and horses and bicycles and rafts and one time on ropes. Mila was drawn to experience like a bee to flowers. She survived on her own terms, her only rule being that it had to be exciting. So when the head dwarf of a traveling dwarf circus asked Mila and her infant daughter to join their troop, mother and child looked at one another and immediately in unison, said, yes. 20 years in India, off and on, moving from one enterprise to the next, sometimes merely on the basis of a change of weather, the soul of the subcontinent was absorbed like fragrant oil through Mila's skin, and so by the time she last returned to Europe, she'd been exposed as well as well to the myriad Far Eastern approaches to the production and uses of fish.

Marge (00:18:05) - Back in Amsterdam, she and some friends opened the Hemp Hotel, where the amenities included hemp sheets on the beds, pot growing on the dresser, hemp oils and readily available hemp edibles. The hotel was huge fun, but not a moneymaker, so of course she kept it going for years. But in the meantime, money was an issue as always. One night in November in 1992, Mila was doing her laundry and smoking a joint at her place in Amsterdam, watching her clothes through the little window as they tumbled in the dryer tumble, tumble winter clothes, she was suddenly reminded of something she had often seen in the Far East, the way they separated the resin from the marijuana leaf, she asked herself. At this point, an hour before midnight, while doing her laundry, a transcendental, simple question what would happen if I remove the heating element from the dryer and put in dried marijuana instead of clothes? Wouldn't the tumbling action gently dislodge and release the potent trichomes from the leaf and flowers, with the addition of a fine screen around the tub? Couldn't those trichomes then fall through the screen? Into a waiting tray at the bottom of the machine.

Marge (00:19:16) - What then would you have? Pure, unadulterated hashish. When? In the days ahead they. This proved to be exactly the case. Another question arose. The same question she'd asked and answered so many times before in her wildly free and freelance life. Could I make a little business out of it? It was that or the butterfly garden she was hoping to create, and the bankers were saying the figures in her business plan for the butterfly venture were way too optimistic. Thus was launched history's first hash machine, the only such advance in this ancient industry in more than 3000 years. Mila named her invention the pollinator in 1994, and they are now sold around the world. How did Mila become the hash queen? It is the story of a journey. Literally bring extra matches and at least a little cash if you can manage it. Other than this, as long as you have the courage of a lion, you have all you need for the pranksters road ahead. And that forward was written by Jamie Craig, and that just gives you a taste of what this book was all about.

Marge (00:20:27) - So if you're in Toronto, you're near Toronto, you should consider attending this workshop. It is a rare opportunity for Mila and Bell and Madam Cannoli all together, sharing the insights about making hash, and it will be a great time, no doubt. So by the time this next episode, by the time the next episode comes out, not this one. I'm still in Berlin as I record this, but the next episode, next week I'll be back in Canada. And I have to admit, these weeks have been both deliciously slow, but they've also gone way too fast. And it's bittersweet because I have loved living and working and touring around Berlin and Hamburg and Ireland. But there are people back home that I missed too. Will I be back? I hope so. It would be really interesting to see the change as far as access and legalization. If I were to come back and say six months to a year. So it is possible and I would love to note those changes. I am looking forward to being back in Canada, but I am really going to miss you.

Marge (00:21:33) - Germany. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with someone else you think might enjoy it. And of course, if you want to reach out to me, we talked about that at the top of the show. Maybe try the new texting feature and see how you like it. Something brand new, so it'll be fun to try it out. And of course, if you want to share, whether it's through the text or email or podcast hotline or wherever, how did you first discover the show? I would love to hear it. And of course, consider the products and services on the Marge Recommends page. It really does help to support the show and no additional cost to you. I'm your host, Marge. And until next time, my friends, stay high.