((PKG)) PIA -- MEDICAL MARIJUANA
((Banner: For a Little Relief))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Tucson, Arizona))
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
Cannabis in its different forms is the most versatile healing
plant that is known to man. I see cannabis primarily as a
source of nutrition. It's not a stimulant or depressant. It is
known as an adjustant. And so, it can up regulate or down
regulate the same body system in the same individual at a
different given time.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
My name is Aari Ruben. I am the Director of Real-Leaf
Brands and Real-Leaf brand of products.
Prior to opening the dispensary, my job as an administrator
for a pain management and mental health clinic that treated
chronic pain patients with opioids, my experience was that
those medicines create dependence and addictive behaviors
in a large number of people. The medications themselves
are extremely effective. We absolutely need them for
surgery and for immediate emergency situations. However,
they don't seem to be a good alternative for most individuals
for long term use.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
These are some of our production batches that are in their
vegetative state. These plants are looking really good. They
look healthy. They're ready to go into flower in the next
week or so.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Edsel, Co-worker))
Aari: Are these the new mother plants that we're going to
be cloning off of for next batches?
Co-worker Edsel: That's correct. These are new moms
that have been re-mommed recently. And these will be our
future donors.
Aari: Is this trying to flower a little bit? Might need a little
more light?
Co-worker Edsel: Yeah.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
When I was first exposed to cannabis, it was a social or
recreational activity. As time went on and I became more
familiar with cannabis and different strains and different
effects, I became aware that there were medical uses.
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
I have an uncle who's one of my mentors and he is a Ph.D
Organic Chemist with a focus on nutraceutical
medicine. And in the mid-90s, I had the good fortune to
work with one of his organizations known as Shaman
Pharmaceuticals. They had 80 ethnobotanists travelling
South American and African rainforests and bringing back
plant species that were suggested by indigenous medicine
people to have efficacy in treating human illness. And that
started me off with a basis in understanding plant medicine
and a passion for its uses.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
The conditions in this area simulate summer time so the
lights are on 16 plus hours a day to simulate long summer
days.
Edsel is cutting clones and he'll trim the bottom down just a
little bit in order to create a fresh cut sterile environment. We
dip it into a little rooting hormone and then straight into a
organic soil plug that has a small amount of nutrient and so
over a period of about 10 days, these plants will develop a
root system of their own and be able to uptake more nutrient
and be either a mother plant or one of our production
plants.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
This is one of our flower rooms where the magic happens.
In this room, we have forty-thousand watt high pressure
sodium lights. It stays cool by about 25 tons of air
conditioning when the lights are on. We fill it with an
average of one-hundred-and-sixty plants per cycle. And
they are in these seven gallon [26 liter] grow bags in organic
soil. And we trellis them up. These plants are one of our
favorite medicinal strains. It's sharp shock, is a heavy
yielder that doesn't have a lot of leaf growth coming out of it
and so it's very easy to trim.
We call this room flower room two. These plants have been
in here for about two months. They're finishing in their late
flower cycle and ready for harvest and we're happy to be
here doing what we do.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
Presently in the United States, there's more support for the
legalization of marijuana than there has ever been. The
support for medical uses is at an all-time high and I believe
to be in the 80 or 90 percent range in terms of adults that
support people having safe legal access to medical
marijuana for reasonable medical use.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Customer))
Aari: How are you today?
Customer: Oh, fine. How are you?
Aari: Good. Good.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
This is where our bud-tenders help patients. We have a
large variety of product, most of which we've made in-
house. On the top shelf, we have our indica-dominant flower
selection. We also are making a number of novel products
that you can see. Down on the center, we have a sublingual
strip. On the bottom shelf, we have our line of tinctures and
topicals. We're big on information. We maintain a lending
library where people can borrow our cannabis information
and learn more about the industry products, different
treatment methods. We also have a few books for sale.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Bud-tender))
Aari: What are we inventorying today?
Bud-tender: Concentrates.
Aari: OK. How's it looking so far?
Bud-tender: Really Good.
Aari: Yeah.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
In this cabinet, we have a large variety of extracts that are
waiting to be turned into products or sold to other vendors
and turned into labeled e-cigarettes, vape cartridges or the
like, edibles. This is what raw cannabis distillate it looks like
and it can be put into a large number of different items.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
I personally like all of our strains. They all have character
and their own nuances. The great thing about it is that
cannabis has an incredibly high safety profile. It's very safe
and so, we experiment and do our trial and error process
with individuals. We can find what works for them and use
that information then to help others with similar
circumstances. And so that to me is fascinating and one of
the most interesting parts of my job is matching up the right
plants with the right people.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Customer))
Aari: Cookies and cream, oh, it's good. I like that. Well, have a
nice day. Thanks for coming.
((Banner: For a Little Relief))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Tucson, Arizona))
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
Cannabis in its different forms is the most versatile healing
plant that is known to man. I see cannabis primarily as a
source of nutrition. It's not a stimulant or depressant. It is
known as an adjustant. And so, it can up regulate or down
regulate the same body system in the same individual at a
different given time.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
My name is Aari Ruben. I am the Director of Real-Leaf
Brands and Real-Leaf brand of products.
Prior to opening the dispensary, my job as an administrator
for a pain management and mental health clinic that treated
chronic pain patients with opioids, my experience was that
those medicines create dependence and addictive behaviors
in a large number of people. The medications themselves
are extremely effective. We absolutely need them for
surgery and for immediate emergency situations. However,
they don't seem to be a good alternative for most individuals
for long term use.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
These are some of our production batches that are in their
vegetative state. These plants are looking really good. They
look healthy. They're ready to go into flower in the next
week or so.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Edsel, Co-worker))
Aari: Are these the new mother plants that we're going to
be cloning off of for next batches?
Co-worker Edsel: That's correct. These are new moms
that have been re-mommed recently. And these will be our
future donors.
Aari: Is this trying to flower a little bit? Might need a little
more light?
Co-worker Edsel: Yeah.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
When I was first exposed to cannabis, it was a social or
recreational activity. As time went on and I became more
familiar with cannabis and different strains and different
effects, I became aware that there were medical uses.
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
I have an uncle who's one of my mentors and he is a Ph.D
Organic Chemist with a focus on nutraceutical
medicine. And in the mid-90s, I had the good fortune to
work with one of his organizations known as Shaman
Pharmaceuticals. They had 80 ethnobotanists travelling
South American and African rainforests and bringing back
plant species that were suggested by indigenous medicine
people to have efficacy in treating human illness. And that
started me off with a basis in understanding plant medicine
and a passion for its uses.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
The conditions in this area simulate summer time so the
lights are on 16 plus hours a day to simulate long summer
days.
Edsel is cutting clones and he'll trim the bottom down just a
little bit in order to create a fresh cut sterile environment. We
dip it into a little rooting hormone and then straight into a
organic soil plug that has a small amount of nutrient and so
over a period of about 10 days, these plants will develop a
root system of their own and be able to uptake more nutrient
and be either a mother plant or one of our production
plants.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
This is one of our flower rooms where the magic happens.
In this room, we have forty-thousand watt high pressure
sodium lights. It stays cool by about 25 tons of air
conditioning when the lights are on. We fill it with an
average of one-hundred-and-sixty plants per cycle. And
they are in these seven gallon [26 liter] grow bags in organic
soil. And we trellis them up. These plants are one of our
favorite medicinal strains. It's sharp shock, is a heavy
yielder that doesn't have a lot of leaf growth coming out of it
and so it's very easy to trim.
We call this room flower room two. These plants have been
in here for about two months. They're finishing in their late
flower cycle and ready for harvest and we're happy to be
here doing what we do.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
Presently in the United States, there's more support for the
legalization of marijuana than there has ever been. The
support for medical uses is at an all-time high and I believe
to be in the 80 or 90 percent range in terms of adults that
support people having safe legal access to medical
marijuana for reasonable medical use.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Customer))
Aari: How are you today?
Customer: Oh, fine. How are you?
Aari: Good. Good.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
This is where our bud-tenders help patients. We have a
large variety of product, most of which we've made in-
house. On the top shelf, we have our indica-dominant flower
selection. We also are making a number of novel products
that you can see. Down on the center, we have a sublingual
strip. On the bottom shelf, we have our line of tinctures and
topicals. We're big on information. We maintain a lending
library where people can borrow our cannabis information
and learn more about the industry products, different
treatment methods. We also have a few books for sale.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Bud-tender))
Aari: What are we inventorying today?
Bud-tender: Concentrates.
Aari: OK. How's it looking so far?
Bud-tender: Really Good.
Aari: Yeah.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
In this cabinet, we have a large variety of extracts that are
waiting to be turned into products or sold to other vendors
and turned into labeled e-cigarettes, vape cartridges or the
like, edibles. This is what raw cannabis distillate it looks like
and it can be put into a large number of different items.
((NATS))
((Aari Ruben, Director, Real-Leaf Brands, Inc.))
I personally like all of our strains. They all have character
and their own nuances. The great thing about it is that
cannabis has an incredibly high safety profile. It's very safe
and so, we experiment and do our trial and error process
with individuals. We can find what works for them and use
that information then to help others with similar
circumstances. And so that to me is fascinating and one of
the most interesting parts of my job is matching up the right
plants with the right people.
((NATS: Aari Ruben and Customer))
Aari: Cookies and cream, oh, it's good. I like that. Well, have a
nice day. Thanks for coming.
