CannaCopia

People think cannabis is just to get high but you go around the plants and there is this energy.”

Karen Arrington

When you walk into the BOA Holistic Pot Lounge, 2140 Highway 180 E. in Silver City, it takes a few minutes for your eyes to adjust. The low light cavernous space could be the depths of a medieval castle – only welcoming.

Brian and Karen Arrington have given the spacious former Billy’s Restaurant a warm aromatic cast with comfortable corners and a balcony for dancing and painting in black light.

“We are huge believers in the natural cures God’s put on this earth,” Brian said. “Cures that are underutilized I would say.”

The space outside, once you walk through the hall and onto the back patio is equally as spacious with classical marblesque pillars and a rounded stage. It’s here that bingo occurs as well as tea parties, poetry and comedy nights.

“You can come back and enjoy any part you like,” Brian said.  “The events include the cannabis which I don’t do like most people.”

What he means is Brian has developed germinations of cannabis and hemp. Sometimes events include planting your own in red plastic cups.

“We are going to focus a lot on hemp because it is an underutilized part of this whole medicine,” he said. “Cannabis everybody is going into, its good but the other ones are good (medicinally) as well like hemp, ginger and yerba mata. I’ve seen yerba mata do a lot of cool things.”

Exploring not only cannabis but also those other potentially healing substances is what BOA Holistic’s upcoming event, CannaCopia, is all about, Karen said. On June 15 local cannabis farms and micro businesses will be on site at the lounge and welcoming visitors.

“People will be able to come in, talk to the businesses, learn their processes, see their product and be able to purchase through us,” Karen said. “We’ll have gift baskets so you can enter for a drawing.”

Growers and dispensaries are coming in from Las Cruces, Truth or Consequences, Deming, Cliff, Gila and even Reserve, she said. Following the event the products of the participants will be available on the shelves at BOA Holistic as well.

“We want to try and keep our farms in mind,” she said. “They are struggling now. We need to help them out over corporate. Corporate is where you just all get the same thing.”

Karen believes cannabis is medicine.

“After being a nurse for 20 years, you want to treat people,” she said. “Even retired you have the same mind set.”

But CannaCopia is not all just about cannabis. Outside, next to the building the parking lot will welcome more than 50 non-cannabis venders, including food trucks. Live music starts at noon and the event goes through until 7 p.m.

“People can go out, sit and listen to the music,” Karen said. “Inside we will be filled with people talking and networking. Chronic and Kurple (marijuana) magazines will be here too. We are just excited to be here really.”

A CannaCopia cup will be awarded at the end of the day. A panel of judges has been brought on to smoke the local products and judge it. Charlotte Sierra is one of those judges. She has faced chronic illnesses in her life including cancer and seizures. She relies on pacemaker to keep her heart steady.

“It’s been a roller coaster of trying to find out what strain works and what doesn’t,” she said. “Brian is working on a strain that might help me more.”

Brian had started his cannabis journey in 2010 as a medical patient with a medical marijuana license, Karen said. He had a lot of cancer friends and started working with the plant genetics that would help with pain and with sleep.

“He would just play with it in the back yard with his medical license and he would help others with the medical licenses, giving them the genetics to grow their plants,” she said. “People think cannabis is just to get high but you go around the plants and there is this energy. We focus on the whole medicine.”

“We just want to get the community out and make cannabis a lot more friendly because it’s had this stigma for so long,” Brian said.