Every year, my mother tells us the story of how I was her birthday present. What sounds like a sweet story could have been tragic, so I am glad she remembers my birth fondly. Her doctor insisted I was underweight, but my mother’s intuition told her otherwise. I was close to ten pounds when her [...]read moreThe Gift of Gal Time A Mother Daughter Trip in Litchfield Hills
Located on the eastern side of town and anchored by the 125-year-old Brooklawn Country Club, Brooklawn Park counts among its early residents businessman (and accidental inventor) William Russell Frisbie (1848-1903) and local titans of finance and industry Horace Merwin (1888-1948) and Webster Walker (1895-1966). In addition to its “Who’s Who” of turn-of-the-century personalities, one of [...]read moreConnecting a Community Through Art
Governor Ned Lamont has been vocal about ending the prohibition of recreational marijuana use in our state, yet federal law still treats cannabis as a highly addictive controlled substance, with the same classification as cocaine and heroin. The conflict between state and federal law seems tantamount to the contrast of old world with new. In one scene we see a seedy drug dealer selling dime bags on a corner and in another, a clean, organized state-of-the art dispensary. The image of a user transcends from hippie or street thug to clean-cut business people and grannies wearing track suits. This might leave some to wonder how our neighbors and friends really feel about marijuana legalization in our state.
Fairfielder Chris Mayle has a deep personal interest in medical marijuana. He and three partners opened Advanced Grow Labs (AGL) in 2014, which was recently acquired by a publicly traded company named Green Thumb industries. Located in West Haven, AGL researches, develops and produces medical marijuana products—nurturing the progress every step of the way—from plant to finished product.
Current occupation notwithstanding, Mayle is an interesting man to know—intelligent, insightful, and incredibly proud of the business he and his partners have built. He is also the son of Peter Mayle, the author of the New York Times bestseller, A Year in Provence. Mayle believes medical marijuana products are natural, plant-based pharmaceuticals that will continue to make a big impact on the health and comfort of the people who need them. “I think we have just scratched the tip of the iceberg on this,” he says passionately. “I think we will look back in 100 years and say, ‘I can’t believe we didn’t figure that one out sooner.’ ”
“Doctors are starting to believe that THC is having a profound impact on people with a variety of illnesses,” Mayle says. Sarena Kelly, an APRN with Advanced Rheumatology Center of Bridgeport, has seen the positive effects in her practice. “Researchers have identified two different types of cannabinoid receptors in our bodies that have a direct effect on pain and inflammation. Thus, the therapeutic effect of consuming exogenous cannabinoid is to directly reduce pain and inflammation.”
In fact, Connnecticut’s medical marijuana program has recently extended the medical indications for multiple rheumatic conditions. “In our practice CBD or cannabis therapeutics are considered a safe complementary treatment for patients who are receiving, have failed, or are intolerant of standard of care therapies,” Kelly says.
“We need more research to figure it out, but with diseases like Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, and ALS, CBD has been very helpful,” Mayle says. “CBD alone won’t do it. But CBD combined with THC is known to relieve symptoms of myriad diseases including MS, Crohn’s disease, HIV, glaucoma, cancer, and many more.”
One Fairfielder, Christy Damon Jeffremow, eschews the use of opiates and now relies on medical marijuana to help alleviate side effects from chemotherapy. “I have no shame shouting from the roof tops all of the ways that marijuana has helped me,” she says expressively. When she first got her prescription she went to the closest dispensary, located in Branford. “I was nervous at first, but everyone there was extremely helpful in suggesting which strains would work for me. They recommended a sativa “Tangerine Haze” for nausea and an Indica “Girl Scout Cookies” for migraines.”
Perhaps the best way to understand the art and science behind the business is to tour a facility like AGL. The first thing worth noting is the fanatical “operation-room-like” attention to cleanliness the lab requires. Each employee must stand in a high-pressure air shower every time they enter the lab to blast off bugs or other impurities. Each of the 50 employees receives a clean uniform they must wear each day. Access to the labs is monitored closely through digital key fobs and security cameras.
First on the tour is a meeting of the mother plants and their baby clones at several phases, and then, as Mayle says “you get to see where the magic and the medicine happens” in the grow room where strong artificial sunlight showers the plants, creating lush greenery with huge, sticky marijuana buds. From here they are harvested, then dried or processed.
The processing facility features cutting edge machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They are operated by cheerful millennials who pridefully explain the science of their particular role. In the state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, every baked treat is measured and created with precision to ensure each holds the proper dosage of medicine. “Connecticut is by far the most stringent of all states when it comes to purity and regulation for this medicine,” Mayle explains.
Fairfielders have mixed feelings about the legalization. While most are impressed with what they hear about its healing and medicinal properties, one Fairfield Dad disagrees. “I fear that recreational marijuana becoming legal will impact safety on the roads and the quality of work produced by our working population, who might not keep recreational use to after-work hours. Making marijuana legal for recreational use could also make it more available to younger people and send the message that’s “it’s fine.”
[...]
Not only is our area home to dozens of top-notch restaurants, it also boasts several award-winning chefs. In recent years, three local restaurant owners cooked their way to the top on popular cooking shows, putting us on the map as a go-to food destination. December 2017 marked the season 15 premiere of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” [...]read moreCooking-Show Dynamos – Local Chefs Winning National Recognition
Your opinion matters! Have a favorite restaurant, doctor, fitness club? Let people know and enter the Fairfield Readers Choice survey! There are 100+ categories to choose from, but you only need to select TEN for your votes to count, and … as a thanks… you can enter in to a drawing to win dinner for [...]read moreReaders Choice Awards – Fairfield Survey 2020
You know the expression, “If these walls could talk …” Well, at the historic Greek revival masterpiece at 89 Westway, a stone’s throw from Southport Harbor, I imagine these particular 19th-century walls would have terrific stories to tell. This house is a key dwelling that makes up the Southport Historic District, which was listed on [...]read moreHistoric Home with Modern Flair
TownVibe/Fairfield Magazine is proud to bring the Taste of Fairfield to the community once again! Restaurants, specialty markets, winemakers, craft brewers, and others will serve their signature cuisine and curated cocktails and beverages to foodies and fun-loving folk in the area. Plus great entertainment. The venue is the lavish Delamar Southport. Delamar Southport 275 Old Post [...]read moreTaste of Fairfield 2019- Sunday, Oct 13
As I write this another winter storm is brewing outside, yet I am surrounded by the aroma of the Amaryllis, Daffodils, and Hyacinth blooming on my desk. If you are lucky to have a south, east, or west exposure, you can grow all kinds of wonderful plants. Even shady northern exposures can be greened up [...]read moreCreating an Alluring Indoor Garden
Aydin Eyikan is a 15-year-old Fairfield Ludlowe High School student who has studied dance since he was seven, and has placed in the top ten at every regional and national competition that he has competed in for the past five years. He recently became a contestant on NBC’s “World of Dance,” swiftly moving onto the [...]read moreTen Minutes With 15 yr old Award-winning Dancer — Aydin Eyikan — who talks about JLo and “World of Dance”
Until two years ago, the Greenfield Hill Cemetery on Bronson Road defined the word decrepit. Scores of moss-covered tombstones lay scattered in pieces while others were listing precariously. Three-hundred-year-old inscriptions were obscured along with chapters of Fairfield’s history. It took the curiosity of Jeff Taylor to reverse the cemetery’s aging process. Living with his family [...]read moreCemetery Crusader