The Green Avengers Subcool School of Dank in Seattle Nov. 16-18, raised over $10K for homeless teens and needy families with autistic children. It combined the strongest attributes of the weed world: community, generosity, quest for perfection and testimony to the healing power of cannabis.

Welcoming the attendees Friday night, Jinxproof, WA rep for TGA, invited everyone to “become a big family” and that is what happened. I was comfortable the entire long weekend, finding quick friendships with interesting people. Cannabis was the sole topic of discussion, with a focus on cultivation and medicinal uses.

These relationships and the information shared can only come with an open atmosphere, one of the luxuries of being legal. Much of the clandestine aspect of the subculture, along with the corresponding fear, was removed. The SoD was a celebration of freedom of assembly that is not yet possible in states without MMJ laws.

While we were all there because of Subcool and TGA, there was a distinct lack of division amongst the participants. During frequent breaks between lectures, the TGA team was available for priceless one-on-one consultations but the atmosphere was that everyone had something to teach and something to learn. Information exchanges such as this serve to empower individuals thus strengthening the whole movement.

I was one of approximately a dozen women at the SoD and almost all of us were working, mostly as volunteers. So perhaps there is still a “green ceiling” but I didn’t get the feeling that it derives from an old boy network but that for whatever reason fewer women “take it to the next level” as Jinxproof exhorted the crowd to do.

Despite the gender disparity, I was treated with complete respect and felt accepted by the men; there may have been bias in the numbers but not in attitude. I was flattered by how many times I was asked what I grew, a frequent way to initiate conversation at the SoD.

Besides using cannabis to treat autism, which I outlined in a previous article, this weekend I heard amazing stories of cannabis helping serious medical conditions. The kind of stories that when you read about them in a magazine they are easy to dismiss. Hearing them first hand is different and powerful — it is much more difficult to argue with a patient’s narrative, especially when the results are so clear cut.

I spent time with two veterans, both of whom cite cannabis as being the key to allow them to quit long-term methadone use. One veteran also successfully stopped all of the pysch meds he had been prescribed for Iraq-related PTSD. Another person I met uses the Norwegian Kush strain exclusively to treat OCD and social anxiety; without cannabis he would not have been able to attend.

I also talked with a male in his twenties who was considered terminal. He quit his medications against medical advice once he began finding relief with cannabis. He has outlived his doctor’s predictions and believes he is still alive due to MMJ.

Benefit for autism

Autism is a personal cause for Jinx and Rose, owners of Danktank in Seattle and producers of the SoD. They have a seven-year-old son with the condition that affects the brain. Jinx stated “helping kids is badass.”

The SoD would not have been possible without the help of numerous sponsors who contributed approximately $6K. This covered all expenses so that 100% of the money raised went toward helping others. This also kept the tuition to a patient friendly $75 including catered lunches.

Katrina Davis, a social worker with the Seattle Children’s Hospital Autism Center, spoke about what the SoD donations meant to her agency. She said she has very little discretionary income in her budget, cash that she can just give to people to use for whatever reason. She explained the financial toll autism takes on families, stating treatment for her child cost $40K for the first four years and that she was forced to hold fundraisers to help pay for it.

Davis said that last year Jinx walked in with 120 $100 Fred Meyer gift cards, saying “use these as you see fit.” She then shared five stories out of the 100 families helped by the 2011 SoD. Most families used the cards for food, medicine and toys and were extremely grateful. A mother of a newborn and two-year old twins, both with autism, said, “Finally something good has happened.” Another family with six children who had been living with friends called the cards a “lifesaver.”

The money raised this year from ticket sales, merchandise donations and a spirited raffle bought 80 more gift cards which will be handed out by Jinx and Rose at holiday events. The remaining cash is being donated to a homeless teen shelter in Seattle’s University District. The raffle also collected $600 in food donations.

Prizes included glass blown at the event by Bob Snodgrass, roach paper art from Cliff Maynard and TGA seeds, some not-in-production crosses. An entire grow kit was donated by Spliff Vision Studios. You read that right, an entire grow room set up could be had for a $5 raffle ticket. That’s how this family takes care of its own.

Look for upcoming articles The Weeds of the School of Dank, What I Learned at the School of Dank.