The cannabis community it is full of people of great charisma and thanks to whom an era is marked, moving the world of cannabis forward in the right direction. Today we want to introduce you to one of those people who have helped and taught cannabis lovers a lot, and more specifically those of the resin extractions like hashish.
Surely many of you have heard of Ice-O-Lator, a set of tights for the resin extraction with ice and water which – on many occasions – has ended up giving the name to this type of hashish. So today we invite you to know a little more about its inventor, the “Queen of hashish” and one of the most positive people in our sector: Mila Jansen.
Mila Jansen, first experiences in Holland
It was at the age of 20 that a young Mila had her first contact with the cannabis resin hand in hand with her boyfriend, a medical student who was researching the effects of this plant on the human body. Since then, Mila and cannabis have had a close relationship, and she continues to use it in the same way. Mila has used cannabis in a recreational, although also like therapy both mentally and physically, helping her in different ways throughout her life.
Born in Liverpool, England, although raised in Holland, young Mila moves to the Netherlands with her daughter and opens the Amsterdam’s first mini-skirt shop, call Kink22. The store becomes a success, and Mila becomes one of the representatives of the fashion avant-garde in Holland, with such popular clients as Mary Quant (creator of the miniskirt) or Tina Turner, among many other celebrities of the time.
We are in full explosion of the Hippie movement, and Mila does not remain on the sidelines; Like many other young people of their generation, they rebel against the established norm as a way of experiencing happiness in life … new winds are beginning to blow among the Dutch youth!
After the success of her mini-skirt shop, Mila decides to open a tea Room in the center of Amsterdam: Cleo de Merode. Some of his clients began to accompany his tea with cannabis, so that, although he never sold anything to his clients, soon his salon began to be considered the primer coffee-shop from the country. As with its clothing store, the tea room becomes a real success, transforming itself into a center for music, art and fashion. However, the adventure ends abruptly when the police close the premises after neighborhood complaints about behavior and noise generated by their activity. Mila is only 22 years old and has a 3-year-old daughter, whose custody is now threatened by social services.
Mila Jansen, a life in India
If anything can be said about Mila Jansen, it is that she has always lived intensely and courageously. After the closure of her business and the threats received from social services regarding the custody of her daughter, Mila decides to move to India at the age of 24 with only 600 US dollars in his pocket. He will spend 14 years in the country. However, she did not venture alone on this trip, but rather accompanied by a group of people of different nationalities – hippies mostly – with the one who visited places like Turkey, Pakistan or Iran. Finally it establishes itself in the Goa area during the winters, spending the summers further north, in the areas closest to the Himalayas.
During this period Mila had 3 other children from 3 different parents, whom she raised alone and without any financial or material help. Since then, take care of your children and giving them a good education was the main concern in his life; without a doubt, and as she herself admits, they were hard times during which life seemed “too intense.”
It is also during this period that Mila realizes that the Western lifestyle, at least for her, has only led to the frustration and dissatisfaction. Learn to let go of material needs, letting yourself be carried away by confidence in the future and finding beauty in the simplest things.
Although these were tough times when she barely had any money, Mila managed to get ahead financially sending hashish to Europe, for example. In addition, and long before the appearance of “fair trade”, Mila had already opened a cooperative with local women to make clothes that were then exported to New York or California.
Return to Amsterdam
The experience in India showed Mila that grieving in difficult times is useless, and that tears are many times fruit of complacency and they do not lead to any change. Always go ahead with a smile!
After almost 20 years living in India, Mila decides to go back to Amsterdam due to visa problems, but also to be able to give one of her children – dyslexic – the special education he needed. Today he is a computer engineer. Thus, and since she always put the education of her children before anything else, it was time to pack up and go back to old Europe.
Once in Holland and thanks to his experiences in India, he will live a few years of fullness and far from any hint of depression. The buddhism He taught him that we see life as we want to see it, something that seemed wonderful to him. During the first times back in Amsterdam, and in order to feed her family, Mila dedicated herself to the legal cannabis cultivation during 5 years.
And it is that just at that time the cannabis scene was in full expansion in Amsterdam, an effervescence that was consummated with the organization of the first cannabis cup held in 1988 by High Times. Of course, the various coffee-shops They needed more and more good equipment, so there was never a shortage of work, although the situation continued to be precarious and payments irregular.
Creation of Pollinator and Ice-O-Lator
It was by observing the operation of her clothes washer that Mila had the idea of how to design the now famous Pollinator. In fact, it had been in Afghanistan that he had learned to make hash for consumption screening the plants with a mesh. In this way, it occurred to him to adapt the mechanism of the washing machine with a drum and clothes but replacing them with a mesh and cannabis buds. The first electrical appliance to make hashish was born!
Soon, and after spending around € 2,300, Mila had the first prototype ready, followed by the first 3 Pollinator units ever made. Presented at the 1994 High Times by Robert Clarke, the new product had an excellent acceptance, significantly increasing the number of units produced. You see, one of the most veteran products in the sector, still in force today, arose from an idea that simple!
Today, your machine remains one of the best-selling resin extraction related products. After creating Pollinator, in 1998 he took another step forward with the bag system Ice-O-Lator in order to make hash with ice water, presenting in 2005 its machine for this type of extractions called Bubbleator.
Dab-A-Doo
Years passed and Mila was still riding the crest of the wave. Ambassador of the cannabis resins wherever he went, in the early 2010s he again surprised us with the organization of Dab-A-Doo, a competition focused on extractions and a new movement that was starting to hit hard, the dabbing.
Although Mila is a lover of more traditional consumption systems, such as the classic cannabis cigar, she knew how to embrace this new way of consuming resins, as well as the different extraction systems that have emerged in recent years.
Alchimia blog readers will certainly be familiar with this event, as we have been lucky enough to participate in the prestigious Dab-A-Doo on several occasions. It is a resin extraction cup with and without solvent, with different categories such as hachís, BHO, Rosin… all this produced by the best clubs and specialists … unforgettable evenings that we hope to repeat very soon!
We can only thank you, Mila. Thanks for all the shared experience, for creating material that has changed the world of extractions, and above all for all the positive vibes that you share at every opportunity.
Of course, this has been a brief review of the interesting life of this cannabis legend. If you want to know more and fully immerse yourself in the exciting life of the queen of cannabis, we highly recommend her biography “How I became the queen of hashish”.
- Pollinator.com
- How I became the Queen of Hashish, Mila Jansen, Mama Editions
- https://www.loudmouthnews.com/como-me-converti-en-la-reina-del-hachis-mila-jansen-mujer-madre-e-icono/
- https://www.lavanguardia.com/lacontra/20190508/462114718063/llorar-es-solo-una-forma-de-autocomplacencia.html
- https://canamo.net/cultura/entrevistas/entrevista-mila-jansen-haz-lo-que-el-corazon-te-diga
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