The Law of Attraction: How Small Cannabrands Are Embracing Authenticity to Better the Industry as a Whole
Written By Kelly Ebbert
As a small business, breaking into the cannabis industry can be daunting. It takes immense courage, jockeying with dominant players to gain a foothold. These businesses work tirelessly to stand out among the crowd.
From glass-blowing manufacturing to dispensaries to hand-crafted cannabis products, small business owners are rallying around the motto of authenticity to increase brand presence and awareness and leave their mark on the budding industry.
A Chronicle of Cultivating a Cannabis Legacy and Love Story
Written By Jamie Lynn Dodd
I romanticized the fantasy of living a life fueled by passion and serving a higher purpose, all centered around a medicine that I truly came to believe in, and always will believe in. The plant has never been the antagonist in this epic love saga of my lifetime but a shining, “knight in green armor,” protagonist that triumphs in the end. Because that’s the “stuff” that good stories are made of, right?
Healing Through Cannabis: One Woman’s Journey to Sobriety and Empowerment
Written By Monica Olano
The medical staff struggled to turn her for delivery, and the nurses - new and unfamiliar with the equipment - failed to monitor her heart rate for over five minutes. I became violently ill, and my husband was forcibly removed from the room. With panic filling the room, they hastily moved me to an operating bed. During the emergency C-section, the anesthesia failed. Yes, I felt everything. Although my daughter was finally delivered alive and well, she endured severe trauma. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice.
Flower Expo 2024: Afterparty Dealmaking During Daylight Hours
Written By Jill Carreiro
Flower Expo draws in cultivators, processors, and manufacturers from across the state to show off their very best, newest, and most exciting for wholesale and dispensaries alike. For all in attendance, it is an opportunity to learn about the most innovative products coming to the local market and get a taste of what may be the next best-selling shelf favorite. The Flower Expo does this without a ton of ancillary presence generally; there’s not a single light rig in sight, a pretty unique feat for any cannabis conference.
Green Doesn't Always Mean Go
Written By Ali Lopez
For the most part, other medical professionals are surprised that I am a consumer. I break their stigmatized idea of what “a stoner” looks like to them. When they find out I have an autoimmune condition, and it helps with some of my symptom management, they are sympathetic and curious. They start to change their minds a little bit about consumption.
An Interview With Waxy Brown
Written By Casey Renteria
“They will either fear my footprint, or my fist print. When I’m gone, there will still be veterans who need access to this. Psilocybin is on its way, and there are still ketamine conversations to have. Talking about it is great. But what are we going to do about it? That is the line between advocate and activist. We love the advocates and we need advocates, but feel free to step over that line into activism at any time. If not, don't worry, we’ll throw full punches until the plant is on the farmer's market table.”
“Let's remember, that the intoxicating cannabis they are talking about was never toxic to begin with!”
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Written By LaWann Stribling
Education is Key! Education provides curiosity and the search for understanding.Caroline Phillips, founder of The National Cannabis Festival does a phenomenal job in providing a multitude of avenues to explore cannabis and the community. Grower’s World was the highlight for me this year alongside the Wellness and Policy Pavillions.
Finding Peace Amidst Chaos: A Story of Love, Loss, and Edibles
Written By Marge Thomas
Most people find change hard, we like comfort, security, and the feeling of knowing what’s next. Change is disruptive. When I found myself engaged in yet another argument with my spouse, the words of a friend popped into my head: there’s comfort in the dysfunction.
It’s hard to recognize when a relationship has run its course; to see that two people who used to be synchronized now want different things from life, their paths diverging. It’s hard to let go because it feels like failure and it hurts.
The Russell Langhammer Interview
Written By Steve Kravets
It is because first my doctors told me to go home and to take care of whatever business I needed to do before I died. Then a priest came in behind him and gave me Last Rights, again. I said to myself, screw you both. I am not that type of person. I am Russell Langhammer, I compete head-to-head and we Langhammer’s do not quit. I will not walk away from this challenge, even if it is the biggest I have ever faced before, in my 54 years of living so far.
Saving the World
Written By David Head
It is like a philosophical debate that cannot get off the ground, because we are too muddled in the minutia of definitions. It must be accepted as all of these things–and held to each of those standards individually, as they apply. Let cannabis join the world stage as a resource that has an incredible ability to grow, heal, and feed the people of the world.
An Interview with Jeremy Smith
Written By Casey Renteria
At 35 years old he was diagnosed with Crohn’s and eosinophilic esophagitis. Three weeks later he collapsed at work when blood clots hit his heart. “My CK levels skyrocketed, becoming severely anemic, herniated discs in my neck, a tumor was found on my pituitary stock, and I started to develop arthritis”, he recalled. Not long after that incident he narrowly escaped losing a child from the side effects of pharmaceuticals.
Vermont Ski Shoppe Product Review
Written By Casey Renteria
Despite spending 5 years in rural towns in Alaska, snow really isn’t my thing. The extent of my frozen adventures began and ended with snowshoeing. I sunk up to my butt and that was the end of it. Despite my experience, there is a peaceful almost tranquil nature to being outdoors in the snow. Basically the perfect environment for a good sesh. I got connected with JB Sugar and heard how he took people's love of snow sports and meshed that with his love of cannabis. Enter Vermont Ski Shoppe.
Great Lakes, High Stakes: Michigan's Pre-Roll Market Blazes New Trails
Written By Harrison Bard
Within this booming market, pre-rolls have emerged as a dominant force, spearheading Michigan's cannabis revolution. From January to June 2024, Michigan's pre-roll sales hit an impressive $293.2 million. To put this in perspective, California - long considered the titan of the cannabis industry - recorded $358.6 million in pre-roll sales during the same period.
From Marketing Agencies To The Vermont Cannabis Market: An Interview With JB Sugar, Founder of Route 7 Brands
Written By Casey Renteria
After talking with JB, it’s clear that he makes products that he loves, but also are aimed at having a good time and maybe even rediscovering a love of cannabis. “I think there's a huge market for those who are re-entering, people are kinda scared to get back into it for whatever reason: it’s too strong, stigmas, or fear. I’m trying to give people permission to have fun again, weed is supposed to be fun.”
Higher Conference Review
Written By Kenya Alexander
The Higher Conference is not a traditional cannabis conference. This space, guest list, and speaking topics are curated specifically for women of color in the cannabis industry, something that you won’t get at any other cannabis conference in the country. The conference organizers expand on the idea of the traditional cannabis industry by including healers like Morgan Dominique of Sacred House Maryland, who hosted yoga sessions at the Wellness Pavillion–a healing space that was an integral part of the conference.
Breaking the ‘Curse’ of Menstruation: Celebrating a Woman’s Cycle with the Support of Cannabis
Written By Dr. Dana Lillestol, PhD
The miseducation, misinformation, and social programming have removed the beauty of a natural hormonal process of a woman that is life-giving. The time has come to celebrate the amazing biology of the female body, to support our female travelers on this road called life and to relish a woman’s ability to create life.
In tandem, marijuana as a unique plant provides healing properties to any mammal (women are mammals) yet this plant has been discredited and put in question. The propaganda has been very effective in hiding the truth.
SXSW and Texas Cannabis
Written By Shelley Peebles
When people have a choice, the overwhelming majority of them prefer to consume flower, and these shops provide a way for that demand to be met. Then you have the traditional market, which is still very much alive and well, and has been since the 70’s.
While I was attending SXSW this year, I noted the more laissez-faire attitude everyone had towards public consumption. I felt like I was in LA, or someplace other than Texas. It was incredibly freeing to feel like I didn’t have to hide, as if everyone seemed to understand and accept it even if they didn’t partake themselves. Heck, they even had psilocybin and ketamine as topics of discussion throughout the event!
Cannabis Culture Shock in Germany
Written By Marge Thomas
With legalization having just happened, acquiring cannabis felt much like the days when I had to buy off the street. Not speaking the language fluently and not interested in venturing to a park hoping to find someone loitering, I called up a connection living in Berlin. Fred was a fellow Ganjier and I thought he could help me. I knew it was around, more than once smelling weed wafting in the Berlin air. Plus it’s a city of 3 million, and prohibition doesn’t work.
How Cannabis Saved Me: An Interview With Richard Mitchell
Written By Casey Renteria
I was introduced to Richard Mitchell a couple of months ago. Before that, I affectionately knew him as the guy who got the Fat Nugs tattoo. Dustin made the official introduction and I’ve since gotten to talk with him about his life and what his journey has been like. Going into this interview I wasn’t sure what to expect - let me tell you it's quite the story!
It affected me so deeply to hear him talk about his experiences and it took a day or two of debriefing before I was ready to listen back to the recording. I am so inspired by him and all he’s been through has turned him into a warrior! I’m so proud and thankful to be able to share that with you. Please meet Richard Mitchell.
Who Told Y’all Mississippi Can’t Grow?
Written By Jessica Reilly-Chevalier
And yet if you said there was no good weed in the South, you’d be wrong. The Mississippi medical program is new (opened in 2023) and small (currently numbers hover around 32,000 enrolled) but to say either of those things equals poor quality product is off-base and rooted in Southern discrimination.
I visited Mississippi in February 2024 blissfully unaware of even the slightest movement towards legality, but when I left the state, I did so with a much deeper understanding of and respect for the Mississippi medical marijuana program.