420 Downers & Medical Momentum

Plus: A perfect weed mug.

Thursday, April 25, 2024
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 997 words. 

Good morning!

I hope everyone had an amazing 4/20!!! I know this car did, as did this weed-curious retirement community in Connecticut. I had a very different holiday surrounded by strangers and eating very creative, cannabis-inspired food somewhere way up along the Hudson River in New York, the details of which I’ll share in tomorrow’s dispatch for paid subscribers, along with all of my observations from my first visits to New York dispensaries (legal and otherwise).

I also had a couple of fresh articles go live that hint at trends I’ll be exploring in the coming weeks. I wrote about Shinola’s watch release made in collaboration with actor Quincy Isaiah (if you caught HBO’s Winning Time, you know him as young Magic Johnson) for Dimepiece. The watch—themed around an upcoming film called Grassland depicting the lives of a cannabis grower and her son in the 2000s, pre-legalization—offers a more serious spin on a cannabis-themed accessory, prompting the question: are we over-whimsied on cannabis fashion? And then my story about California brand Landrace Origins and their coffee and cannabis tasting events for Sprudge teases how much I think the cannabis community could be learning from the coffee scene in regards to marketing, vernacular, and in-person experiences. More to come on both those topics!

For now, here are the news items on my mind as holiday kief settles and a few product launches that caught my eye.

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Dangle Supply’s High On Earth collection with Cody Hudson.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• Among the 420 celebrations: a number of 420 crackdowns. I was excited that my hometown of Portland, Oregon planned to host multiple consumption-friendly festivals across town. Unfortunately, neither ended up happening. High Noon was set for just outside of the city in Boring, OR with live music, sound baths and wellness activations, tasty treats from Mikiko Mochi Donuts, and others, only to be canceled two days prior by county officials for selling more tickets than the venue’s occupancy allowed. 420 in Emerald City had grand plans to activate Broadway Cannabis dispensary’s consumption-friendly space in downtown Portland for an Oz-themed soirée, but in a similar fashion, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission contacted organizers to shut it down in the days before. The same kind of city-sanctioned deterrence of 420 activities happened in Vancouver, B.C. This is all a huge reminder to brands trying to do something cool: cross those t’s and dot those i’s with the utmost care, because the odds are already against us.
  
  

• On that note, remember that Eventbrite is not our friend. The event I attended in New York had their proceeds from ticket sales frozen the week prior to the dinner for "violating community standards.” This is nothing new to longer-term operators in the space, and they will probably eventually get their funds released, but I wanted to share with any newer members of the cannabis community—don’t mess with Eventbrite! Next time, better off using EventHi.
  
  

• Eaze and its union of delivery drivers settle contract negotiations in time to avoid a 420 strike. It sounds like all parties are satisfied with the terms reached regarding pay, mileage reimbursement, and other rights and protections. Quite the win for weed unions!
  
  

• Dutchie software crashed during heightened 420 business (again). This year’s outages were even worse than last year’s interruptions, resulting in up to six hours of downtime for some of their 6,000 customers across the country. The company gets a little grace for the sheer volume of transactions—they reported a 50% increase. Going where no cannabis POS software has gone before.
  
  

• Florida’s probably not ready for adult use. Although a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana will be up for a vote this year in the state, polls do not show the majority of Floridians are for it.
  
  

• More medical research reveals new potential positives and negatives of cannabis, depending on the disease. In a study of 4,744 adults, “non-medical cannabis use” was significantly associated with 96% decreased odds of subjective cognitive decline. When it comes to breast cancer, though, a new study shows conflicting reports of treatment with cannabinoids stimulating the proliferation of cancer cells and “disrupting the immune system's involvement in suppressing tumors.” The study is Russian language and I’m having trouble reading the fuller text—let me know if any medically-trained readers have heard anything about this.
  
  

• New retail hotspots emerge in recently legalized regions. Missouri and Maryland are two states that weren’t established enough at the time of writing my book to include as their own chapters, but those rapidly developing scenes will definitely be a part of the second edition. Two spots doing something different in those states: YENology in Frontenac, Missouri, where you can find curated CBD offerings, accessories from brands like Jane West and Veosa, and catch a free yoga class, and Far & Dotter Dispensary near Baltimore, Maryland, which features licensed products as well as Korean skincare and a full-on spa with facials, acupuncture, and cupping.

High Finds: Unique 420 Releases

• Dangle Supply, makers of the most camping-friendly bong in the game, collaborated with graphic artist Cody Hudson (a.k.a. @struggle_inc) to honor the shared celebration of 420 and Earth Day with the High on Earth collection of smokeware, smokewear, and a cute-ass, milk-glass mug.
  
  

• A second edition of the coffee table-worthy High as a Kite book of contemporary, cannabis-centric tattoo flash and memorabilia is available for preorder, this time expanding to feature psychedelic designs. A portion of profits goes to Last Prisoner Project.
  
  

• Yew Yew’s new Cloud Cases are sculptural delights and useful as hell—each securely holds a lighter and two standard sized joints with a smellproof seal.
  
  

• O.pen dropped a new e-rig with big oil lamp vibes and a lot of dinner party allure for enjoying a 510 cartridge with company. You press the button on the Sesh to heat the oven and fill up the open-air, vase-like chamber with smoke and then simply sip from the top when it’s ready.
  
  

Toke you tomorrow,
Lauren Yoshiko