Bird Bongs & Edible Kits
Monday, December 4, 2023
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 761 words.
Good morning!
Thank you to everyone who submitted posts, shared the latest Lonely Hearts, and already responded to posts that resonated with them! This unique networking resource is unlike any other corner of the weed-friendly internet, and I’m grateful for your help to finish the year with this strong, robust edition. It’s still up and free to all to read—please share with your networks, too!
To the new subscribers who just joined the community, welcome! These news & product drop roundups come every Monday, and I’ve got a fresh podcast and deep dive for paid subscribers in the works. Next topic incoming: a neuroscientist helps me understand how (if?) THC is fundamentally different when derived from hemp vs from cannabis.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
I went to the holiday installment of Portland’s Night Market over the weekend—one of the city’s bigger craft fairs—and loved seeing a couple of bustling cannabis-related booths. There was Wasted Water Pipes selling retooled vases, lamp bases, and an incredible array of bird-shaped Jim Beam decanters, and then a DIY edible kit operation surrounded by interested customers. Baba G’s kits include ingredients for gummies, including gelatin, coconut oil, and sunflower lecithin mixture, flavoring, candy mold, and a spatula. No weed, but the recipe includes a formula for people to custom-dose a batch of 64 gummies with concentrate purchased from the dispensary.
This has been a fantasy of mine for a while. Cannabis is still such a personal experience, most often occurring in the privacy of our homes, and many of us enjoy edibles but feel intimidated by the steps of cooking with cannabis from scratch. These kind of kits are such a wonderfully accessible way to get more involved in the process of cannabis experiences; they offer a ritual so many people crave when they turn to this plant. It was very telling to see so many people buzzing around Baba G’s booth—and to see that when they headed to West Coast Craft in San Francisco (another weed-friendly city where cannabis is already accessible), they sold out of kits.
Speaking of kits, this Anima Mundi “Oracle + Ceremonial Magic” Ritual Kit is a fantastic example of combining consumables, an activity to enjoy post-smoke, a steeper to prepare herbal tea, and a vibe setting bundle of palo santo—a great gift for an herbally-inclined person, and one that begs a hemp-based addition.
NPR’s Planet Money podcast visited Southern Oregon for a conversation with cultivator Matt Ochoa about the conundrum of state legality and federal illegality when it comes to trademarks, interstate trade, workforce, banking, and taxes. It’s a great clip to send to friends and family who don’t quite understand why you’re so stressed out all of the time.
A silver lining of Michigan’s declining price per pound: the number of consumers purchasing “through a friend or dealer” has dropped from 50% to 37% since 2021, according to Brightfield Group Consumer Insights.
Little Beach Harvest Dispensary is now open for business on Shinnecock Nation Territory in Southampton, New York. The beautiful new shop is a welcome beacon in a cannabis desert area, offering tax-free products from Indigenous brands and others to all (over the age of 21).
Vaping is the latest target of TikTok political discourse. Due to heightened awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Congo relating to cobalt mines—an essential component of electric devices—some creators are quitting their vapes to boycott this supply chain.
For founders seeking inspiration, motivation, and a new podcast to listen to, I recommend checking out The Founder’s Edition by Mimi Lam, co-founder of the legendary Canadian cannabis brand, Superette. Since the business was acquired by SNDL Inc. at the start of this year, Lam has taken a break from the weed scene, focusing on these insightful conversations with interesting start-up founders in newsletter, YouTube, and podcast forms.
Leaflink dropped a free Crash Course for Cannabis Advertising. It’s not wildly deep or insightful, but it is a nice snapshot of what businesses are currently doing for industry newcomers to get the lay of the land. One significant takeaway: email marketing remains the ticket for those who can’t afford splashy out-of-home campaigns.
New Jersey’s brwnbox cannabis-friendly event space has yoga seshes, Wellness Wednesday complete with on-site massage services, a fashion show, a holiday party, and more planned throughout December.
Of twinkling lights and cherried bowls,
Lauren Yoshiko