Celeb Collabs Start To Make Sense
Plus: Red-hot accessories.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 823 words.
Good morning!
You aren’t high—I did skip last week. This summer’s been an interesting ride, with new projects, new rhythms, and a new identity as author-constantly-pushing-her-book. Worry not, dear readers. With the hint of fall appearing on the horizon, I feel the productive energy of harvest season in the air. I won’t be heading to the farm like the old days, but I will be wrapping up some insightful interviews, roundtables, and trend reports for this newsletter.
What are you curious about right now? What kind of industry figures would you like to hear from? Email me at stickybitsyo@gmail.com.
Let’s get caught up.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
Snoop found one way to sneak weed into the Olympics. I never heard any explicit weed jokes, but I saw Snoop swapped highly referential Olympic pins with some of the athletes.
Is New York smelling extra fragrant? Blame the balcony crop. Writer Chala June wrote a practical step-by-step guide to growing weed in your apartment for New York Magazine. I wish a happy harvest to all first timers! Yours will surely go better than mine, which coincided with an early rainstorm that soaked all our buds. 🙃
It’s been a killer month for celebrity weed collabs. I don’t know what’s more major—Rose Los Angeles dropping a special Delight made in partnership with Poog, the podcast co-hosted by comedians Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak, or Lorde commenting on the announcement post on IG. Plus, Zoë Kravitz collabed with Pure Beauty for a limited edition drop of joints themed around her new film, Blink Twice.
This does not include Mike Tyson. I get Mike Tyson’s place in pop culture, I’m glad he’s having fun licensing his name for the weed space, but I do not understand the thinking behind a product like the new collab in the form of a fist-shaped Stundenglass bong. It’s giving the Ass Pounder 4000. Would love to know how many of these sell.
Weed lobbying ramps up in Washington, D.C. So far in 2024, lobbyists hired by plant-touching companies have spent nearly $4 million—up from $2.3 million this time last year. An election year is a definite factor, with the positive momentum of rescheduling talks and a potential vice president who legalized adult use in his state. The MJBiz story also alludes to the growing number of hemp-derived competitors eating into licensed companies’ market share.
Seven senators called for full de-scheduling of cannabis. We know it doesn’t belong on the Controlled Substance List. Is it likely the outgoing or forthcoming administration will be so bold as to act on that wisdom? Absolutely not, from where I’m standing. Even in this August 2 letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram, these Senators ultimately urge the DEA to follow through with the rescheduling down to 3. We’re in a very “we’ll take what we can get” chapter when it comes to federal regulation.
One week into adult use sales in Ohio, business is steady and growing. Considering how prolific this state’s medical program has been for years and the fact patients and non-patients alike are able to grow their own at home, it’s interesting to see the same enthusiastic launch of licensed adult use dispensaries. That fervor will ebb and flow like all other adult use markets, I’m sure, but this shows how many curious people need to at least see statewide legalization in order to feel comfortable shopping for cannabis.
Residents of western North Carolina will soon have access to legal buds. Great Smoky Cannabis Co, a cannabis retailer owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian, opens for business in a few weeks time.
In Los Angeles on August 25, a cool Toke + Tea event from Standstill Teahouse and Cornerstone Wellness. Biodynamic tea and sungrown heritage cannabis from Moon Made Farms paired by Fruit + Flower Co., complemented by snacks by Chef Wendy Zeng—sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon. As of writing this, four spots remain.
High Finds: Fire Season
In my current low tolerance era, I have a newfound appreciation for one-hitters. I’ve been admiring this Orange Cream Chroma edition of Ukiyohi’s sleek Dugout design, which contains a spot for a lil brass pipe and a lil bud.
Baddie accessories brand Vienero is made to excel on social media platforms, from matchbooks emblazoned with lines like “Match Made In Hell” and a fun line of patterned acrylic stash kits.
New York cannabis brand Flamer did such a great job creating a signature accessory that anyone can access and still tap into the brand’s community: red rolling papers. The queer-owned brand also merits a shout-out for the branding of their latest strain offering, “Post Nut Clarity.”
Bringing to next dispatch to a simmer,
Lauren Yoshiko