Harvest Vibes & Money Moves
Harvest Vibes & Money Moves
Plus: A global check-in.
Monday, September 25, 2023
Time to read: About 5 minutes. Contains 1,009 words.
Good morning!
Crisp weather has arrived; needle-nose trimmers and 90% rubbing alcohol are sold out at grocery stores—Happy Harvest Season, friends. If you work with folks in the sungrown plant-touching realm, give them extra grace right now. They’re commencing a season of long, hard days (and many late nights trimming) so that we can enjoy the fruits of their labor throughout the next year. There is nothing like walking around plants in full bloom as the sun warms up the horizon, great podcast episode queued up, but oof—thinking about being back on the farm makes me want to take an epsom salt bath immediately. Nothing but admiration for those maintaining traditional ways of growing.
Speaking of great podcast episodes: I’ve got another Insider Chat coming your way this Friday all about events in cannabis and what it takes to throw something big, special, and complicated. This time, I’m joined by Lauren Carpenter of Embarc dispensaries and Embarc Events, who partnered with Outside Lands (and about 12 regulatory agencies) to bring the music festival’s cannabis complement, Grass Lands, into existence. Grass Lands is the kind of next-level, multifaceted, thousands-in-attendance event that many of us can only dream of producing, and it’s fascinating to hear the challenges, possibilities, and advice straight from one of the people who made it possible. It’ll be a must-listen for anyone working in or curious about the future of cannabis events.
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One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
As huge as it is that Mister Green opened a cannabis culture-friendly location in Tokyo—and a song called “Legalize It” topped Japan’s music charts last summer—cannabis destigmatization still has a long way to go in that country. A recent “scandal” involving a football player at Nihon University arrested for cannabis possession has resulted in an all-team suspension, reigniting debates around the cultural practice and enforcement of collective responsibility. This arrest is over less than a gram of cannabis and 0.198 grams of an illegal stimulant.
Meanwhile, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports has recommended that all three divisions remove cannabinoids from the list of NCAA-banned drug classes based on an extensive study informed by doctors, substance misuse experts, and the consensus of the December 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug.
The country of Ireland lands somewhere in between, cannabis policy-wise, maintaining a no medical, no adult-use stance on the substance, but only punishing most minor possession offenses with fines. To learn more about shifting attitudes in this part of the UK, you can check out my conversation with Dublin-based designer Dee Morgan, produced by Irish creative agency The Tenth Man.
In October’s issue of Harper’s Magazine, writer Sean Williams explores cannabis legacy in Nepal, where Westerners once traversed the hippie trail to the birthplace of Purple Haze, and today, weed influencers like Madan lead efforts for national legalization.
On the virtual front, the latest update to the popular video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 contains a “finishing move” that allows a player to blow a game-ending bong load of smoke into an opponent’s face. I feel like bong smoke could be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill—the real act of war would involve dirty bongwater, in my opinion.
Columbia Care—one of the largest cannabis companies in the country—is renaming itself The Cannabist Company after its arm of retail dispensaries going by that name since 2021. I think this has something to do with anti-multistate operator malaise and the negative associations many communities have with big names like Columbia Care, Cresco, and Trulieve, and I wonder how much the rebrand had to do with locking down a recent $25 million investment. Perception is powerful!
I didn’t expect to say this again this year, but bipartisan support for the amended Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act continues to grow. The bill, which would let cannabis companies access the banking system like any other normal industry, is scheduled for debate with all amendments considered this Wednesday, September 27.
Between this momentum and the news that hundreds of banks are already admitting to working with legal cannabis companies, I’d say this is a good time to reach out to banks that may have denied your application for a business checking account in the past. Regardless of whether the SAFE(R) bill passes, the federally-insured financial waters are getting warmer.
Every year I do a trend report on witchy weed things—send me your favorites/upcoming launches for potential inclusion! It’s always one of my most-read newsletters of the year. Cannabis lovers love the occult and seemingly never tire of spooky szn. Watch out for that dispatch coming to paid subscribers on October 13th. (Yes—a Friday!) 👻
High Finds: Lifestyle Goods I Like
If you aren’t trimming at scale and desire a looser, more hand-ground feel for your flower, Rogue Paq’s crane scissor + crane ceramic cup combo might be your Goldilocks grind.
The repurposed antique pieces by BongPop always sell out fast, but these scarlet-hued, seance-worthy candleholders were still available at the time of writing.
Following Stonedware’s bittersweet but empowering decision to wind down, I love seeing fellow ceramic brand Wandering Bud maintain the brass poker partnership with the Portland, OR-based Midnight Pacific Studio.
As I unpack and settle into a larger living space, I’m taking the time to make my own cannabis bar cart area for the first time. Feel free to comment/reply with organizational tips/ideas! I’m not quite to the point in my life where I can swing Alter Interiors stunning High Bar, but I’m hoping to get creative with safe storage and display of the more artful pieces.
Back to the gentle grind,
Lauren Yoshiko