Menthol Mayhem & Stoned Salads
Plus: Romantic gifts for anytime.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Time to read: About 5 minutes. Contains 965 words.
Good morning!
Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate, and happy Wednesday to all! I decided to combine my Valentine’s-themed dispatch into this one for a juiced-up free newsletter that everyone can enjoy. First, some news and updates from around the weed scene, and then some heartwarming finds relating to cannabis, sex, and love.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
The menthol ban is back in discussion. This ban touches so many things—race, strategic marketing campaigns, Al Sharpton, nostalgia for many people’s first, mint-flavored cigarette puff, and the right to flavored intoxicants. It’s a piece of smoking-related prohibition that is rooted in attempts to right racist wrongs, but in doing so, risks increased policing of Black communities, where over 80% of smokers use menthol. It’s also interesting how, depending on the outcome and execution, legislation intended to directly improve the health of Black communities might end up setting some of this community against the administration that passes it. I’ll be watching this story—in the meantime, I broke down all the cultural touchpoints this ban hits in a past newsletter (one of my all-time favorites, it’s unlocked for all to read).
With Delta 8 THC, everyone has access to legal weed. In states without legal cannabis laws, reports show people just search for Delta 8 THC online instead—or “hemp THC,” “THCA flower,” “d9 hemp,” etc. Any of the “hemp-derived” products that can ship nationwide thanks to the Farm Bill (but are most definitely still real weed). The difference is legal weed producers have to get their products tested in third-party labs, and Farm Bill products are only tested if the businesses choose to.
Young conservatives: more anti-weed than their parents? Relating to some points I mentioned in last week’s Zyn explainer—Rolling Stone covered the broader cannabis backlash coming from young, conservative males worldwide. (Yes, Andrew Tate is a major factor.)
Indoor cultivation provides answers to the future of agriculture. A recent letter to the editor in Maine’s Portland Press Herald captures a less-discussed benefit from the proliferation of legal weed: more efficient regional agriculture. “America is home to more than 6,500 food deserts,” the author points out, and the technological progress within controlled environment agriculture (which indoor grows currently drive) is our best bet to solve those problems locally rather than rely on transporting food further from where it’s grown.
Jonathan Van Ness got curious about descheduling weed. On the latest episode of JVN’s Getting Curious podcast, the best-tressed member of the Queer Eye crew spoke with Shaleen Title, a veteran drug policy activist and head of the nonprofit Parabola Center, about the implications and intricacies of federally legalizing cannabis.
Another, even bigger California cannabis brand goes broke. What is now being called a “debt bubble” in California cannabis grows by the day. The problem of people just not paying, outlined by Lex Corwin of Stone Road and the people I spoke to when Standard Dose went down, hasn’t gotten any better, and word on the street is that Medmen has shut down communication to the point that most recently laid off employees can’t get ahold of anyone to help them obtain the necessary paperwork for filing for unemployment.
A stony Sweetgreen collab for New York Fashion Week. Edie Parker partnered with hype salad joint Sweetgreen for an NYFW party that used the whimsy of weed to celebrate their fresh ingredients in kooky, 1960s dinner party-inspired ways. I love seeing how the brand used this cannabis play as an excuse to get super creative and weird with the non-infused bites.
Sun+Earth certifies its first regenerative farm partner on the East Coast. Vermont-based Rebel Grown is the first in the region to pass the multi-faceted certification program that goes many steps beyond conventional organic certifications. To be Sun+Earth certified, cannabis must be grown under the sun, in native soil, without the use of pesticides and chemicals, and farmers must also actively build native soil quality. Farm workers must be compensated fairly, and farms must also engage with and actively improve their community.
How to market your brand on IG. Longtime cannabis marketer Liz Udell dropped a $30 guide to the latest trends, strategies, and best practices to help cannabis brands successfully navigate marketing on Instagram in 2024.
High Finds: What Is Love?
I’m not exaggerating when I say my sex life changed when I first tried Apothecanna’s intimacy oil. That was the first CBD lubricant to make its way into my hands—I’ve since enjoyed having Quim’s Happy Clam oil and High Priestess’s on my bedside table as well. I can’t wait to try TONIC’s new Nice Touch oil.
You don’t have to choose between flowers for a vase and flowers for your bong. Lovepot is for guys and gals who do both.
Something more interesting to gift than expensive jewelry: museum-worthy lighter and joint holders.
Instead of a designer purse, a Pink Kompact Stündenglass.
Perhaps actual heart-shaped weed earrings.
Or weed jewelry that goes great with lingerie.
One for me and one for you: silky, comfy, unisex boxers from the OG in cannabis-themed lingerie, Fleur Du Mal.
The rose blunt wrap scene is romantic year-round. Not a red rose kind of smoker? Royal Rose makes wraps from multiple rose varietals.
Say it with a sesh: California farm Henry’s Original dropped a limited edition line of premium pre-rolls with names like “I Have a Kush On You” and “Love Potion #9.”
Chocolate never gets old, but it can get tired on Valentine’s Day. Nothing like a DIY bar to jazz things up. I am feeling the FOMO at Gotham dispensary’s make-your-own chocolate bar event happening soon (rescheduled due to weather!).
Love to all plant lovers,
Lauren Yoshiko