Pot Shabbat & Hemp Housing
Events, education, and equity news.
The Broccoli Report
Monday, January 31, 2022
Time to read: 4 minutes, 53 seconds. Contains 977 words.
Before all those new year resolutions melt away, we wanted to highlight a way to do good—real, concrete good—in 2022: Join us in the Floret Coalition.
As a small business, it can be tough to feel like the amount of money you may have available to donate can make a real difference. That’s where The Floret Coalition can help. Every month, this anti-racist collective of small businesses in the cannabis and cannabis-adjacent space comes together, pooling their small donations into one big sum that goes to support equity-oriented actions in Black, Latin, and Indigenous communities. In its first year, the Floret Coalition’s 140+ brand members donated over $120,000 to an array of vital organizations.
Each month, a recipient organization is vetted and selected by the Floret Board. In December, funds went to A Second U Foundation, which works to eliminate recidivism by educating, certifying, and securing employment for formerly incarcerated people as certified personal trainers. This month, funds will go to Operation Restoration, a group supporting women and girls impacted by incarceration to restore their lives and recognize their full potential.
Membership is open to any brand willing to make a consistent monthly donation for six months; you can give as little as $50/month. Donations are automatically processed through the Grapevine platform each month, making it easy and convenient for Floret members to maintain their commitment. So, if you want to find a sustainable way for your company to give back that suits your business stage, consider joining us and making our collective impact matter that much more.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
I imagine this NYT piece about the increased dangers of THC edibles getting into children’s hands crossed your radar. Like me, you may have dismissed it as clickbait-y hype around an exaggerated issue. Not the case: In Washington state, “unintentional cannabis exposures” among children under six have almost tripled in the five years since retail cannabis stores opened. But the 400+ comment section, illuminating a nuanced debate about responsibility and regulation, is worth reading, too. One gummy-consuming commenter’s perspective stayed with me. They pointed out that it’s a good thing that “say, adult-dose Tylenol is not packaged … in 500 brands and flavors all competing for sweet, fruity/chocolatey colorful yummyness. It's childish, like so much of our ‘adult’ realm today.”
Swift backlash against the French government’s Jan. 1 ban on the sale of CBD flower—a move described by members of the country’s Green Party as “a real New Year's gift to [drug] dealers”—led to the new ruling being reversed. The wellness-oriented e-boutique Aquerone, which just started shipping hemp-infused goods throughout the EU from France, is rejoicing.
Jackie Bryant published a well-reported deep dive on the rise-and-fall of major CA distributor Flow Cannabis Co.
The big dogs are getting ready to get their schmooze on in New York: TerrAscend (vertically integrated businesses in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey), CA edibles company Kiva Brands, and Gotham Green Partners (which includes MedMen, iAnthus, Flow Kana, and 4Front) have all registered to lobby on cannabis issues in New York.
Las Vegas Cannabis Tours latest offering: cannabis weddings. Couples can tie the knot amongst the plants of one of Planet 13’s indoor grow houses. The baseline “Quickie” package is $400, which covers the officiant fee and a 20-shot photo session, while more expensive packages include a videographer and matching cannabis leaf bouquet and boutonniere. Surprisingly, there’s no add-on option for an Elvis impersonator.
In other Nevada news: Dispensaries aren’t running out of product anymore, but they are running out of packaging materials due to supply chain woes.
On Friday, February 11, cannabis educator Emma Chasen will host “Cultivating Calm: A Virtual Pot Shabbat.” The workshop will touch on cannabis rituals, cannabis in connection to spiritual self-care, and cannabis infusion. The first 20 people to sign up get a gift that includes a free eighth of East Fork Cultivars’ CBD flower.
Did you know Queen Victoria was prescribed cannabis for menstrual cramps? In 1890, John Russel Reynolds, her personal physician, noted the "great value" of cannabis in treating an array of conditions in a medical journal.
The legendary hemp activist and agricultural revolutionary Winona La Duke hosts an online class on Tuesday, February 15. “Hemp: The New Green Revolution” invites Indigenous farmers, tribal college students, and anyone interested in farming and the future of agriculture to a total unlearning and re-education. La Duke’s Hemp 101 covers “from the seed to clothing, housing, and food.” When I saw her speak, she wholly reframed the way I look at hemp as a material; her grasp of past societies’ hemp cultivation and modern plant science is unparalleled. This will be a good one.
Brand applications are now open for the Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference, an industry event for cannabis and retail to be held May 5th and 6th in NYC. I attended the virtual one in 2020, but this installment will be in-person. If any past exhibitors are reading this, I’d love to hear from you. This year in The Broccoli Report, we’re hoping to offer better guidance to brands trying to decide which events are right for them. If you’re open to sharing your experience, reach out to yoshikolauren@gmail.com.
I’m not sure if TSUMo Snacks was the first to do an infused take on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, but the chip’s cult status probably helped the California-based cannabis-infused snack brand secure a $4M seed round led by Casa Verde Capital.
I planned to bring up Smoke Break Clay because I neglected to mention their sassy Smoke Stone heart pipes in the recent Valentine’s-themed newsletter, but now that I’ve browsed their latest offerings, I also need to point out this wonderfully conceptual dragonfruit ashtray.
Conceptually getting back to work,
Lauren Yoshiko