Senatorial Blunts & Deep Fried Flower
Senatorial Blunts & Deep Fried Flower
Incoming weed news.
The Broccoli Report
Monday, January 24, 2022
Time to read: 4 minutes, 40 seconds. Contains 935 words.
Good morning!
Regardless of whether resolutions were a part of your new year, I imagine everyone’s found themselves in moments of reflection this month. And when it comes to folks working in the cannabis industry, everyone’s thinking about what could be possible in the next 11 months. How much production? How much hiring? How much change? How much good could we do?
In the interests of that last point, we’re unlocking our two-part Report on the Common Citizen equity product launch in Detroit. So many brands in and around cannabis made public commitments in 2020 and 2021 to support social justice and equity in the industry, and these newsletters really dig into the nuts and bolts of what happens when a brand turns words into action. They’re also among our 2021 dispatches that caused the most buzz. 👀 Enjoy.
Then this Friday, we’ll head east to catch up with Solonje Burnett of cannabis education and advocacy platform Humble Bloom. Burnett will fill us in on the latest happenings in New York’s post-legalized, pre-retail weed scene. If you’re already a paid subscriber, see you then. If you’re still on the fence, join the sesh already and help support independent journalism.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
I’m officially done applauding politicians for announcing mass expungements and will be saving my praise until those records are actually expunged. The LA Times just reported that thousands of eligible records across California have yet to be cleared. It comes down to the county-by-county implementation of these reviews. Los Angeles finished processing 66,000 cases in late 2021, and Santa Clara finished its 11,500 cases in April 2020. But in parts of the Inland Empire, it’s such a low priority that the process is not even underway, preventing people from applying for jobs and housing—people who Governor Newsom guaranteed would be back on their feet by now.
While we’re talking about follow-through: During a Democratic primary debate in November 2019, President Biden stated: “I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period. And I think everyone—anyone who has a record—should be let out of jail, their records expunged ... completely zeroed out.” The Weldon Project is hoping to hold him to that with a letter demanding clemency for all federal nonviolent cannabis offenders. Clemency, “the process by which a governor, president, or administrative board may reduce a defendant's sentence or grant a pardon,” is a much more direct route than expungement, which puts the onus on the individual to get legal guidance and file complex paperwork correctly. To raise attention, they have launched a petition with the goal to collect one million signatures. You can sign it here.
Filed under “things my parents never thought they’d see in their lifetime”: Louisiana Senate candidate Gary Chambers smoked a blunt while discussing cannabis prohibition and the disproportionate imprisonment of Black people for possession in this stylishly shot campaign ad. The 36-year-old community activist from Baton Rouge is a Democrat seeking to unseat Republican John Kennedy. While cannabis for general adult use has yet to be legalized in the state, Louisiana’s medical program just kicked off, and they decriminalized possession of up to 14 grams.
Have any LA-based readers out there made it to Gusto Green? Located in cannabis creative agency Green Street’s Hill Street building, the restaurant has an exclusive relationship with hemp grower Ziese Farms and features nods to cannabis like a battered and fried hemp leaf starter. It’s not a consumption-friendly restaurant, and you won’t find THC-infused fare, but it must be fun for chef Michael Magliano—previously of The French Laundry, Craft, and San Francisco’s Quince—to play with hemp. According to Eater, Gusto Green and the Green Street Agency plan to open a rooftop bar, lounge, and private event space in the building later this year.
Applications for both mentors and mentees to Our Academy’s second cohort are open through Sunday, January 23. The workshop-meets-mentorship program welcomes “future and current social equity operators, applicants, and independent BIPOC cannabis entrepreneurs across the country” to apply here, and for potential mentors—defined as operators who have either transitioned from the legacy market and have been operating legally for the past two years or executives who have raised capital or run their own ancillary businesses—to apply here.
Cannabis Hiring Fairs—affiliated with 40 Tons, the cannabis brand founded by Corvain Cooper—announces two California dates: February 17th in Los Angeles and March 24th in Oakland. Job seekers and interested companies can head here for more info.
Acquisition news may dominate headlines, but many brands are diversifying their offerings through cross-category collabs. Cann launched their first edible by teaming up with Sonder on limited edition Cranberry Sage Space Crystals. Accessory brand Sackville & Co. launched their first THC product in collaboration with Santa Cruz farm Goldenseed. The pair of full flower pre-rolls include Beach Daze, infused with Lemon Dawg terpenes, and Night Haze, featuring Miracle Alien Cookies terpenes.
There are a lot of CBD roll-ons out there—and many littering my coffee table—but one that stands out is Weed Sport’s latest. Their full-spectrum hemp muscle rub is the first roll-on to cross my newsdesk packaged in a lightweight paper tube.
I don’t care if it’s been over three years since she dropped her first hit—Yew Yew better send Doja Cat one of their new cow-print ashtrays.
Hold my butterfly hair clips: A new women-owned accessory brand from the U.K. celebrates Afghan heritage with full-throttle, mid-aughts stoner girl power. Afg Suga is bringing the butterfly joint rings, pink rolling tips, and, yes, the flip phones.
Report-y Spice signing off ✌🏼,
Lauren Yoshiko