Texas Stoners & Anti-Weed Influencers

Plus: Yes, I'm still here.

Friday, April 11, 2025
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 5,165 words.

Hello, dear subscribers!

I hope everyone’s spring season is budding nicely. If you’ve been here a while, you may be wondering: Wtf is going on with Sticky Bits? Will she ever get back to the twice-weekly schedule? The answer to that is: sometimes, maybe?

The reality is, I’ve been working on this for almost five years. Weekly newsletters are a grind, even when you’re blessed with a bottomless well of curiosity about the culture and commerce of cannabis. Sometimes, ya girl needs a breather from the news. Sometimes, she lands a dream article about the controversial, historic Portland neighborhood where her great-great-great-grandparents ran a hotel, and it takes an additional two months and 2,000 more words to complete.

I love studying the cannabis industry as it evolves, and I care about supporting small businesses with insights to help them thrive in this space. I want to maintain Sticky Bits. I just need flexibility to sustain it. Thank you—so, so much—for reading Sticky Bits, where the posting schedule is irregular but the caliber (and author) is almost always high.

I’ve got a few potent trend reports in the works, including one on an intriguing product launch currently on my mantel and one exploring the notion that a new cannabis epoch is upon us (concluding the one that started in 2018).

For now, let’s get caught up on some top news updates.

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Miss Grass’s entry into the hemp THC gummy game.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• Tariffs will certainly impact the pockets of cannabis consumers. Yes, the dreaded “t” word. It doesn’t matter that our industry is technically borderlocked—from glass packaging and vape components to indie cannabis magazines, many companies in our community rely on China in their supply chain. Just what licensed cannabis biz needs to thrive: more taxes!
  
  

• A potential Texas hemp ban would have nationwide impact. A thriving hemp scene has filled the void of an adult use scene in this massive state, resulting in a hemp consuming populating that generates an estimated $5.5 billion(!) in annual sales. That number is why hemp companies across the country are paying attention to two bills moving through state legislature: Senate Bill 3, an outright ban, and House Bill 28, which would impose age restrictions, ban edibles and smokables, and impose strict licensing requirements for the hemp industry, while making an exception for hemp-derived THC drinks to be sold in liquor stores. As of this week, Texas senators passed SB 3, and the House committee left both bills pending.
  
  

• Matt Gaetz pens a pro-rescheduling op-ed for the Tampa Times. In what seems like an unsanctioned update from the disgraced former congressman, Gaetz wrote about “meaningful change on the horizon” for the rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3. He goes on to remind readers that he’s always believed in policy reform “rooted in science, not stigma,” and then lauds President Trump for “backing” this move to reschedule (he hasn’t done that). In fact, Trump hasn’t said a word about weed since taking office. This post makes me wonder if Gaetz has some stakes in a Florida cannabis venture or two?
  
  

• In fact, rescheduling isn’t named in Trump’s announcement of drug policy priorities. Cracking down on cannabis or hemp business isn’t mentioned, either—moreso mitigating opioid trafficking. Maybe all those pro-weed billboards around Mar-a-Lago and the White House are working.
  
  

• The Drug Enforcement Agency is partnering with an anti-weed influencer community to troll 4/20. Johnny’s Ambassadors describes its mission as an effort to “educate parents and teens about the dangers of today's high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide.” Founded by a mother who attributes cannabis use to her son, Johnny’s, suicide, the Instagram account is a mix of her public speaking clips and paid Reels from young people sharing anti-cannabis content. For 4/20, they’re running a video contest in attempts to “flood Instagram with anti-THC messages.” $25 for an individual UGC video, $35 for a group video of 2+ people in a dialogue, and $50 for a professionally produced educational video or skit.
  
  

• Remember Edible Arrangements? They’re selling THC edibles now. I’m not sure if they happened to own the edibles.com URL and just now found the most profitable way to use it, or this is a totally fresh endeavor, but it’s happening and it’s fascinating. It’s also really locked down, age gate-wise, requiring a scan of government issued ID to prove 21 and up. An interesting thought for all DTC hemp brands dealing with wary regulators to consider. 👀
  
  

• My current go-to gummy: Miss Grass Jewels. The brand’s first hemp-THC edible is my new fave, and not just because I worked with Miss Grass on the flavor names and product copy. There are two flavors, my fave is Lift Up in Sour Watermelon Blood Orange Mimosa (you can choose sweet v. sour). The 5 mg D9 THC is supported with energizing ingredients like ginseng, B12, and lion’s mane mushroom. It’s a really buoyant, happy, layered high, and it hits fast, nano-style.
  

Grateful to grace your inbox,
Lauren Yoshiko