Honeysuckle Media

PREMIER CANNABIS CULTURE MAGAZINE • WINTER 23/24

HAVOC - MOBB DEEP

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• CANDACE CANE • HOUSING WORKS • SWEET CHICK • TENCO • USQTA • COMPOUND GENETICS • • ORGANICALLY CONNECTED • CAURD • HONEY SPOTLIGHT • TERPHOGZ • • CHEF HAWAII MIKE • SF CANNA • COZMO • DUBZ GARDEN • GRASSLANDS • GAPT •

1000 @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

VOLUME 17

Honeysuckle goes BIG on Culture

CONTENTS

1 T.O.C. Get into something good! 2 PUBLISHER’S LETTER From the honey hive 3 MASTHEAD These wonderful people make this mag happen 4 HONEYSUCKLE ON THE LOOSE Where in the world is team HS! 7 HOUSING WORKS CANNABIS CO Inside NY’s first licensed dispensary 8 CAURD The nation’s most ambitious retail license program 13 ORGANICALLY CONNECTED Long Island’s premier canna destinations 14 UNION SQUARE TRAVEL AGENCY Taking flight with a one-of-a-kind NYC dispensary 16 STRIPPED BARE Burlesque artist Candace Cane on sexiness & smoke 20 HAVOC: GOING MOBB DEEP Creativity, the plant & making bomb-ass beats 26 SWEET CHICK John Seymour on Nas, weed & feeding NY’s hip hop gods 29 HAWAII MIKE An OG’s journey from Mobb Deep to Chef For Higher 30 COMPOUND GENETICS The prestigious breeder goes global 32 CALIFORNIA LEGENDS TerpHogz, SF Canna, Dubz Garden, Natura, Champelli, Cozmo, CGO and Kipps 34 KEEP IT TENCO Exclusive interview with TENCo founders Staks & Gerry 35 SEX TALK W/ ANITA COUCHEAre you candy cock ring-worthy? 36 KOOL KIDZ Women of the Astor Club, Weedmaps babes, & Cookies NYC 42 GAPT The stars of Honeysuckle’s newest webseries / feature film! 43 MISS FLOW What happens when you take shrooms? 44 YES CHEF Cannabis fine dining 46 WINE COUNTRY & WEED NorCal’s best terroir offerings 48 HONEY SPOTLIGHT Leading ladies of cannabis 56 GRASSLANDS Ricardo Baca on plant-based leadership 57 MetaWRK Emerging tech takes cannabis 58

SUPER STARS Meet the stars of cannabis 60 THE BUZZ Equity Trade Network creates economic healing

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

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BY RONIT PINTO

In NYC

you ca n fee l it . So m e God z il la t h ing is like lev e m e rg iat ha n ing. So to sc re is slow me ly wa kin a m. It’s a spide g up an Yorker r se n se d re a dy . An e n you de ergy yo ve lop a Zeitgeis u ca n t s a New a st e a n t. CAN N d A pa lpa b B IS’ SEC is t he la ly fee l.

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Photo Credit © Sam C. Long + AI 2023

“Like Virginia Slims, we’ve come a long way, baby!”

ince 2017 we’ve been smokin’ with the hustlers, the creators and the magic-

real stories). The concept of GAPT sparked from our previous spread with East Coast

makers of The City That Never Sleeps. Despite the trials and tribulations,

legacy women, recently winning us a Clio Award. So did our brand redesign with

cannabis culture is alive and kicking in NYC!

design firm MNML, and a Clio Shortlist for our CAURD shoot with Our Academy (Our Dream).

New York’s legal industry is ramping up with cannabis licenses open to the general

public, and the game changes every day. Retailers and Cannabis Growers’ Showcases are

Also in this issue, we’re proud to share our exclusive interview with Staks and

coming online for farmers, processors, technology providers and others. Court cases abound,

Gerry, founders of The TENCo. Though they revolutionized the cannabis scene

dealing with everything from RO’s to justice impacted individuals.

with their acclaimed Zushi strains and partnership with chart-topping artist Coi Leray, the mysterious innovators have only ever given two interviews. This is one of

Mythic figures and cool cats loom large in this edition. Our cover artist, Havoc of

them - it’s a must-read!

Mobb Deep, one of the most renowned producers and artists of all time, shares his positive outlook on life. His paradigm revolves around a world ripe with opportunities for those who commit to manifesting their dreams.

Our creative agency, which provided corporate and creative services in product and corporate photography, branded content in video and film, and Out Of Home, has been steadily gaining ground. . Sam C. Long, our brilliant Creative Director,

We speak with some of our favorite West Coast OGs, who invented the brands

has been spearheading innovative new projects from coast to coast, including our

dominating today’s market: Champelli, Jondo of TerpHogz, Frank Walker of Dubz Garden,

inaugural headshot and product photography activations at Revelry Buyers Club in

Josh Schmidt of Natura, Cannabiz Chris and Freddie Bigg of SF Canna. They’ll tell you

Hudson and Revelry Block Party in Brooklyn.

the key to the future is globalization. These impresarios are embracing the international “cuisines” of cannabis culture, and soon the new trends will be as familiar to American consumers as the taco and the sushi roll. You’ll also hear from Ricardo Baca, a cannabis

What are you waiting for? The revolution is being televised! And Honeysuckle will always be there to document it. Dive on in, the Honey’s warm!

media legend, and Hawaii Mike, who managed Mobb Deep and shared weed with Biggie before bringing one of New York’s premier legacy brands to the legal market.

As always, the female plant gives the women who love her reasons to thrive. There are more canna goddesses spotlighted here than ever before.. They come from varied backgrounds: attorneys, physicians, publicists, equity champions, hospitality mavens and tastemakers, with a shared goal of helping the world realize women can do the impossible.

Our creative endeavors through Honeysuckle Studios have seen us completing our first iterations of a feature film and web series titled Girls Are Players Too (GAPT), a fiction/ nonfiction hybrid anthology about ladies of the cannabis community (loosely inspired by

@HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

VOLUME 17

“Honeysu ck le consi stently ha but New s its finge York ’s en r on the p e rg y is startlin u lse of ou year, we’v g. D o c u m r cannabis e been on enting th communit the same e lightnin y, while pu ll ro ll e rc g-speed c oaster as ing Gs fro h e a v m n e g ry th e s b e ody else. this magica l p brings to Our secre lant? Hon this space t to thriv oring the . We vibe ing authentic destinatio riding this it y each p n togethe craz y ride erson’s sto r.” -Jaim , k nowing ry e Lubin w e can on ly ro Editor at ll to our n Large ex t

VOL 17 • WINTER 23/24

Publisher and Founder Ronit Pinto

Creative Director Sam C. Long

Editor-At-Large Jaime Lubin

Special Features Editor Jake Wall Guest Designer Franky Tan Special Contributors Shirley Ju Ricardo Baca Chloe Harper Gold Felisa Rogers Miss Flow Veronica Castillo Kally Compton Dizzy Cordova Jack Porcari of Loud Thoughts Zine @ loudthoughtszine Sex Talk Anita Couche Cover Design & Intro Pages MNML Interior Page Design Billy Haas Anjali Woods Adsomo.Co Cover Photo Havoc of Mobb Deep ©Sam C. Long THCNYC, New York, 2023 Graffiti Artist HAVOK KYS Social Justice James Litkett Shawanna Vaughn Arthur Rambert Advisory Board Bobbi Paley Special Thanks New York Cannabis Cat Ouellette Mitchell Hernandez

Advertise with us Honey@HoneysuckleMag.com 646-632-7711 New York, NY 10023 Printed in Queens, NY

Social Media Instagram: @HoneysuckleMagazine Twitter: @HoneysuckleMag YouTube: Honeysuckle Magazine

VOLUME 15

honeysucklemag.com

Coast to coast, Team Honeysuckle is there to capture your best events, drops, and magic moments in cannabis culture. You might see us at a historic dispensary opening, awards show, hanging with hip hop legends, or setting up a photo/ video activation at your next event! Late night we dance afterhours when the work is through. Work Hard, Play Harder! Where will we see you next?

Little Beach Harvest, the first tribally-owned and tax-free cannabis dispensary on Long Island, opens with a traditional Shinnecock ceremony hosted by Managing Director Chenae Bullock

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Weedubest #RollWithNewYork launch at Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective, NYC: Sam Long, David Hernandez, Pacino Bing,

Brent Stevens of Fower Mill; Honeysucle founder Ronit Pinto, Richard DeLisi; Delisioso at Happy Munkey’s 710 Sensual Soiree, NYC's Museum of Sex

Hash hole innovator Fidel and Ronit Pinto Zalympix 4/19, NYC

NEMS and Redman outside Ghostface Killah's Killah Coffee for Castleton Avenue Block Party, Staten Island LOUD AND PROUD speakers at Housing Works a, NYC: Serge Fils-Aime, Kally Compton, IAMQUEENS, Ronit Pinto, Wyatt Harms of FLAMER, and Jason Starr of On The Revel

VOLUME 17

Pressure Paint and Mitchlife host a night of graffiti and pop-up markets in Brooklyn

FlowerHouse New York can nabis Tropicana C herry

s’ udio le St Party k c u k ys one Bloc for H Revelry s e s po he am on at t rooklyn el te ti Rev activa -Stuy, B e Th y d On ograph in Be t pho

@wegraffbutwestrapped @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

Launch of Erven AI at Ludlow House, NYC: Anne Forkutza, Mike Conway, Angela Bacon, Solonje Burnett, Jesse Wexler

NYC premiere of “Cannabis and Creativity” film at The Angelika: Director Elana Frankel, Chef Ali, Jes Feuer of Etain and team

Seth Zaplin; HighGarden's Alien Have Landed Halloween party, THC NYC

Dave East, Harbor Club NYC

Honeysuckle’s 2023 Cannabis Clio Awards

Coi Leray celebrates TENCo's Blue Zushi win for Best Overall at Zalympix LA

Happy Munkey’s 710 Sensual Soiree, NYC's Museum of Sex: Ramon Reyes, David Hernandez, Ronit Pinto, Vanessa Perez, Mike B, Elyssa Colon, Jackie Conroy

Tag @wegraffbutwestrapped

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Honeysuckle’s Sam C. Long on set with Candace Cane

Dave Chappelle hosts 2023 Blue Note Jazz Festival, Napa, CA

Uncle Rick's Smoke Out, July 4th in NYC: Honeysuckle founder Ronit PInto with Rick DeLisi, Ken Darby, Seth Zaplin, Shiest Bubz, and Fab 5 Freddy

Bun B records TRILLSTATIK 2 at The

Marcos of CGO Lyfestyle opens Hash Hole Island festival, Sacramento

Jeremy Rivera, founder of TerpBros, launches his licensed dispensary in Astoria, Queens

George Gallego, founder of The Axis Project, at The Roll Out Jam in Rockefeller Center

Paul Wall records TRILLSTATIK 2 at The Sweet Chick

Toshi, founder of Japan’s leading CBD brand Chillaxy, is interviewed in Tokyo

Sam Long Chillaxy CBD vending machine in Tokyo VOLUME 17

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A Year Of By: Jaime Lubin

It’s not easy being a trailblazer, but Housing Works Cannabis Co (HWCC) did it. Nearly a year ago, under the auspices of New York’s long-running nonprofit Housing Works, the retailer became the state’s first licensed adult-use dispensary.

On December 29, 2022, HWCC opened its doors to the public at 750 Broadway and has seen enormous success and community impact ever since.

As the store nears its one-year anniversary and first complete holiday season, the team - and New York City as a whole - is counting the blessings. Housing Works, originally founded in 1990, is legendary for its multitiered advocacy, focused on providing housing, healthcare and other resources for people living with HIV and AIDS. The nonprofit offers access to various impact programs including primary care, behavioral health and substance use counseling, legal services, and the Ready for Work initiative that empowers New Yorkers with chronic illnesses to jumpstart their careers. (Housing Works and HWCC also employ many of their own constituents.)

Over its years of operation, the organization has opened numerous eclectic thrift shops to help fund its social advocacy, as well as a Soho bookshop famous for an exceptional range of material and being a hot event venue.

So hot, in fact, that Housing Works Bookstore hosts its cannabis sister brand’s educational events every month via the MJ Mondaze series. These free-to-attend gatherings invite the public to learn more about the plant’s wellness benefits and help normalize adult consumption in different scenarios.

Events have featured an infused mixology course with The Alchemist’s Kitchen, a women’s health panel spotlighting “Sex and Cannabis,” and a screening of Elana Frankel’s award-winning short film Cannabis and Creativity, starring community leaders and artists such as HiFive Edibles founder Chef Ali, Paramount creative director Sam Jones, and Buy Weed From Women founder Jasmine Mans.

Consumers who shop at Housing Works Cannabis Co will find a wide range of products grown by New York’s craft cultivators and made by local brands, many of them women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA-owned. Traditional flower, vapes, edibles, and even CBD pet treats are available for purchase, with proceeds supporting the organization’s community initiatives. Like HWCC’s in-store signs say, “Make love, not drug war.”

HWCC’s team shared insights with Honeysuckle on what has been an incredible first year, and what they’re most anticipating as the state’s legal industry expands.

HONEYSUCKLE MAGAZINE: Housing Works and HWCC have been doing an incredible job promoting cannabis education! How have you been able to intertwine the cannabis mission with the goals of the overarching organization?

take it from there. Sometimes we’re inspired by a community member or current events, and sometimes we just ask ourselves what would be fun! The series is all about providing various access points for people to learn about cannabis and connect with the New York cannabis community.

HOUSING WORKS CANNABIS CO: Housing Works was founded at the height of the AIDS crisis and has been dedicated to supporting New Yorkers impacted by drug criminalization and other social justice issues since the early 1990s. All proceeds from Housing Works Cannabis Co go directly back into Housing Works’ advocacy and direct services including healthcare, housing and job training to uplift communities harmed by the War on Drugs.

What other initiatives are the HWCC team proudest of this year?

You’ve had a supremely successful first year, taking in $12 million just in your first six months of operation. Where is that funding going?

What is HWCC looking forward to in 2024, and what should the public get ready for?

All funding goes directly into Housing Works’ services and advocacy [find out more at housingworks.org/services]. This includes housing, healthcare and vocational training for folks coming out of incarceration.

What does it mean to you to support local New York cultivators, processors and brands?

First and foremost, we are New Yorkers! And we are honored to be able to showcase the hard work of our fellow New Yorkers and are especially proud to highlight women-led, BIPOC-led and queer-led brands.

Which products are your customers showing the most interest in?

Our customers love the variety of products that we have available. But for The City That Never Sleeps, we are certainly seeing a lot of New Yorkers looking for edibles to help with a good night’s rest!

The Housing Works MJ Mondaze series tackles many different subjects in cannabis, from sexual wellness to culinary to creativity. How do you determine which topics to explore? What has been the response from the public thus far?

We’ve had a great response so far to our MJ Mondaze series (the first Monday of each month), and the audiences are as diverse as New York City itself. We enjoy thinking about the various ways people are incorporating cannabis into their lives and just

We’re just so thrilled to be able to share New York cannabis with the world in this first year of legal cannabis. We’re also excited for our first anniversary and grand reopening on Friday, December 29, as our store is currently under renovation as we expand.

For 2024, we are most looking forward to showing New York City our new and improved dispensary, while continuing to educate our customers on cannabis and its many benefits. We are also thrilled to continue the Housing Works mission of ending the dual crises of homelessness and HIV/AIDS through continued relentless advocacy, and supporting New Yorkers in need through our multiple entrepreneurial businesses [find out more at housingworks.org/businesses], which now includes Housing Works Cannabis Co, where 100% of proceeds go toward our mission. The public should be excited to build strong and lasting relationships with our budtenders who are more than happy to walk them through any questions they may have about the newest strains and latest products in cannabis.

What other initiatives are the HWCC team proudest of this year?

We’re just so thrilled to be able to share New York cannabis with the world in this first year of legal cannabis. We successfully launched delivery in Manhattan as well as to select zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens. We’re also excited for our first anniversary and grand re-opening on Friday, Dec. 29, as our store is currently under renovation as we expand.

Housing Works Cannabis Co is located at 750 Broadway (Broadway and 8th Street) in New York City. For more information, visit hwcannabis.co or follow @housingworkscannabis on Instagram.

8 FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Hugo Rivera, The Islands Cannabis Dispensary Carson Grant, NY Elite Cannabis Marquis Hayes, Keep It A 100 Naiomy Guerrero, Nube NYC Andrea Mendez, The Islands Cannabis Dispensary Christian Ribas, The Islands Cannabis @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE VOLUME 17 Dispensary

SECOND ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

THIRD ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Joe Micciulli, Brain Bloom Shabazz, BAZZJat Hector Bonilla, Diamond Dispensary Gahrey Ovalle, WAO Industries Jie “Jerry” Lin, Cannadreams

Harold Baines, NYC THC Company Jeremy Rivera, TerpBros Michael “Mic Quin” Quintanilla, Big Dipper / CBD Professionals Natalia Thurston, Big Dipper / CBD Professionals

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D R U CA

FOURTH ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

FIFTH ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

SIXTH ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT

David Nicponski, Freshly Baked Pam Vargas, Freshly Baked Sean Kang, New Metro Emil Velasquez, Big Dipper / CBD Professionals Brian “Stubbz” Kelleher, Big Dipper

Miguel Velarde, Buds R Us Benjamin Espinoza, Buds R Us Jose Miguel, Jupiter Cafe Jose Polanco, Polanco

Gregory Pereira, Blaze 420

VOLUME 17

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F O T R A E H S D R CAU THE NATION’S MOST AMBITIOUS RETAIL LICENSE PROGRAM

By Jaime Lubin New York’s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program – a first-of-its-kind initiative that was created to repair the harms done by cannabis criminalization. When the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced the new license category, the idea was to prioritize getting justiceinvolved entrepreneurs into the legal market. People with cannabis convictions on their records would be granted adult-use retail licenses and develop an equitable ecosystem powered by small businesses.

York et al, stemmed from Gay’s complaint that CAURD was unconstitutional. He claimed that the program’s New York residency requirements violated the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause, by seeming to discriminate against out-of-state applicants.

Eventually the OCM would appeal and the injunction would be lifted, but not before seriously impeding the rollout of stores in areas that desperately needed them.

Meanwhile, Manhattan celebrated its inaugural three stores – Housing Works Cannabis Company, Smacked Village, and Union Square Travel Agency (USQTA) – which all opened within a mile of each other. Housing Works and USQTA represented nonprofit licensees, while Smacked had the distinction of being the state’s first Black-owned, justice-involved dispensary, a family-run enterprise owned by Roland Conner.

Slowly, retailers debuted in other towns: Just Breathe in Binghamton, William Jane in Ithaca, Upstate Canna Co. in Schenectady. Good Grades, based in Queens, was not only the first licensed dispensary in that borough, but also the first to be woman-owned (shoutout to Extasy James for breaking that glass ceiling).

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November 2022 saw the initial round of licenses granted: 28 entrepreneurs and 8 nonprofits were the lucky winners. Everyone believed a quick rollout was on the way, but unforeseen factors caused stalls. On one hand, the Social Equity Fund overseen by the Dormitory State Authority of New York (DASNY) that was meant to supplement the retailers’ buildout costs did not have the money most licensees were counting on for aid. And on another, a lawsuit brought by Michigan man Kenneth Gay resulted in an injunction that barred the OCM from issuing any licenses in five key regions of the state.

The case, Variscite NY One, Inc. v State of New

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VOLUME 17

Chaos reigned at the case’s initial public hearing on August 11. Dozens of CAURD licensees descended on Ulster County Supreme Court, begging to be heard. On the plaintiffs’ side, the veterans had been joined by the backers of multi-state operators (MSOs), who had brought a similar lawsuit against CAURD but decided they would be more successful in supporting the current case. Sadly, what appeared to be the Assistant Attorney General’s lack of preparation hurt OCM’s defense, and Bryant refused to rescind the injunction.

Weeks followed with licensees feeling devastated, getting no clear guidance from the OCM as the agency scrambled to ask Bryant for exemptions. Repeatedly, the requests were denied. The New York CAURD Coalition, an organization formed to provide resources for all license holders, started a petition for the State Senate to codify CAURD. Through August and September, it felt that the program was crashing down.

On September 12, the OCM and the Cannabis Control Board hosted a meeting in Albany, where they announced that retail licenses would open to the general public on October 4. Never had such a meeting been so turbulent, with license holders along every part of the supply chain declaring that they were desperate, going broke, fighting for their lives.

This was the hope that CAURD promised. The reality wasn’t what anyone anticipated. From the license category’s announcement in Spring 2022 to the present, Honeysuckle has documented the highs and lows of New York’s retail rollout, one of the most ambitious and complex in the nation’s history. Though the program has been besieged by turmoil, it has provided New Yorkers an intimate glimpse into the foundations of our legal cannabis industry, and allowed us to put human faces and stories to business ventures. All industries could stand to gain that same personalization; you shop better when you know exactly who you’re supporting.

In March 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office and the OCM outlined the intention to award the first 100 retail licenses to justiceinvolved applicants. Shortly afterward, the department’s Executive Director Chris Alexander gave the CAURD program its name. Applicants would need to prove they had a cannabis conviction before March 31, 2021 and that they had at least two years’ experience running a successful business (later, this would be expanded to include nonprofit organizations with community-oriented missions as well). When the license portal launched in August of that year, staying open for just over a month and closing by the end of September, the agency had received over 900 applications.

an injunction prohibiting the OCM from awarding or processing any further CAURD applications or opening any other retailers.

Then when public licenses did launch in October, a sudden ray of sunshine cut through the clouds. Bryant agreed to allow some exemptions. Stores that were in process before suddenly got the chance to operate, including Elevate ADK in Saranac Lake, TerpBros in Queens, Gotham Buds in Harlem, and CONBUD in the Lower East Side. There are still more on the way.

By March 2023, with only a handful of licensed stores operating, the OCM proclaimed an expansion of the program. Additional good news came when the U.S. Court of Appeals finally lifted the Variscite case’s injunction, meaning that CAURD could proceed in the previously banned regions. The spring and summer of this year felt triumphant, as the number of CAURD license holders developed from 150 to 300 to ultimately 463. Slowly but steadily, the list of up-andrunning retailers climbed to 24.

And then, more lawsuits. A group of service-disabled veterans, who were not justice-involved entrepreneurs, again argued that CAURD was unconstitutional. On August 7, 2023, New York Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant agreed that the OCM’s program violated not just the Dormant Commerce Clause, but also the state’s own social equity laws, which stressed that all marginalized groups should be prioritized for licenses simultaneously – including veterans. Bryant issued

But where does this leave the still 400-plus CAURD licensees who can’t launch their stores yet? Some are rethinking their licenses, some are preparing to reapply for the general license, and many others are grappling with their current state of affairs. Still, many remain hopeful that what New York’s cannabis industry promised can deliver. The New York CAURD Coalition has rebranded as the New York Cannabis Retail Association, a symbol of their willingness to embrace every operator dedicated to an equitable legal market. A movement to codify CAURD and protect those suffering from the program’s fallout remains ongoing (contact your senator to voice your support). We are able, even now, to find reasons to celebrate the actions that the people most harmed by the War on Drugs are taking to reclaim their power.

Whatever the Empire State’s legal industry looks like in its next phase, we will all remember this year as one of community and shared voices, striving to make New York’s market different. Regardless of what happens next, it will be. Because it was built on humanity, built on a house of CAURDS.

KNOW YOUR LEGAL STORES! DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF NEW YORK’S ROLLOUT, THE EMPIRE STATE HAS SEEN SOME TRULY UNIQUE ADULTUSE RETAIL DISPENSARIES LAUNCH. CURRENTLY 27 CAURD-LICENSED BUSINESSES ARE OPERATIONAL, IN AREAS RANGING FROM THE FIVE BOROUGHS TO BUFFALO, ITHACA, SARANAC LAKE, AND THE MOHAWK VALLEY. SOME HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, WHILE OTHERS HIRE FORMERLY INCARCERATED CITIZENS OR PEOPLE FROM MARGINALIZED GROUPS. EACH STORE WORKS TO CURATE AN ATMOSPHERE REFLECTING ITS LOCAL COMMUNITY, FROM THE RAP WALL AT MANHATTAN’S SMACKED VILLAGE FEATURING PORTRAITS OF HIP HOP ICONS (INCLUDING SOME

BY HONEYSUCKLE’S OWN SAM C. LONG), TO THE FOCUS ON VETERANS’ STORIES AT ONEONTA’S DOSHA. OF COURSE THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF RETAILERS STILL WAITING TO BRING THEIR VISION OF RECREATIONAL CANNABIS TO LIFE. BUT AS THAT MANIFESTATION DEVELOPS, WE ENCOURAGE OUR READERS TO SUPPORT THE BUSINESSES LISTED HERE AND KEEP OUR STATE’S LEGAL INDUSTRY GOING STRONG. WHAT’S GOOD FOR CANNABIS ALWAYS COMES BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.

WHICH NEW YORK DISPENSARIES ARE OPEN NOW? (*** INDICATES DELIVERY-ONLY) HOUSING WORKS CANNABIS, LLC 750 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10003 HWCANNABIS.CO SMACKED VILLAGE 144 BLEECKER STREET, NEW YORK, NY10012 GETSMACKED.ONLINE JUST BREATHE 75 COURT STREET, BINGHAMTON, NY 13901 JUSTBREATHELIFE.ORG UNION SQUARE TRAVEL AGENCY 62 E 13TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY10003 UNIONSQUARETRAVELAGENCY.COM WILLIAM JANE CORPORATION 119-121 E STATE STREET, ITHACA, NY 14850 WILLIAMJANE420.COM GOOD GRADES, LLC 162-03 JAMAICA AVENUE, JAMAICA, NY 11432 GOODGRADESNYC.COM UPSTATE CANNA CO 1613 UNION STREET, SCHENECTADY, NY 12309 UPSTATE-CANNA.CO DAZED 33 UNION SQ. W, NEW YORK, NY 10003 DAZED.FUN ESSENTIAL FLOWERS*** ALBANY, NY LEGACYDISPENSERS.COM GOTHAM CAURD LLC 3 E 3RD STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10003 GOTHAM.NYC ELEVATE ADK 622 LAKE FLOWER AVENUE, SUITE 7, SARANAC LAKE, NY 12983 ELEVATEADK.COM SOCIAL EQUITY CAURD JV LLC*** RICHMOND HILL, NY THECANNABISPLACE.ORG STAGE ONE CANNABIS LLC 810C BROADWAY, RENSSELAER, NY 12144 STAGEONEDISPENSARY.COM FLYNNSTONED CORPORATION 219 WALTON STREET, SYRACUSE, NY 13202 FLYNNSTONED.COM

HALF ISLAND FLAVORS LLC*** BRONX, NY MYSESHNYC.COM GREENERY SPOT LLC 246 MAIN STREET, JOHNSON CITY, NY 13790 GREENERYSPOT.COM ROYAL LEAF NY LLC (STATIS) 817 E TREMONT AVENUE, BRONX, NY10460 STATISCANNABIS.COM STRAIN STARS LLC 1815 BROADHOLLOW ROAD, FARMINGDALE, NY 11735 STRAINSTARSNY.COM EXSCAPE INC (SACRED BLOOM) 1308 VESTAL PKWY E, 1ST FLOOR, SET D, VESTAL, NY 13850 SACRED-BLOOM.COM DANK 716 LLC 501 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO, NY 14203 716DANK.COM HERBAL IQ 6055 TRANSIT ROAD, DEPEW, NY 14043 HERBALIQ.ORG EK GREEN LLC (DBA CANTERRA)*** TONAWANDA, NY 14150 CANTERRA.CO DOSHA FARMS 76 MAIN STREET, ONEONTA, NY 13820 DOSHAFARMS.COM AIR CITY CANNABIS LLC*** ROME, NY @AIRCITYCANNA (INSTAGRAM) KUSH CULTURE INDUSTRY LLC (TERPBROS) 3610 DITMARS BOULEVARD, ASTORIA, NY 11105 TERPBROSNYC.COM

Our partner in crime, Britt

GOTHAM BUDS 248 WEST 125TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10027 GOTHAMBUDSNY.COM CONBUD 85 DELANCEY STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10002 CONBUD.COM

When you visit an Organically Connected store, you’re experiencing a piece of true New York cannabinoid history. One of the first CBD retailers on Long Island, the brand now has four locations - in Patchogue, Port Jefferson, Huntington, and Jamaica, Queens - and serves as an educational touchstone for most adults in those towns to have their inaugural positive interaction with the plant. The company’s founder, Spech, has not only turned his stores into cultural destinations, but he himself is a treasure trove of creative ingenuity.

“I figured the green community could honor the people who passed away and honor the things we love as well,” the innovator states. “The first year, I was able to donate about $10,000 to the Fund.” Though he kept up the bags as a donation tool every year, even releasing a twentieth anniversary pack in 2021, he says they didn’t go viral online until MJBizCon 2022. NY Budtenderz happened to be working an event at Mike Tyson’s Tyson Ranch in Las Vegas, and attendees went wild over the packs.

Spech’s story is a powerful legacy of cannabis, hip hop, and the virally popular 9/11 packs that broke the internet (but more on those later). Born in Wyandach, New York, he inherited an appreciation for the plant in his half-Jamaican, half-Cuban heritage, with his Jamaican relatives practicing many Rastafarian traditions. He grew up understanding cannabis as an agent for healing, a sacrament that brought communities together.

“When you talk about going to New York to get some really mind-blowing flower, you are going to get Purple Haze or Sour Diesel,” the OG affirms. “Sour Diesel was the craziest thing that always got you in trouble with the law, your parents, or had people digging in your stash. Purple Haze is the one thing wherever you lit up, people knew that you lit up Purple Haze…

Nobody’s talking about Haze right now, but that’s one of the best smelling, feeling flowers I can remember. If you’re an artist and want to be creative, if you’re on the go and want to be uplifted, get some energy, you had that Purple Haze. Raekwon and Jadakiss, that’s their favorite strain.”

“It’s always been a spiritual upbringing as much as a survival upbringing,” the entrepreneur says.

At the same time, Spech’s father ran two of Long Island’s most successful record stores, working directly with VP Records, the world’s largest Caribbean-owned label. Hip hop icons like LL Cool J, Brand Nubian, and Das EFX often showed up to do business.

“Dad was well known,” his son remembers. “He had a lot of people that supported him. Through it all, these guys were marijuana advocates. It’s almost like history repeating itself, just in a different manner, because the same kind of guys then come to me now for their medicine.”

Organically Connected certainly operates on a hip hop atmosphere. Spech, his fiancee (who runs the brand with him), and their team have cultivated an environment in their stores that’s a full-senses shopping experience. Music plays, friends and neighbors congregate, and there are always new products in a vast range of categories to learn about, from beauty, bath and skincare items to petcare products to CBD-infused kombucha tea. There’s even a draft setup so that consumers can sample different kombucha flavors before they buy.

Asked how he’s been able to combat Long Islanders’ vehement resistance to cannabis - a factor that has prevented most communities in the area from allowing adult-use retailers - Spech explains that his company focuses on destigmatization. “The first thing we did was educate our customers before they were willing to become customers. For two years, it was teaching and giving everybody samples, brochures and things for them to research themselves. Once they go and know that you’re not there just for money, you’re actually there for their comfort and the community, they want you there. Everything in my store has helped… This is Mother Nature’s medicine to the world. There are a lot of things that grow naturally that we’re supposed to use to help heal ourselves.”

Beyond Organically Connected, the gentle giant (Spech stands 6’7”) dedicates himself to bringing out other people’s most vibrant energies. His brand NY Budtenderz coordinates cannabis-themed events throughout New York, drawing on the knowledge that he’s gleaned through years in music and hospitality. At events, his team shares new product drops from their Jellybean line; recent offerings include a collaboration with journalist and media personally ItsBizkitt, “the biggest blogger in the world.” NY Budtenderz also provides what Spech calls “THC Narcan” - a CBD spray that helps anyone overwhelmed by THC to come down from their high. For those Long Islanders worried about stoners running amok in their neighborhoods, don’t fret: The spray is sold in all the Organically Connected stores too.

But Spech’s greatest claim to fame is one you’ll only know if you’re “in the know.” After 9/11, to help grieving friends and family members heal, he invented the “9/11 packs,” the original split bag of flower on the market. One side featured Sour Diesel and the other Purple Haze, the two strains most representative of New York’s cannabis culture. Proceeds from the packs directly benefited the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Now, for those strain enthusiasts who could listen to Spech wax lyrical about Haze all day, you’re in luck. (And not just because he’s one of New York’s wisest cultivar historians!) His latest venture is the Canna Tour Bus, a 420-friendly party bus available for bookings that can take passengers on a tour of all the Organically Connected locations. Tourists can even be picked up directly from the airport and begin their Long Island educational journey in the safest way possible, with an expert who knows the plant inside-out. To book a tour, check out @cannatourbus on Instagram.

There’s a lot on the horizon that Spech is excited to share with a wider audience, one piece of information at a time.

But his mission will always come back to the plant’s sacred role as he knew her best. So if you’re ready for full-spectrum sensory elevation, take a trip to Long Island. It’s time to get Organically Connected!

For more information, follow @organicallyconnected, @ny_budtenderz, and @cannatourbus on Instagram.

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For the next release, Spech intends to do a complete redesign of the bag and expand the associated merch. The strains, however, will always be the classics.

NEW YORK TAKES FLIGHT WITH BY:JACK PORCARI

While New York’s rapidly-evolving cannabis industry comes online, green entrepreneurs are working hard to fill incredible consumer knowledge gaps, provide unique formulations and train associates effectively. Amid changing regulations and fierce competition from 1500+ unlicensed “sticker shops,” the politics of an entirely new market have created barriers for stakeholders across the space.

Arana Hankin-Biggers, President and Co-Founder of Union Square Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store (USQTA), recognized these realities from her career in real estate and time working on New York State economic development initiatives. She imagined what a dispensary that prioritizes economic equity and stellar customer service could look like and realized the vision alongside like-minded individuals—as one of the 27 CAURD licensees who opened their doors since the passage of the MRTA in March 2021.

One step into Union Square Travel Agency will reveal much more than a dispensary. In its store at 835 Broadway, the meticulous placement of every product shows attention to detail and a desire to celebrate brands that look like all shoppers: women-, queer- and BIPOC-owned products. The company also donates 51% of their profits to The Doe Fund, a longstanding nonprofit

dedicated to reducing recidivism through economic opportunity, housing, and support services for people who are homeless or were formerly incarcerated (for things like cannabis possession).

“We are a public-private partnership between The Doe Fund, a not-for-profit who owns the majority of the company and receive over half the proceeds, and Harbour Community, a woman-founded and BIPOC-founded group of New Yorkers who are passionate about cannabis and operate Union Square Travel Agency,” Hankin-Biggers said.

She continued, “Giving back to the community is an integral part of USQTA’s DNA; CJEI [the Cannabis Justice and Equity Initiative] and UNLOC [Unified Legacy Operators’ Council] among others share our mission by supporting and empowering people whose lives were horribly disrupted by the failed War on Drugs. One of the CJEI leaders, Terrence Coffie, defines this as he is not only a Doe Fund graduate, but now an adjunct professor at NYU and is seeking to use it as a platform to give back.

UNLOC, led by our friends Vladimir Bautista and Jesse Companour, also do similar work and share this vision. As the number of licensed stores grows, so do the opportunities we can offer these groups.”

Passion for the plant radiates through every wall of the building, as the USQTA retail space comes to life with an experiential learning hub called the “Flower Lounge.” The business is the first licensed dispensary to feature a dedicated area for cannabis education.

“One of its highlights are interactive vitrines that feature displays of cannabis terpenes and sense-activated experiences so that customers can enjoy the different smells and taste activations with the different strains of cannabis,” Union Square Travel Agency staff members said. “A key part of the Flower Lounge will help customers explore the seven most common terpenes in cannabis which have a distinct scent and flavor profile, effect on the endocannabinoid system, and will oftentimes impact the overall experience more than the product’s THC percent.”

With so much to smell and feel, this flagship destination is showcasing just how artful and immersive a simple translation can be. In fact, you can read their top seven qualities that make dispensaries memorable on their website.

In just under one year of operation, the team seems to be following their own advice. They won multiple Clio Cannabis Awards for retail and brand design, as well as public relations. Even household names like Amy Sedaris and Sarah Silverman are

finding the time to check departing flights, too (the latter even brought The Daily Show along with her).

“Celebrities consume cannabis as much as their fans,” the Union Square Travel Agency staff said.

“Between the industry awards like our 3 Clios, the word of mouth about USQTA’s customer service, and our design-forward space have all made us the ‘go to’ dispensary for cannabis fans. When the media wants to showcase positive stories about how legal cannabis is benefitting those most impacted by the failed War on Drugs (including the NY Times, ABC News, CBS Mornings, 1010 Wins, Bloomberg, and NY1 among other mainstream media), our store and our team are always happy to do everything we can to destigmatize cannabis and make it accessible.”

Those efforts include a groundbreaking collaboration with Soho’s The House of Cannabis (THC NYC) museum, where USQTA unveiled new delivery kiosks just this past October. You wouldn’t call them “cannabis vending machines,” but they are the first setup of their kind in New York State, a designated space available to the 21+ public in a separate

attraction where consumers can order the cannabis products of their choice. Upon selecting items through the tablets in the kiosks, visitors to the museum can get their desired products delivered onsite within the hour. Customers can also patronize the kiosks on THC NYC’s first floor without purchasing a ticket to the exhibits.

As one of eleven licensed dispensaries in the city, Union Square Travel Agency currently offers the largest assortment of over 350+ products. To become more accessible, they expanded to delivery with Doobie, their service provider that delivers to Manhattan and Brooklyn seamlessly. But it’s not just about booking your next trip with them, or even learning about weed for that matter. It’s about a deep-rooted mission meant to transport us to “a better world and a higher plane of consciousness.”

“We are transporting people out of poverty and homelessness and into prosperity and hope,” Hankin-Biggers stated. “When you travel with us, we all go further. The structure of our legal adult-use cannabis market in NY has a real opportunity for significant social impact, in ways we've not wholly seen in other cannabis markets.”

For more about USQTA, visit unionsquaretravelagency.com or follow @unionsquaretravelagency on Instagram.

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CAPTIVATING MAN in CANNABIS

Cannabis Law, Licensing & Criminal Defense…

For when your plans really go to pot.

The Law Offices of Joseph A. Bondy 212-219-3572 josephabondy.com

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STRIPPED BARE Sweet Ms. Candace Tells All About Sexiness, Dancing And Cannabis

Photos By Sam C Long Words By Chloé Harper Gold Candace Cane is the kind of person who somehow manages to be both approachable and awe-inspiring. For our interview, she appeared on screen wearing a flowing leopard print dress, winged eyeliner, matching red lipstick and nail polish, and her hair set in finger waves. The quintessential Old Hollywood glam look.

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“This is just how I hang out in my house,” she jokes.

Known on Instagram as “Sweet Ms. Candace,” she is a triple threat entertainer.

Primarily recognized for her mastery of burlesque and pole dancing, both as a performer and a teacher, she is also a contortionist, aerial artist, hand balancer, model, singer, and actor.

“That’s how I make my living,” she says. “I’ve worked with some of the most influential people in the music industry, like Beyonce and Rihanna. I was on tour most recently with Snoop Dogg and Diplo; I’ve worked with other artists and other countries… I don’t discriminate. I am an equal opportunist when it comes to my skill set. Whoever wants me can have me, especially if they’re paying!”

Mainstream audiences might recognize her from films like Dolemite Is My Name, starring Eddie Murphy, and Seth Macfarlane’s Ted 2, and numerous music videos for artists ranging from Rick Springfield to Maroon 5, Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran, and Mary J. Blige. Last year she was a featured dancer in Latto’s “Big Energy” performance at the Billboard Music Awards.

Candace explains that while she’s mostly a solo artist, every now and then she’ll perform with others, such as in the Pin-Up Pole Show, which is dedicated to burlesque and pole dancing in the style of 1950s and 1960s pin-ups; LGBTQIA+ icon Miss Tosh’s variety show Beauty of Burlesque; and a show called Desperada—an untold tale of the women of the Wild West produced by Tosca Rivola.

During that show, she remembers, she did aerial performances on a suspended mechanical bull.

“A lot of the gigs that I get at this point are word of mouth because I have been so established,” she says. “When I first started, I was very adamant about getting myself out there, even if it wasn’t a paid gig.”

What started as a ballet class when she was eight years old progressed into nurturing her theatrical and vocal talent at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and Alexander Hamilton High School, and years of dance programs all the way through college, developing her own performance style along the way.

“I’ve been an artsy kid since forever,” Candace says, adding that she was also heavily involved in sports. “I’ve been a busy bee since I was a little girl. I was going from school to practice and from practice to rehearsal, to class, and then back home. I played basketball in middle school. I took Taekwondo classes for about two years, I also was on the swim team, and I played baseball. Not softball but baseball with the boys because I was not about that whole gender separation thing.”

“I was actually pretty shy about my physical appearance,” the creator says. “I developed pretty early in my teens. I looked, at least from the neck down, very grown and my face was always a baby face. I would hide and I would only take selfies of just my face and I would be covered up. I was just trying to mitigate attention that I didn’t want to have at that time. When I started pole dancing, it was originally because I was trying to tap into my sexy, have ownership over that, and understand that I’m doing this for me. I’m coming into this not for your view and for your pleasure, but for my own. It really helped transform me and helped me blossom into this sex appeal that I have today. And I own it!”

Although Candace is a confident and talented performer, there’s no getting around the fact that her career has myriad challenges, ranging from navigating dating (she doesn’t date her fans), to people conflating her dancing with other kinds of sex work (“What I do, I do consider sex work because I am a sexy person presenting myself in a way that makes you feel things; you feel tantalized and you might feel aroused or you can just be appreciative and think, ‘Wow, that’s really beautiful and that’s amazing.’ It’s really on the person and the viewer. I’m doing it just to make sure the people have fun and have a good time.”), to on-the-job injuries. @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

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“I tore my meniscus when I was dancing at an exotic club called Ace of Diamonds,” the artist recalls. “I was there one night and Amber Rose came in and tipped really well while I was on stage. And unfortunately, when I went to walk around the pole to get ready to climb up and do a trick, because there was so much money on the floor and our money sweeper was not able to get it all quick enough, I stepped on a dollar and my knee went one way and my foot went the other. I had the money to pay for the surgery—thanks, Amber Rose!—but I was out of work for a little bit.”

Candace shares that cannabis helped during her recovery and that she used topicals in addition to smoking it. It wasn’t anything particularly new, though, as she’s been a cannabis consumer for years.

“I do fancy a nice little doobie here and there, but I use it mostly for medicinal purposes,” she affirms. A lot of people have this convoluted idea that you’re just a pothead, you like to smoke. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I do like to smoke, but that’s how I’m able to function and do all the crazy things that I do week after week!’ It’s been non-stop for me for years. I need to do what I need to do to take care of my body.”

Candace was first introduced to the plant at about age seven, when she found her mother’s pipe. Instead of panicking and making up some lie about what it was, her mother was honest with her.

“She sat me down and we had a conversation,” the performer remembers.

“She was like, ‘This is marijuana. I do it, your grandma does it, your daddy does it, your uncle does it, everybody does it! And when you become of age and choose to do it, go for it—but right now, this isn’t for you.’ It didn’t feel super taboo to me.”

She tried it for the first time when she was thirteen—a joint filled with Northern Lights, which remains her favorite strain.

“I felt amazing. I remember walking home, it started to rain and I was just so appreciative of the raindrops and colors and everything.

The vibrancy of life. I started learning about the medicinal properties of it, which was great because I have had awful pains due to my endometriosis since I was a kid. I’ve also had a lot of injuries. I’ve bruised my tailbone, I’ve dislocated my kneecap, I broke my elbow. So it was nice to know that I had another form of medicine that wasn’t as hard on the liver as ibuprofen.”

Since her teenage years, Candace has become well-versed in the vast world of weed, gravitating towards joints (no blunts, as she doesn’t like tobacco products), tinctures, edibles, and dabs.

Over the course of her career, she’s experienced the different cannabis laws in other countries like Germany and the Netherlands, and has even imbibed with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. While she admits that she’s not up-to-date on all of the cannabis laws across the United States (nor should she be expected to be, as they vary wildly from city to city and from state to state, and are constantly changing), she’s an advocate for its use and for destigmatization.

“The way that I advocate is that I show people that I’m a smoker,” she says. “I’m not hiding that at all. People often see me smoking. I’ll post videos of me smoking. I’ll let them know this is what’s helping me right now because this is medicine.”

For more about Candace, follow @ sweetmscandace on Instagram.

GOING MOBB DEEP: HAVOC’S TALES FROM THE BRIDGE Interview by Sam C. Long and Cat Ouellette, Article by Shirley Ju Photography by Sam C. Long Renowned as one of the most iconic figures of New York hip hop, Havoc is ready for his next act. A two-time Grammy nominee, he is known as one of the most influential beatmakers and producers of all time, and gained legendary status for being half of Mobb Deep, one of the greatest hip hop duos in history.

Songs like “Survival of the Fittest,” “Shook Ones (Part II),” “Outta Control,” “Hell on Earth,” and so much more continue to carry out the legacy of Mobb Deep. Kejuan “Havoc” Muchita and Albert “Prodigy” Johnson met as teenagers in Manhattan, eventually going on to create their 1995 album The Infamous — which to this day is revered as one of the most important rap projects of all time. It spoke volumes to the reality of life in the streets of New York City, equipped with standout production from Havoc, and undeniable bars, punchlines, and storytelling from Prodigy.

The East Coast producer has worked with all the elites of rap, including Biggie, Eminem, Nas, Raekwon, and 50 Cent. And while Mobb Deep was actually signed to G-Unit for a short amount of time, one thing that has never faltered is Havoc’s roots in the city. Specifically, in Queensbridge, New York.

“You could take the guy out the hood, but not the hood out the guy,” Havoc states. “I always try to keep my sound the same because it’s where I’m from. It’s what makes me, it’s how I think.”

When told his style is cinematic, Havoc enthuses about his favorite movies like Scarface, Goodfellas, and New Jack City. But it’s actually the artist’s own upbringing that inspires him the most, with anything he produces being a direct reflection of that.

Havoc states, “My whole life was one big cinema, with one thing happening after the other.

When I produce, all of those things in my mind and that I want to hear… I want to encapsulate the feelings, the mood of my environment. Growing up was just one big movie, you can’t make it up. So I definitely try to encapsulate that when I’m producing.”

And while Havoc’s contributions to Hip-Hop deserve all its flowers, we can’t forget his love for cannabis as well.

He joined Honeysuckle at Soho’s THC NYC museum to share both.

HONEYSUCKLE MAGAZINE: What were your earliest musical influences?

HAVOC: My influences musically definitely come from where I grew up. I grew up in a place where certain people, if you stood next to them, you might’ve had a chance of getting shot. And these are your friends.

Early on, my music influences [were] from my father, a DJ. I remember as young as five, him playing loud, loud disco music… “Ring My Bell” is one of the songs that jump out at me… Growing up, I wanted to create music.

The transition [was] from hanging on the block with older guys playing the hottest shit: Run-D.M.C., Kurtis Blow. The tipping point was watching the videos, the fly shit that was going on in those drop top Jettas, the big rope chains.

Not to mention living right next door to DJ Marley Mall, hearing the music coming out of his apartment, producing Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté. Seeing them walk through the hood, it was definitely something that a kid would be so enamored by… That’s what the fuck I want to be right there! And I never looked back.

HS: How has cannabis influenced your music?

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HAV: Early on when I started producing, I didn’t even know cannabis was a go-to. But every time I’d smoke, it’d take my creativity to 100. Working on The Infamous, I realized it helped me experiment in other ways. I’d slow shit all the way down, then it’d become this whole different sample.

It was a funny joke around my way that every time I smoked, I’d run off. [laughs] They’d say “There he go!”

As soon as I smoked, the creative bug would grab me and I’d run home and start working on tracks.

HS: What songs do you remember smoking the most weed in?

HAV: Every song. [laughs] It’d be 10 of us and we’ll roll 10 L’s, smoking it up in the crib, because we didn’t have access to a studio. I’d make the beats right there in front of all my friends.

“Quiet Storm” was one of those tracks [featuring] my morning regimen: roll up, burn one, smoke, and get in the studio. Which I have now in my crib. After the success of everything we did, I was able to buy myself a studio, burn in the morning, go down and start fucking around with records. Common records that people all know, but they [sounded] different to me once I started getting into it.

HS: As a long-time New York smoker, what’s your history with strains?

HAV: We started with Chocolate. That’s your pops’ weed, that’s all we had access to. We definitely went to the Hydro. As the 90s went on, getting into the 2000s, we started getting into that Purple. But that Hydro was special. That really took it there for me.

These days, I fuck more with Sativa than anything, because I want to be still in the day. I fuck with the prerolls. Dump my shit in there, whatever. I need it to be quick. I keep a stash in my studio.

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23 HS: Raekwon said Cuban Linx and The Infamous were cousins. Who else is in that family?

HAV: Illmatic is definitely a first cousin. [laughs] It came out before all of us, our first big cousin.

HS: What was that like in Queensbridge when Illmatic dropped? Seismic?

HAV: Seismic is an understatement. It was everything, because up until that point, the Bridge was over. Nas came with Illmatic, and [you] couldn’t go on a block in Queensbridge that was not playing [it]… It was true inspiration for me and Prodigy [to] see [Nas] come out with something that already felt legendary.

I went to preschool with Nas. We remember each other even from there. We hung out as teenagers with aspiring rapper dreams. He used to come home with [crazy] beats from Large Professor… I knew his moms, his brother Jungle. [Nas is] like a cousin. When we see each other, it’s “What up?” [laughs] HS: Let’s jump to your recent work with Kanye West. How did those sounds start?

HAV: I’m always making beats, every day. I got a trillion beats in the computer. I always send Kanye tracks. Eventually, I forget whatever I sent him. He asked me to come to his crib one day [and] started playing a bunch of tracks that I sent three years ago, [including] “Real Friends” and “Famous.” “Famous” was a progressive rock sample I had sampled years earlier. I forget the name of the group, but progressive rock as of late has been my go-to. I fucking love that shit. German progressive rock, Swedish progressive rock, whatever… I was surprised he picked [it] because it was one of those beats that took me 10 minutes.

HS: How did you feel performing at Yankee Stadium this summer for hip hop’s 50th anniversary?

HAV: It’s bittersweet, and I don’t say that in an exaggerated way. First of all, being on stage without your partner that created all of this music with you, it’s sad inside. At the same time, you want to represent for him. It’s a challenge. It’s tough because you can’t replace him, you could only try to uphold what he did. Performing without him, it’s fucked up. It feels really bad, but at the same time, to revel in that would be a disservice to him. You have to go out there and give it 110%, because a percent is gone.

That’s how I attack that when I’m performing on stage. I’m doing it for me and him. I remember

early on when he first passed away and I had to perform, I used to have to wear shades all the time. Sometimes when his verse would come on, I’d cry. A tear would come out my eye. I got to turn around, wipe it, and keep performing. But as time moves on, you get stronger naturally. You do it for the sake of the group.

HS: What would you hope your legacy to be?

HAV: I want them to remember me as somebody that tried his best. Tried to do it all, and was successful at it. Somebody that put his heart into it. That’s all we could do, put our heart into it, whether it wins or fails. It’s a numbers game. The more you try, the average is going to go up. If you want to achieve it, it’s going to happen. I live by that.

HS: Tell us about your new dispensary and cannabis brand!

HAV: I’m opening a dispensary in Queens. Got my license; it’s going to be called The Bridge. It’s an ode to where I grew up, because Queensbridge made me… I want it to be one of those dispensaries where when you come in there, it’s an experience. It’s going to be hip hop driven mostly, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.

Also my brand Havoc 13, Buddington. I got a few brands that I’m going to be creating as well. We want to build the name up to [Gary Payton] status. Havoc 13, that’s that shit! Knock you on your ass.

HS: Do you see there being more equal opportunity for everyone, economically?

HAV: I always feel like there’s equal opportunity for everybody. If you try hard enough to do something, I believe you’re going to achieve it no matter how big the challenge is. Yeah, the economy is crazy. But we could overcome all of that. Anybody could. I see [the economy] opening up more if people open up their minds to it, because the opportunity is there.

HS: That’s such a positive outlook.

HAV: Of course, I’m a positive thinker. Okay, what’s the challenge? What we gotta do? Let’s do it. I believe in my mind, if I came from where I came from and did what I did, I could really do anything.

That’s not only me, that’s everybody. It doesn’t matter where you start from. If you want to do it, just fucking do it. I don’t like when people complain, because you take that complaint and you turn it into a plus. You try to dismantle that complaint and you reverse engineer it, see how to turn it into something that you want to achieve.

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“As soon as I smoked, the creative bug would grab me and I’d run home and start working on tracks.”

Havoc

John Seymour & Erica, Sweet Chick LES

By Dizzy Cordova, Sam C. Long, and Ronit Pinto “I used to be a jack of all trades, master of none,” says John Seymour, founder of The Sweet Chick. “Now I’m looking at myself like, jack of all trades, still trying to master myself.”

In person, the man is philosophical and humble, a rare combination these days. In reputation, he’s one of New York City’s greatest tastemakers. Seymour’s The Sweet Chick, which he operates in partnership with hip hop icon Nas, has become a legendary spot, particularly in its Lower East Side location.

It’s a meeting place for culture shapers from Slick Rick and Joey BadAss to new artists like Young Money’s Drizzy P. Sometimes, it’s a film set or the site of fashion collaborations with FILA, Vans, and Aime Leon Dore; other times, a recording studio, such as the marathon session that Bun B and Statik Selektah did at the venue last fall to lay down their Trillstatik 2 album live. (That epic night featured Paul Wall, Smoke DZA, and Emmy winner Armand Assante among the players.)

This year marked Sweet Chick’s official tenth anniversary, a decade of music, fashion, sensory splendor and barrier-breaking at the great chicken-and-waffles restaurant. The brand now has five locations across New York City’s boroughs and one in Los Angeles. Patrons can enjoy the regular series Sounds Good, where emerging and classic artists perform. Who could have imagined a wild kid from Yorkville would create all this?

Born and raised in New York, John Seymour’s story is as epic as his company’s. The son of Irish immigrants who worked respectively as a nurse

and a bartender, he describes himself as growing up without much, but always with the sense of how the hospitality industry could expand one’s horizons.

“Food ties people together,” he observes. “Music ties people together, cannabis ties people together.

Things that people share that are common, and then you get to meet more people.”

Cannabis is an important lynchpin in that equation.

Seymour knew the plant from his teenage years, thanks to an older brother who dabbled in legacy spaces (and on different occasions made him eat a joint and leave the house with an ounce taped to his leg). The entrepreneur remembers his brother always smoking weed, and despite wanting to remain “bad boy-adjacent,” Seymour soon got familiar with all the best strains.

“Chocolate Thai, Hydro, Haze,” he rattles off in a history of New York classics. “I wasn’t smoking Sour Diesel, but I remember when it was $7,200 a pound…

Sour Diesel was doing crazy numbers, and it was what everyone wanted to smoke all night long. There were Jack Herers, all types. Then Kush came. Canada was sending down tons of bud and it went through a bunch of fads: Pink Kush, Purple Kush, Bubba Kush. Then Colorado had bud they were sending to New York, and then [California]. Cali had all the light [deprivation-grown flower], Sour Diesels and Headbands and all these crosses. These go for like 26 out West. In New York, you could move them for 63.”

A true gourmand, Seymour has a sophisticated palate when it comes to food and cannabis. Today he loves trying new cultivars and ancient ones; he remarks that an AK-47 strain from Afghanistan “tastes like a mother plant. I could tell this was a plant that had been around a long, long time.”

He continues, “Cannabis has been a constant in my life one way or another… As I sit in front of a brand

Sweet Chick Founder John Seymour On Nas, New York And Weed

that I built for over ten years and I smoke a joint, the cannabis industry has been stigmatized [and] looked down upon as drug dealing. But here we are now legal, in world where alcohol has been legal for some time… And as somebody who holds multiple liquor licenses, I think it’s interesting to watch the cannabis industry unfold. Now that it’s hit New York, for me it feels personal and real. New York is such a beacon that as it evolves here, we’ll see how it really plays out as an industry nationally.”

A reverence for culture and a relentless work ethic have served the epicurean well in The City That Never Sleeps. Seymour lost his father at age 19, but followed in his footsteps by working as a bartender (and, like his dad, the young man would struggle with alcohol before committing to sobriety). He acquired many skills in his 20s, taking stints as a doorman, mover, electrician and more before opening his first restaurant, Pops, in Brooklyn.

And even when he wasn’t smoking, the plant always brought him connections. “I had so many friends in the black market,” he recalls.

“That kind of inspires people; if you’re successful in that area, you learn skills and you can apply that in other areas as well… The restaurant business is similar. It’s

Certain circles like those of Peter Bittenbender, CEO of the acclaimed entertainment company Mass Appeal, who first introduced Seymour to Nas. That would prove to be a match made in heaven.

notoriously hard, and there’s a high failure rate. And in entrepreneurship, you need to be your own businessman at the end of the day in any field. So I’m kind of a pirate [like the weed and hip hop guys]… I’m not really in cannabis.

I’m not specifically in the music industry, either. But I’m around certain circles connected to certain things.”

sure it’s good music. [Our series] Sounds Good is kind of a music platform for us as well… But we cultivated a following in New York, which came from the staff too. Customers would feel very welcomed, and the staff would remember people. You become a community.”

For more about The Sweet Chick, visit sweetchick.com or follow @sweetchicklife on Instagram.

Who better, then, to be one of New York’s most magical impresarios (even if he’s undeclared about it) than one of its native sons who embodies the American success story? From scrappy beginnings to living each day as a literal cultural feast, John Seymour’s very existence is the stuff of myths. All hail the Sweet Chick life - and its Pirate King.

“For me as a fan of hip hop and Biggie,” Seymour states, “and seeing his son flourish in cannabis too, that was amazing…

We use [Biggie’s motto] ‘Spread Love’ at our restaurants. It’s very cool to see the synergy of it all. New York is a pivotal place.”

Reflecting on the future of food, music, and cannabis in New York, Seymour is all smiles. He shares a story about being invited by the NY CannaBusiness Chamber of Commerce to a party at Gracie Mansion, the home of Mayor Eric Adams, not long after adult-use was legalized. The Mayor announced, “Weed is legal - somebody should light up!” A small spark arose from someone nearby, and it was none other than CJ Wallace, CEO of the cannabis brand Frank White and the son of late rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

“I feel very blessed that I get to do what I do for a living,” he adds. “I’m very grateful for and conscious of the people who work for the company. We’re doing something together. I try to find creative ways to incentivize them, but we also like to include our community and are creating initiatives where we can get in where we fit in, give back, and develop as a brand.

I hope we can bring this to a national level. That’s a real goal for Sweet Chick.”

“They call him a hip hop god,” the restaurateur comments.

“He was 18, 19 when Illmatic came out, he was young and already doing it. The guy’s poetry is deep. He’s an inspirational dude.”

Nas is also responsible for one of Seymour’s favorite Sweet Chick memories of all time. During the brand’s collaborations with Vans, Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan was scheduled to headline an event celebrating the project.

That night, Nas happened to be in town and pulled up, totally unplanned, for a special performance with his old friend.

The Sweet Chick could be seen as the modern iteration of historic jazz clubs, which combined the hot music of the day with Southern comfort food - that’s also where chicken-and-waffles was born. Seymour believes that “Nas jumping onboard as a business partner directly tied us to music. Artists, friends, and fans come by all the time. We’ve cultivated the community around that.”

They’ve done spectacularly, with the brand now getting into franchising and garnering a $5 million investment from Table Restaurant Group, the parent company of Dos Toros and Chopt. But how did The Sweet Chick evolve into a cultural destination?

According to Seymour, “It was really the hospitality that got to [people]. The food, the environment, and the music, which was really [curated] by the staff. We hired a lot of people close to it. As we develop the brand, I want to make

For more on Coz, follow and @la_co

“So let’s destigmatize weed right now, cuz I’m handling my business.”

“I was born into the cannabis scene,” Chef “Hawaii” Mike Salman says. It’s not an exaggeration – both his parents loved the plant. His father, a musician, smoked with fellow artists; his mother worked with growers in Hawaii (where the moniker comes from). Salman, a mainstay in the legacy cannabis space, followed in his parents’ footsteps. Over his 30 years as a cultural maestro, he’s done everything music and media-related, from touring with legendary hip hop group Mobb Deep as a road manager to serving first as marketing manager then as Lifestyle Editor for The Source magazine, to founding LTD magazine and becoming the founding editor-in-chief of tattoo publication Inked, and consulting for global brands such as Nike and Reebok. And throughout every stage, cannabis has played an influential role.

“There’s three pillars in my life: hip hop, food, and cannabis,” the innovator declares. “Those three things have been literally part of every relationship.

My friends, my work, the people that become my family. Even now, all of those things have woven into everything with Chef For Higher and Fly Private Social.”

In 2015 Hawaii Mike created Chef For Higher, a culinary culture brand that specializes in cannabis-infused food and tastemaker dining experiences (its sister brand, Fly Private Social, produces private dining events with a hip hop theme). These exclusive epicurean delights are curated around the globe, enjoyed by A-list artists and athletes, cannabis industry executives, policymakers – and the rare journalist or two. His food, served in precisely-sized portions for the best effects, is a gastronomic journey. Though the chef, who is self-taught, will often draw inspiration from Brazilian or Filipino traditions he learned from his parents, his cuisine defies genre. Instead, it’s all about the sensation his guests will have in their gustatory adventure, hence the travel metaphors.

And this spring, the barrier-breaker hit a new milestone as the first culinary lifestyle brand and

By: Jaime Lubin

one of the first legacy entrepreneurs in New York to have branded edibles on the shelves of the state’s licensed dispensaries.

For Hawaii Mike, every part of this wild journey began with a little serendipity and hustle. Born in San Francisco and splitting his childhood between Hawaii and California, he remembers smoking weed with high school friends, taking from his father’s stash, and eventually building up to selling cannabis not just to his peers but also to their parents. As a Bay Area teen, he regularly snuck into music festivals; the plant granted him easy access.

His connections there were so impressed that they offered him an internship in New York, sparking one of the most ingenious modern bridges between cannabis and mainstream culture.

The trailblazer worked with several record labels, artists, and The Source. By the time he became the outlet’s lifestyle editor, his was the only office that people could smoke in, and everyone knew it.

Realizing early on that the weed he had access to on the East Coast was “trash,” Hawaii Mike had by then perfected his system of obtaining West Coast cannabis and constructing a pipeline to friends and colleagues. One of his notable clients was none other than The Notorious B.I.G., who he knew through The Source’s Matty C (Matt Life) and Mobb Deep.

“Big used to hound me for weed constantly,” Hawaii Mike recalls. “Every time he saw me, it was ‘Good, let’s smoke.’” The two became smoking buddies, although Hawaii Mike was reluctant to sell the music legend anything, preferring to simply enjoy the vibes.

When asked about the intersection of cannabis and hip hop, especially during 2023 as the genre’s 50th anniversary, the pioneer replies, “I don’t even know if it’s an intersection at this point. It’s a co-pilot along with the ride for us.”

He elaborates: “If you look at hip hop, we sample.

Sampling is synonymous with foraging. It’s natural to us as humans. It’s in our DNA and how we learn

about things. We touch, we taste, we try, we put ‘em on. What brought everybody together is that [each] time we sampled outside of our culture and brought it back, it created a bridge so people could come through this way or go that way. It started to show the similarities in who we are. We sampled vernacular, style, fashion, music, and we became pop culture. Cannabis is definitely one of those things… It’s been there with us the whole time. But as the influence of hip hop grew, I think it’s what really put cannabis to the forefront of popular culture. [Through 50 years of hip hop] I see it as we’ve done it within these silos of our own little crews. Now, what I want to do is see how we celebrate that and move it forward together. That’s the same thing in the cannabis industry.”

Hawaii Mike is adamant that small cannabis businesses need to have solidarity, particularly in New York, to stand against large multi-state operators (MSOs). Chef For Higher edibles, Coconut Oil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil are currently in 13 (and counting!) CAURD-licensed dispensaries, retailers owned by people who have had cannabis convictions, and the products were made through a white-label deal with a licensed processor. But to keep everything moving toward an inclusive vision, he believes there need to be two major rules: Legacy operators must be involved in the legal space, and “New York cannot work with only New York product.”

“New York is the capital of the world,” he states.

“We have everything here. We’re entitled to it, we expect it. So how could you restrict us to having cannabis from one place when we’re used to having it from everywhere? These [licensed] stores can do well only selling New York product, but if there’s a demand for [outside cannabis], which there always will be, it’s going to be fulfilled by somebody.

Though I know it can’t happen yet, [I’ve told the Office of Cannabis Management that] New York and California need to be able to have interstate commerce. Especially in the New York market, I

A l w a y s b e S a m p l in g

n Cozmo and La w @cozmo_music oz_ on Instagram.

don’t see another way. We want choice, we want selection.”

That’s

something he embodies with Chef For Higher and Fly Private Social’s dining experiences. “It’s sampling and foraging, right, and then you put your flair on it. With Fly Private, it’s a celebration of hip hop through food. How do we show our unity? That’s what hip hop did for me. It started off exclusive at the beginning, but there was something so authentic to the creative expression, that vibration just connected everybody. I wanted to show that through another energy source, through food. Those three pillars – hip hop, food, and cannabis – are unity based. It’s become my alchemy.”

With New York now looking at a reality filled with consumption lounges and where people could soon order infused meal kits from their favorite cannabis chef, the wizard’s got a lot of magic yet to do. So the next time you’re invited to fly higher with Hawaii Mike, relax – and sit for a spell.

For more about Chef For Higher and Fly Private Social, visit chefforhigher.com and follow @chefforhigher and @flyprivatesocial on Instagram.

NEW YORK

TORONTO

LISBON

Going Global With Compound Genetics The renowned breeder expands its horizons, drops Wiz Khalifa gems, and makes the old new again for connoisseurs everywhere.

“We spent this year like ducks on the water,” CEO Lauren Avenius says of the goings-on at Compound Genetics and Node Labs. “It seemed like we were really chill, but under the surface we were paddling, paddling, paddling. And now we’re exploding into the global market for 2024.”

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As one of the most prestigious breeders in the cannabis space today, Compound already has a worldwide fanbase for its potent, flavorrich strains. With its origins over 20 years deep in the legacy market, the company was officially incorporated in 2017 and merged with Node, a Bay Area laboratory that would develop new cultivars from Compound’s genetic banking. Gaining a reputation for producing distinctive strains beloved by connoisseurs, the brand has gone on to introduce such standouts as Apples and Bananas for rapper Berner’s internationally-renowned Cookies; the virally popular Jet Fuel Gelato; Pavé, made for Quavo from Migos; and extensive collaborations with Wiz Khalifa’s Khalifa Kush.

Now is an exciting time for the Compound / Node team, because the company’s expansion into foreign markets, coupled with dynamic domestic drops, marks a turning point in modern genetics. Operations in Canada are developing; Portugal and Colombia will be new distribution centers for seeds, tissue culture, and pheno hunting. Almost any country can have access to Compound’s catalogue through these emerging distribution channels, according to Avenius. But some of the biggest breakthroughs are happening in Thailand, where Compound works directly with the nation’s traditional cultivators to pheno hunt strains that are both cutting-edge and distinctly representative of Thai culture.

“Thailand has a long history of cannabis, but it’s also been really influenced by this strong relationship with California growers,” Avenius explains. “Every December after harvest, everyone in Humboldt would abandon the mountain and go to Thailand… where they were bringing seeds or product. So it wasn’t a surprise to us when [traditional Thai farmers] were growing California brands or even Compound in particular.”

In 2022, Thailand became the third country in the world to federally legalize adult-use cannabis. Unlike some other nations, it still has no formal medical cannabis structure, meaning the recreational market allows for great fluidity and experimentation. Cookies Thailand, which opened this January, has been a pioneer bringing American brands to Thai consumers; the store even carries Compound’s Apples and Bananas and Pavé.

This December, Compound will up the ante by presenting two growing competitions, the Phuket Cup and Bangkok’s MIT Cup (no relation to the American university). During the latter, which will host a full lineup of Thai cultivators, all participants will be pheno hunting the brand’s classic strain Total Eclipse (a Kingslayer x Gastro Pop 5 hybrid). “[We] see really how loved Compound is in Thailand,” Avenius affirms. “The top-selling strains, even in the Cookies lineup, are our strains. The top-selling genetics that people are looking for are Compound Genetics.” She believes this is all part of the old becoming new again.

“What defined 2023 was the return of the traditional operator. Not the black market, but the return of those traditional relationships and the way everyone did business before legalization reemerging to be the dominant, successful way that people are operating in California and everywhere else. Traditional operators have the expertise with cannabis and the relationships and the know-how to always make money from this plant.”

@HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

VOLUME 17

TEL AVIV

That’s certainly true when you look at what Compound is doing back home. This year, the team accomplished their most massive pollinations ever with the Gastro Pop collection and The Menthol, a brand signature. With what Avenius calls an “OG throwback,” the company will release The Menthol Volume II in a limited-edition public drop on Black Friday. For the Christmas season, they plan to follow that up with a “Secret Seed” drop from another Compound trademark cultivar, Jokerz.

For Avenius, the Jokerz Collection is special, because that was the first flower selected for production when Node and Compound started working together. “We were deciding what Compound flower was going to look like. We wanted it to be our selections of the best expression of cannabis for each of those flavor categories. So we looked at Jokerz as Compound’s level up on Runtz… It’s a White Runtz crossed with Jet Fuel Gelato. It’s gassy, heavy, flavorful; it smokes amazing.

Everyone says the Jokerz high is the high you’re expecting to get when you smoke weed.”

BOGOTÁ

Now that 2024 is around the corner, Avenius admits that the major pushes of the past year will empower the Compound crew to go “a little more aggressive” with drops in the new one. That means more frequent Khalifa Kush strain releases, more opportunities to collect exclusive gear and merch, and more markets where consumers can enjoy the bounty of an artist who curates his cannabis as he does his musical albums.

Compound is definitely embodying “Go Hard or Go Home” in its globalization era - though we might call it “Go High or Go Home.”

But with Violet Sky, The Menthol, and Jokerz to liven up those holiday wish lists, this season will be the brand’s most elevated yet. And with adventures in Thailand well underway (book those dates for the Phuket and MIT Cups!), it’s safe to say that Compound is the gift that keeps on giving. Damn, those are some good genes.

For more about Compound Genetics and Node Labs, visit compound-genetics. com and nodelabsca.com, or follow @compoundgeneticsofficial and @ nodelabs on Instagram.

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BANGKOK

But before consumers say it’s good to “See You Again” to Jokerz, they will definitely want to perk up for Compound’s latest collaboration with the high flier himself, Wiz Khalifa. The breeder is the exclusive genetics partner for the rapper’s namesake brand, Khalifa Kush, producing fan favorites like Khalifa Mints. Every season, the artist goes very hands-on, and his most recent selection is Violet Sky, a Gastro Pop x Khalifa Mints cross that brings the dreaminess and creativity associated with Khalifa’s music.

“Wiz has such a distinct palate,” Avenius states. “He doesn’t give a fuck what the big trends are, he just cares about good weed. He legitimately has weed as one of his first loves and when it comes to [choosing flower], he remembers his early days from before he became who he is now. You see this with the OGs - the first thing they do is figure out, how does that nose hit? Every single time we know Wiz is looking for that gas and it’s going to be heavy and hard. He is a smoker’s smoker for sure.”

She describes the new Violet Sky, which launched in California in early November, as “bringing in more of those candy, fruity, sweet flavors than what you normally get with the Khalifa Kush. It’s a bit more like what people are looking for in the market, but also a change-up when you’re only smoking those gassies once in a while and you want something sweeter. To be able to get this in the hands of Wiz feels like a huge accomplishment… [It’s almost] ridiculous: Purple, frosty, fruity, candy, sweet, and gassy - so gassy. It’s such a great high - that Kush deep-body high, but with that open creative you get from the candy terpenes.

I’m so proud of this.”

VOLUME 17

WWW.HONEYSUCKLEMAG.COM

z Cannabi Chris ics et Talk Gen

by Staff

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VOLUME 17

SF Canna & Planta’s “Bigg” Brain

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Can a m ing can happen 415 sfcanna_ yth @ n a m , o g .c ig 5 B 41 ; sfcanna ddiebigg e fr @ a _c @planta

For more about Jondo and TerpHogZ, follow @terphogz_jondo and @_theoriginalz_ on Instagram. For more about Chris and SF Canna, follow @cannabizchris415 and @sfcanna_415. For Litty in the City, follow @littyinthecity_sesh.

The Elder Statesmen’s Z’s g o H p r e Sesh: &T SJFoCnadnona’s

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5 Lessons Learned From Dubz GARDEN

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d home arket an e, he m d te a sur viv satur sly over r knew that to u io r rfect to o d the pe h Walke is a n n . u s d ia fo a n e r e h fo Hig ut. H Cali erning won the “It stood o t st ost disc a ju m th d e t a c h th to rodu e says. r. “It reate a p e Number Fou ly hard to get,” h ss and c to d a h ib pre Glu as incred Gorilla had the strain in nabis Cup and w re super fire. It l, Walker went we an vira ichigan Times C the strains that the strain went om a M rain f e fr o il e h ts n u o c W s wa the st ocure crazy.” le to pr to grow e going ever yon d was finally ab en was the first an ard hunting thinks Dubz G e H r. e grow ay Area. in the B

at bu strains, th ying and bein “Frank’s g ab e an ex apart fro right flowers,” Ja le to recogniz e the rig pert m people son D sa ht ys. “ Tha who hav the sam t e produ ct in it.” e a different ba sets us g with

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Back in Fr went fu ank’s legacy d ay ll herm aphrodit s, an Oreos p across h lant e and is grow sprea roo other st rains. “It m, which conta d pollen in c and Gu ava and rossed with Jet ed several made th Fuel Ge seeds ac lato e Be cide says wit ntally. It pheno rnie Hana Butt h a chu er h u nted itse ckle be inter lf,” Fran esting so . He thought k the he best phe notype to saved the seed combo could s and ev Coz, wh special. entu He o in it remain passed it on to stantly knew th ally sent the ey had s s the on Berner, omethin w ly Cook himself. g ies strain ho loved it so much th he’s cho at sen to n ame aft 4. Even er as D

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“Oaklan dh collar w as always been ork,” Wa synonym lker ou We wan t to hu says. “So that’s h s with hustling and blu stle…hu ow we o Nothing e stle pera ’s r build off eally been give with the blue te our business. n to us that.” Th c o llar me and eir two C Oakland ntality. alifornia we want to ju , th st kind grow pa reflect O ey always prio of r tne rit akland st yle in th ize hiring Oakla rs are located in eir merc n d folks, an h. d they

Frank h Althoug hile eir erstw assures th e famous t th fans tha er Breath utt B am Peanut n, the te g r tu e in will r rn y chu is bus ing new it xc out e ficionados A . ts c u aby prod ut for B a o e y e n a p kee from L should oap cross C), as Z x s e (a Skittl .9% TH Herman as tested at 43 We can also h hich ta line. polis (w selling Horcha -rolls. p e Z , re est C o z ) tions of their b ash holes, and p Jason D if they a h r , e s nd well as it e vape cartridge asked Walker a dicinal. Walker e e s w to e , to b me “I’m a r view expect the inte ip with cannabis philosophical: p u p a r ng. Is onsh gets To w medicati e ? eir relati , but Jason D ’m th I r , e h a id s e n ? Lif fu n, y con ostly for nabis. So I mea hich I medicate m ’s it s n w y a r sa of c I have fo smoker ent that lifelong m il a c ifi ec llow @ there a sp r life.” om or fo .c n e d r a g fo z It’s great visit dub Garden. , z b u D t o! agram e abou er, Cozm For mozr_garden on Inst on partn e r o dub m r page fo See next

Champelli and Josh Schmidt: n

For These OGs, aadvocateof aenndtities founder e industr y The World is de th that ma knew is. He it t a h w b Not Enough kies’ leader “ eecfoallres It’s meeting a of two globetro tters wh legendar y cult en ivator Champe lli, the Area O Bay G, and Schmid Jo sh t, a veteran pioneer of cannabis West Coast and n Vice Presiden ow t Business Develop of ment at Natu Science, ra L sit dow ife n for an un pre These m cedented ch at. ave cowboy ricks share the ” expe “cannab rien is Californ ia and m ce of pre-le galizatio utual frie of the n nds glo produce bal juggernau such as rapper B t Cook r Cozm erner, co o. With ie pair is a new coll s, and Gram -founder bout to my-winn a b spin the a little r in industr y s in the works, eminisc the pow g on its he ing is in erful ad yet ag order. ain. But In recen first, t ye platform ars, Schmidt ha s he an markets d distribution se lped grow Natu . Notably r vice tha ra as a w orld-cla t br ,h and Dee ss Thai, the e’s launched in-h ings legacy bran ds to leg latter ha ouse suc 2023 at al ving a his cesses lik the gran d openin tor y-ma e Slugge “Josh fr king d g of C rs om and disp Natura,” Schm ookies Thailand ebut in Januar y idt was ensar y o .

B ut befor a tr wn e leader w ith accla er under Califo ailblazer: an ear he was rnia’s me imed br ly vendo a d r nds TH ic natura.io C Van N al cannabis law @khunjo ;a uys and sh80; ch P istil Poin ampelli.c t; o @cham pelli @c hampell i.co

Coo and he r eBerner,” s a w r mpagn e Bern the Cha ht of n e h w heig 1999” hip hop g Pelli in “smokin rain was at its st derived y. it r la ty g uy,” popu hospitali , e at ic v r mily th r se custome rew up in a fa d a o fo ’m “I ned he g t says ( tionally renow roducts Schmid p a d n d inter iles. Goo produce I like to see sm “ . ) products eople.” dp o o g iends d n a his old fr y’d d e c u d ut the ho intro 2019, b ozmo w t It was C and Schmidt in er prior to tha v i e ll r e ly r fo p a r e m e a Ch ch oth z from bout ea close with Co PG g uru heard a s C a e w , ower hile th . The gr s in the 90s, w mly. At age 16 g n ti e e m o y a d e d n h a a r e o ore y Ar nts s wild Ba sical prodig y m weed in his pa of six u in their f d o m io g e r a e b th p red er a led a ased in encounte calls, he smugg d smoked it ov b , y u g t re . One it, an ia h n it r ned to w r Schmid fo l li tu e a Isra ey re om C to th fr y n e s fl h d n w ld cou g frie o. home ith youn visit his roup was Cozm weeks w ed Schmidt to g t h ig vit ht-kn ators.

Marin, in d among his tig e innov to th n a ls ., e .S fu ure ation the U e third n nt… abis cult ld cann hich became th r ede o c w e r r p sm fo nd, w erious a s ia il s a u “a t th Th e s n t s otential E tha see the p 2022, ha lli notes Champe alize cannabis in sian countries to leg eA federally for the rest of th l e d s o m a as ,” affirm usiness.” eginning ome a b b is e th th f o from l be c … It wil rt of it be a pa creational now to y k re luc “I was d’s ver y “ Thailan . t id m h Sc

mega p owerhou se [beca and the use] co su untr cultivati rrounding neig hbors w ies like Malays ng. If th on’t be ia they’ll b o s e [nations growing e imp coming and out of th orting from Th ] ever get into ailand. Th ere now ca .” ere are fi nnabis, re [strain When th s] ey there’s a reflect Statesid e, it’s a lot of d differen oom an Champe t sto d g lli opportu obser ves. “Bu loom in the c r y. “Right now t I fee annabis nity an l lik d g industr y changes ,” happenin reat projects c e there’s also oming g.” out and a lot of interestin Passion g has to b e the ca asserts. nnabis sp He beli ace’s key eve getting ingredie into the s the last five nt, S ye sector fo for the r r money ars saw too m chmidt ight rea any peo , s a o nd thos ns are st volatile,” ple e wh arti he or aren’t adds. “ The bran ng to escape. “A o weren’t in it ava nd consu ds m a great p ilable. [But] no they fell in love w’s a rea with are ers are roduct o ll falling o r brand, y impor and focu ff tant ti to pu so opportu n building. The sh hard, get it in me if you have nity for next 12 to p eople’s h to 18 m new g uy that the ands onths s to c big emphasiz g uys put a lot o ome in and tak is a really good e the ma f money es “quali rk ty in great br ands and and consistenc to.” Most impo et share y”: “ We rtantly, products ’r he e lucky to , and reta be makin ilers are That’s e s g e eing it.” vid Sluggers ent in Schmid t r a featurin ecently unveile nd Champelli’ s g Cham d Cassis p , its la newest projects e solventl test delu . ess hash lli flower and xe prer . In liquid d collabor oll iamond ator, and spired by Mac s , rolled Dre, a lo the Bay hit. Natu in Ar ng time ra also C just pow ea’s vibrations, drop, a Cassis is hampelli ered the collectio a bona fi n that a on posit d llows co Lola Holistics ivity wh x Cham e nsumers ile eleva pelli to medit ted. ate and Watchin focus g these c annabis passion g od is e cannabis ver ything. “I wa s in action, you ke ’ve ,” Schmid t empha up and go to sle got to agree me.” sizes. “Y ep think ou can’t ing abou take tha t away fr t om

VOLUME 17

WWW.HONEYSUCKLEMAG.COM

33

work e master ct th is n e d ar stin killer in , Dubz G asement r known for his ined a cult b d n la k an Oa ultivato rand has atta d Born in alker, a legacy c b hata, an W ia-based Coconut Horc n k r n fo li a , C of Fra e ath ains. Th tter Bre ed for with str ith Peanut Bu er, nam tt u B w a g n followin us Bernie Ha mo r. their fa -founder Berne htco m an eig Cookies gone fro cility in s a h n e d fa z Gar -light 16, Dub to a 450 uce most of Since 20 on in Oakland rod Cozmo, p y erati re the hip with Coz, e s r h e w tn , r ia a light op a rn ep der of L s in clos d, Califo Haywar ct. Walker work ducer and foun y collaborate o tl u d pr stan their pro inning music e high nds con at despit ause The frie . rd-w th d a n s w a y a r a s b e th lker ister s be c arden’s s eir brands. Wa l of other farm bz Dubz G fu th d ake Du n th a m o h b t a a e c m th n o s a fr d h s r th urce , all e to en anda e only so taining the st over 30% THC just h , d n a g d it dem main g is testin ction, an oted to ver ythin immed to perfe E he’s dev “ . lf e h tr top s ct and is Garden ells perfe ,” he says. sm is b a ll cann s in sales ally we ho work really, re w , s ) e y k o Ja sm D( arned : d Jason hat we le alker an w W ’s h e r it e w nd. H own We sat d tion for the bra ctions. u ib tr is ol conne d o h c s and ld o bout the e first n is all a e d r a Coz. “ Th was G d z n a b u D D 1. on ol. I both Jas igh scho ack with ay home from h suburban van,” b y a w a w goes d now s on my lled up in Walker Jay, I wa reet and Jay pu t’s going on?’ An ints t e m I time n the st y, wha first jo ing dow like, ‘He He smoked his g just walk embers. “It was .” ring lon s u r a d loped em r 30 ye e r v r fo e e r d e lk a st th W tru ho thos. own eac , and the we’ve kn ile cutting class of his business e wh art with Jay is an essential p rom day s ip h s d success f n o t frie t e r c e se

Roge

by Felisa

m m y G r a d e t a in , nom o m r Coz produce annabis in c famous z La Co is h for d brand an ith hip w s r e tn r a p a is , arden Dubz G legend. ea Bay Ar ily g a fam in w o Foll ic, s u in m legacy h it w rked he’s wo Messy Mar v m e icons fro lifa, and is clos st ha oa K C iz st e W to ajor W m e lains: “I e th p x with all eurs. As Coz e esse cer] Gen ren st a canna-p through [ produ ed damn, we’re and ju a n z r r e li e n a B r e e r d B e W met l be in aroun ou, you’l plant Springer… if you can get y ji a n o H ff d o an the But ubs entering ofballs. ing on r both go what he has go supporter.” On , my first dope va of est Superno itioning little bit … He’s my bigg gave me arden was trans e c i] la ll g e p p d g oo bz G . Comin [Cham e says, “ from Du flower for me ut once h k , n e a c r a F sp er the .B er knew My partn t and sourced ’s all I ev ve all over the e strain… t k a r a th , m ic c s re t lo mu into the eet hustle and new I go str y], I k str u e d th in is m fro annab d [the c _coz_ I learne usic @la m _ o m z place.” @co

34

o m CoZ

Connois (CG O) L seur G yfe rade O for provid style is a brand w nly ith ing the tr uest high a sterling reputati customers on -quality . Based prod ou CG O fo under M t of Sacramento ucts to its arcos an , Californ with cu d his ltiva ia, valued p tors and hashm team deal direc tly ipeline o akers, est f premiu ablishing understa m go nd a honed h genuinely grade-A ods to those w is skills o h o c a n n a bis. Marc ver decad promine os has es, bu nce geared to in recent years wit t brought CG O ward epic to h coast-to urean ha key cult sh taste-t -coast events ivators, esting th bran “ Withou at un t unity, th ds, and indust r y influe ite ere’s no c nc ommunit y,” he say ers.

On Nove s. mber 30 , official N ational H CG O Lyfestyle w ash Hole il Angeles.

Day at O l present the firs Ho t ptimist S “Highest sted by Cookies’ tudos in lead Ho Los holiday in st” Adam Ill, the er Berner and re nowned ev th Dude, Sti e cannabis space ent marks a new . From a cultural nje, and L rtists il P Seven Le aves, Am ete to brands inclu like Devin the erican C Sluggers, annaGre ding Big Boy Dro “11 en, G , crown. A 30” will be a new jewel in th otti, Zatix, and s Marcos a ep tte to be a go dfather o sts, “Can’t explain lant celebration f rolling ho do come a lo true.” ng with th w good it feels e greats…

Dreams For more o @cgo_lyfe n CGO Lyfestyle, visit cgoly style on In festyle.com stagram. or follow

KEEP IT TENco

top ry e myste They’r g heir t al r t u n u lt b a cu ed, amo e o s h TENC ever relea f t ide The rs o ws l d w rands, e e i d r v n r o u e t b w in o -fo makes only two Zushi bis err y, c canna of what and G ver-popular f o s k a e t S e on rt is pa enon. In ed the p with e scoo er that birth m h o t n t e o h g p ad ysuckle the global le so the Hone years, o, C e . v s N fi t E o ys. ost The T d its offsho taks sa r alm an nd fo weapon,” S a r b strain s thi adly ut ure, b ke a de rating e cult eved en cu ogether is li h e t b f o e li be art “ We’v tion of us t Staks as a p n, a lture w ds. He and that fusio u c combin d e d e e t a el a w v e y r r e le r c to at th ver y ,” Ge felt th ed in there o’s mission plant on e sic. s y a e ENC nce of th “I alw really fus nd mu The T ue nces a n’t it was be part of feel the infl and experie ost ld to ts eist alm le it wou consumers erch to even g t i e z g m profi f the allowin eing , from arge o erful flavor taks, h c b k o ir pow d to ere. S of the d bran sthetic and ts ever ywh brought e t a r g ho usias y-inte s anime ae used neer w rticall s enth t The ve tely, with i of cannabi m, is a pio 2014. He ing a o k i s a d in t d t g r rly Kin ime imme g the hea first t - particula na - to nited U e in r h e t u h t lo t for cap om lture s in Barce Kush pond ally fr orticu origin across the uropean h e cultivator kittlez and E th aZ ies Cook ground in ime among err y. Zushi, k t c G s a i h b h t i s . hi from h strains w iggest hit again, ation inspir terpene-ric ome their b ether g o t s ec ld ate innov oss, would b o wor the tw cr s e t in in b M om s to c ame i g e u r ur t “O @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE VOLUME 17

Eu r o p e a gene gene n hash, so I was all ab tics,” Staks expla tics and Californ ia ins. “I u out terpe by that c sed to m ne profile oncentra ake s an ted and it ha s to stand flavor. It has to d being blown aw ay cut throu out from market.” g whatever’ s really o h my sinus ut there o n the Blue Zush i is an in dica-dom balanced in but euph oric full-b ant staple that de consisten li ody high tly tops . This sig vers a wellman multiple nature cu titles at th y connoisseurs’ ltivar “fav e2 Best Ov erall Stra 023 Zalympix in orites” lists. It w on in (Gold Los Ang Terpenes ele ), Best T

By Smell asting (G s, including (Silver). old), and Best Other m embers o f the stra Zushi co in family ntains cit are just a rus terpenes s striking that merg notes with “just a . Yellow hin e for a stro Zoy Zush ng but cle t of sushi,” and eart i include hy a s n a Gelato that mak cross in th elevated experien es fo ce. e genetic Pink Zush r a great daytim mix, a hy e smoke. i, brid Then the Sam C. L deemed by Hone re’s the e ysuckle’s ong to be lusive own Cre an exquis ative Dir ite “unob ector tanium.”

But you can’t talk a b loving m out Pink ama, ren Zushi wit own ho topping , platinum ed rapper Coi L ut talking about its -s eray. Wh elling mu The TEN en sic Co, the b rand ente al artist began pa the chartrt red a who le new ev nering with “ Three ye olution. ars ago, w he merch], for some n we were creatin g the cha reason w Leray as ra e always a fit to th mention cters [for our e brand,” vibe, she ed bring Staks rec ’s part of ing Coi alls. “She the love Coi. ’s got the She’s fam culture, she’s up anime ily to us, and com for sure.” ing. We truly

Body Fuel: The Story Of Kipps

KipPs

Meet Kipps

CGO

a ast West Co brand is cannab g enough n that’s stro ding , made il u yb d e o b for , that’s th g. In fact ren, ar D er for healin d n of its fou ho has loved ry o st w very nal athlete s and a professio ce his teenage year he n si as t ts n la efi p en e th lth b d its hea but also s, d el fi experience is h hen ccess in cannabis w found su in medical ything he’d ce la so d ever foun ered ncy shifted an emerge tly, the brand partn r fo en s ec n R o . ti n ec w el o kn ureFire S S rst fi er e ed th re with b on Rose, e of Lem n; it’s receiving as le re e th tio h collabora se in the know.

Kipps has tho m o fr ple m ai “I want peo and much accl otto goes, m ” ’s d n rl o re w ar e As D ound th ar cannabis, d f o o go ve e to smok For the lo ! it n out Kipps. ea ab m w he the ould kno sh boy, does u yo boarder in gs ve thin nal snow io ss fe here are fi ro p was a have 1. Darren the first to Olympics, sticking up for my ] 8 9 9 [1 s. r the 1990 k.) it wasn’t fo e gone to e your bac “I would’v ents, in halfpipe if ow he’ll always hav n ev k g din t you snowboar t.” (At leas ational er in a figh ilding star. it to the n my u little broth yb and made d at , o ia b le p a sc m u so ly m O 2. He’s al ounds of next Mr. ver 100 p to be the o d g te in in an w “I path.” g after ga dreams. odybuildin that was not my life level of b his earliest ed h] at id sh li ec p d I m ], co r [my healt g er ac fo at n ts [L re . efi ar en D b peak s ed it p ar d o el nt an is h owb din 3. Cannab ith the marijuana pla hieve my goals in sn Vermont w ac in e ve y “I fell in lo It helped m oarding communit ely highyears old. b em 5 w 1 tr o e, ex sn e ag e y se an earl Being in th 0s allowed me to early on, g. in as d w il u y ia in the 9 ed what real qualit and bodyb rn o if al C ern learn ” and North and cultivators. I d mentally. nts ysically an . g in s h quality pla that had on me ph at 35 year im ever yt ects rly cost h g , but then ea in le n d and the eff ip il n u lt io u yb it d cond had [m g or bo 4. A rare h thought I wboardin issue whic t hurt sno int that I “Didn’t ge iled me, to the po had a neurological le b u o d a lled ody fa se. But I surger y ca old, my b er y son’s disea emergency mely high-risk surg or Parkin an s] e si av ro h le re id sc to xt sa E ] r g o e. in ct ra d o d eb ee [n vert so bad, my as led to me on my C1 and C2 w It . n my fe of pai laminecto e with a li , but left m e in my 60s.” t. ed rk o w the fulles re that to know m to live each day to t my life mo an r w fo ’t n es he does tion ires him what it do ca d u sp in an ed t is n to e la ab in this p 5. Cann d then som ut entrenched f my life an fe would be witho li “Now, I am edicating the rest o y m e ow wher [I’m] d I don’t kn than ever. hout it.” progress. n’t live wit d ca ar I t, rw n fo ie at p and al ic ed - as a m marijuana 1 @dd7_50

ially but offic s.

Miami, ele in g 2 n 2 A 0 o Los NC sel 2 The TE Zushi at Art Ba kies Melrose in roducts of d n a o p y k Lera at Co riced of Pin preview in Januar y 2023 as the highest-p clear from the teased a n ’s in it w , o . ra n ia st k s are d the the cost aliforn launche d’s eighth home state of C ty is well worth n ir ra e b th e d th ir ali ne Though r y in the ers that the qu and Gerr y ope mited e catego e m li any in th cannabis consu in 2021 when h p product runs dset. f e o in ly e k k n m e o e ” to ti ll W o dev LA ea is -em-a re, the id taks told tta-catch And as S ENCo retail sto lity and the “go T t? us qua first The est, righ t precio med tain tha out a qu h in it a w m ve welco e to mers ha reception od anim su o n g o a c s t’ re whe great Wha open We get st Coast n the Ea ing to Staks. “ braced us with ’re o e b to m s rd ey e o m f c e Th c o “ a se d adily, ’s kin ser ves.

But it most re that New York the city,” he ob te to us and d n ra b l the y in y rela I fee on to pla that the ere, but ever ywh e have the positi trends, so I feel dw eat arms an s of the high-b iants tor ra u c nnabis g e e th what ca r ” .W y t. fo e rr y e rk ll a a G b our m lates glo ht for Staks and a p ir e th g develop nitely looks bri oisseurs fi As conn r, the future de offe . have to ct TEN m a perfe give the s_h_i @_z_u_ d n a o .c @theten

BY ANITA COUCHE We Are Now Entering an Era of Cannabis-Infused Sex Toys Likely to Make Even Willy Wonka Blush

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Bruna

Mose

Publicist and fashion journalist Bruna Nakano says that if more people could know one thing about her, it would be her good taste in weed.

The well-traveled fashionista has sampled deluxe products from all over the world, but she feels most at home in her base of New York City, where she’s become an instrumental part of the Astor Club’s team. As an ambassador for the exclusive membership organization and a passionate advocate for the Big Apple’s cannabis community, Nakano is thrilled to see the legal industry evolve.

When Mose moved from Colorado to New York, the artist immediately noticed it was difficult to find the same quality of product on the East Coast. “I’ve been smoking since I was 16,” they said (Mose identifies as nonbinary). “I never thought I would work in the industry. [But when I moved], I didn’t know anyone really.

COVID-19 hit, lockdown came, and I was without weed for ages. A friend brought me to Astor Club shortly after lockdown lifted, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I finally found my dream kick-it spot.’”

“It’s a male industry and sometimes as a woman, you don’t have much of a voice,” she observes. “But [actually] being a woman in cannabis makes me feel so powerful!”

She’s most empowered by connecting with like-minded thinkers, innovators and creators who love the plant’s magic as much as she does.

At Astor Club, she’s certainly found her tribe.

Mose, an actor, model, and writer, has since become an integral part of the Astor Club’s staff and an ambassador for the exclusive members-only venue. They also produce The Loud Report, a cannabis culture podcast they co-host with musical artist Skotch Davis, in the heart of Astor headquarters, surrounded by pioneers of New York

What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

The healing process that weed brings to the world. We are still living after a pandemic season and everybody is focused now on mental health, so products and companies that can fill this need now are head and weed is a big contributing factor to bettering people’s mental health.

As manager of New York’s famed Astor Club, Calia Diaz says it’s a sign of how much times have changed in the cannabis space.

“Astor Club is becoming, if not already, a really well known brand internationally,” she observes. “Being the manager of a place I once used to admire for its Amsterdam feel is a great accomplishment for me. I used to go on Indeed and look up cannabis jobs in 2019… Nothing can compare to the life I have now. I love my team, our regulators, and all the cultivators we work with!”

Diaz and her crew make the exclusive membership organization feel welcome to all who enter through its doors. The supervisor herself was drawn to the venue for the same reason - the vibe transported her to a faraway place. She remembers loving European cannabis culture: “[I] got to go to Amsterdam and Barcelona, and absolutely loved it, as any stoner would. From what I knew, there was nothing like that in the States. Then the pandemic hit and I got booted back to America from Amsterdam 24 hours before Spannabis, so I was left with an itch for anything cannabis-related. I found Astor Club through connections and loved it since the first day! Then I was lucky enough to get a job offer from them.”

The go-getter became integral to the spot because “I was the first one here who started organizing things and helping operations run smoother. I learned the ins and outs of the business, and being their right-hand woman, I see how much Astor Club has grown in the three years I’ve been here… So many people are part of the Astor Club family, sometimes it doesn’t even feel like work.”

How did you come to be so integral to Astor Club and what does that mean to you?

I came straight from Tokyo to Astor Club. Mike from Frank’s Chop Shop connected me with [co-founder Ben] and the rest is history.

What do you wish more people knew about your job?

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I feel lucky to be a part of the team. I came from the fashion industry and in fashion we have this saying: “Before it’s in fashion, it’s in Vogue.” In the weed business, I can tell you that “Before it’s in weed, it’s in Astor Club.” Ben and [co-founder Matt] have a lot of experience and knowledge in the industry, and I have the chance of learning and trying the products first before anyone else. As a “cool hunter,” this is the best place to learn and experience cannabis if you want to grow in this industry.

How many blunts we roll.

Just kidding… None of us do just one job. Tasks range from budtender, blunt-roller, and doing inventory. All of us are well-versed in the jobs it takes to run a cannabis lounge.

How do you like to consume cannabis?

What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment in the cannabis space so far?

Getting to meet other people who smoke weed, rolling blunts for celebrities and learning daily with big-name brands in the cannabis industry.

How do you like to consume cannabis?

Joints, blunts, Puffco … I like it all!

What’s your favorite strain or product to smoke?

I like sweet strains and everything that smells good.

What is your hope for the future of New York’s cannabis industry?

I hope that in the near future we can see weed brands focus more on technology and branding to achieve a quality pattern of the product. @astorclubnyc; @brunanakano

consumption.

“Community, good flower, and a vibe unlike anywhere else” is how Mose describes the club. “Everyone always says how at-home they feel here; that’s what’s so special about it.” Indeed, from cannabis titans to professional athletes to celebrities, the elite find their best chill in New York’s favorite smoke spot. Mose is proud of the list of notables they’ve rolled blunts and joints for: “People whom I’ve respected my whole life are showing me mad love when they smoke something I’ve rolled or recommended. It just makes me feel mad grateful.” (As to those recommendations?

Mose loves Rambutan from The Love Compound and TENCo anything, but especially Blue Zushi and Sour OG.) The creator admits their work can be exhausting, but the time that goes into building a business so iconic is worth it. “I want people to know their contributions aren’t lost on us. We see y’all every day and appreciate how much y’all invest in us as a brand.”

Their hope for the cannabis industry is that New York keeps its integrity by giving back to all those who have been foundational in its legalization. “I’m happy that art brought me to New York, because cannabis was going to remain a main part of anywhere I go. I didn’t think the two would ever mesh the way they have now and for that I’m forever grateful.”

Asked about the best parts of being a woman in cannabis, Mose emphasizes the beauty of connecting to so many people and discovering new terpenes as most rewarding. The worst part, in their view, is combating the persistent stigma that women don’t know about weed. “I think I always have people questioning my nose or my palate, which to each their own,” they comment. “But why the stigma against a hot bitch knowing good product?” @astorclubnyc; @moseiimose

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Calia

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I used to be a bong girl day and night, and sometimes when I’m alone on my off days I still am. But since I’m always running around at work, I mostly smoke joints. When I go home, I turn my rolling skills off and have all my blunts rolled for me.

What’s your favorite strain?

Forbidden Fruit, Grapefruit Chem, Citrusy Hazes. I am a fruity strain girl. I absolutely love it.

What’s the worst thing about being a woman in cannabis?

Internal misogyny affects us all, and I feel like the women of cannabis aren’t as united as we possibly could be.

What’s the best thing about being a woman in cannabis?

People not expecting me to be.

What is your hope for the future of New York cannabis?

I would love it if the black market could become legalized. To let people on the street sell weed with an easier route to a license, not with the same price tag and difficulty as a liquor license.

Besides they’re the ones that have been doing it the longest.

For more about Calia and the Astor Club, follow @astorclubnyc; @caliadiaz

“The cannabis industry is constantly in flux, and not for the faint of heart,” says Bianca Endersby. As Producer of Culture and B2B Operations at Weedmaps, Endersby understands the ups and downs of the space better than anyone. Having been at the leading tech company for eight years, she laughs, “Probably one of my biggest accomplishments is just lasting this long!”

But what’s truly marked her longevity is her willingness to have fun with the job. Endersby is often one of the first in the room to throw her heart into planning industry events. (And she’s definitely the first to grab the mic at karaoke.)

We couldn’t imagine someone more fitting to embody a sense of “cannabis culture” at Weedmaps.

What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

I had a friend who was working at Weedmaps who told me about the job, and knew I loved weed. I joined the company eight years ago after I graduated from college. I didn’t know much about the industry at the time, but thought it would be a great opportunity to learn and grow with the company — and that has definitely been true!

“I don't think everyone really knows what I do at Weedmaps,” Diener says, “but I am currently the Senior Account Executive on the Emerging Markets team. I manage all of the dispensaries, brands, and delivery services from the bottom of Maine down through New Jersey. I help set up their online menus, orders integrations, understanding data trends, booking digital advertisements and engaging in events. I have been at Weedmaps about a year and a half and I come from ten years’ experience on the cultivation side of the business, which most people do not know. I think with my knowledge of the cannabis plant, combined with my sales and marketing experience, I can really connect with people and help guide them towards success.”

This lady’s dynamic energy definitely helps propel others upward, especially when she has the chance to uplift other women. What will she do next? We bet it’s something you “Cannabae-live” until you see it!

What do you wish people knew about your job?

Producing events is not just fun and games and parties — though that is definitely part of it!

Planning cannabis industry events across the U.S. means knowing and following applicable rules in the city and state where the event will be held. There are logistics involved that you might not think of that often make it a 24/7 job — especially when you’re on location at the event.

How do you like to consume cannabis?

I will consume any form of cannabis, but I am a flower girl at heart, it’s my favorite. I love the ritual of

grinding my weed and rolling my own joints. I like to start each morning by making coffee, rolling a joint, and then sitting outside and enjoying the two together!

What’s your favorite strain or products to smoke?

I love to try everything. What I smoke usually depends on my mood or what I am doing. As far as specific strains go, I have been loving West Coast Cure’s Garlic Juice a lot lately!

What’s the worst thing about being a woman in cannabis?

In my experience, it can be a challenge to have others in the industry take you seriously, and I’ve often had to work a little harder to get my points across. That said, there are so many more women in the industry today than when I joined in 2016, and so many of them are making a huge impact to ensure future women in cannabis have a place at the table.

What’s the best thing about being a woman in cannabis?

There’s so much support and camaraderie with other women in the cannabis industry. Most of them are complete badasses and it’s great to get to work with and be surrounded by people like that. @teen.laqueefa

What are the best and worst things about being a woman in cannabis?

What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

I grew up with a really tough childhood and used cannabis to self medicate from a very young age. I quickly learned that it was an easy way for me to make money and I started selling cannabis in the legacy market. When I was about 19, I went to my first High Times Cannabis Cup in Denver Colorado and realized that I could have a real career in cannabis. After that I really started looking towards more legitimate jobs in the cannabis space and just never stopped.

How is it to work as a woman in this space?

Being a woman in this industry has always been extremely hard. It is definitely still male-dominated, but not as bad as when I started. You have to be strong and determined. People will test you, so knowledge is power and I have had to prove myself many times. However, once respect is earned, people have really embraced me and supported me in my goals. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Cookies NYC

The best thing about being a woman in cannabis for me is getting to connect with other women in the space who are also like-minded individuals motivated to do great things. This drives me to keep pushing towards my goals and allows me to see the endless opportunities to grow.

The worst thing about being a woman in cannabis is definitely the misogyny that takes place in the scene.

Despite having great women around, there will always be derogatory comments and stereotypes given to women in weed. It feels as though many people think as a girl in cannabis all you can possibly be is an influencer or trimmer, when many are in executive and ownership roles and true innovators in the space.

What’s your favorite strain?

My favorite strain will forever be Strawberry Cough. I'm definitely more old-school with the strains that I like and Strawberry Cough was one that I was always trying to get my hands on. It originated on the East Coast and has all of the qualities of a good skunky Haze that I like, but with the sweet fruity flavor of strawberries. It is uplifting, but a good balanced high for me. You really can't go wrong. weedmaps.com, @weedmaps; @wm_erica

Ms. JillyJillz is a multifaceted phenomenon. A General Manager and Visual Lead at Cookies NYC, she is also a social justice advocate, content creator, GT Bicycles ambassador, and cannabis educator juggling myriad responsibilities. But even she has a secret - after years of having a pre-roll side hustle, she finally learned how to roll officially this past June.

“Pre-rolls you buy tend to be made with the worst part of the plant,” Jillz says. “I was tired of smoking them, so I’d get bud from my plug. Use the actual flower and stuff cones by hand (very time consuming but rewarding because people liked my product). Then the issue became finding quality bud for decent prices in New York…which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I got frustrated dealing with middlemen and shifted my focus to growing. I have a natural green thumb with my regular plants. So using the money I made with my pre-rolls, I started investing in the things I need to grow and taking classes online at the Trichome Institute to learn about cannabis and from there the rest is history.”

Still her goals run deeper: Jillz is committed to breaking stigmas around cannabis through education, both for the plant’s medicinal applications and to fight for those still incarcerated and criminalized.

Having lost her brother to suicide, she is also inspired to conduct research on cannabis’s ability to help with mental illness, depression and PTSD.

She shares that learning about Cookies Impact and Cookies University, the brand’s social equity program, convinced her to join the company.

“Being a woman, working for Cookies gives me a bit of leverage versus me trying to build on my own. It’s like the Harvard for cannabis; what Berner and the Cookies team has turned this brand into is admirable and to continue to help bring that vision to life in New York is an opportunity that I am grateful for… The way they allow me to flex my creativity with [my] content and the way I set up the store makes coming to work not seem like a task, but fun.”

Jillz particularly cares about advocating for more women in leadership roles across the industry. Tired of dealing with men who dismiss her or assume she’s only hired for her looks, she encourages women to speak their truth on panels and platforms everywhere. “The best thing about being a woman in cannabis is connecting with all the other dope females out here… So far, all the amazing women I have met have been super welcoming, supportive, and informative. Also, from my experience, the women plugs offer better numbers than men… We are underrepresented in the industry, but we bring so much value as cultivators, product makers, and even hustlers. I’m just happy to be here.” @ms.jillyjillz

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Erica Diener, often known as “Cannabae,” could be seen as something of a shapeshifter that is, if she wasn’t just being true to her authentic self. Starting in the legacy space as a teenager, she moved into legal cannabis as an adult, quickly becoming experienced at various roles along the supply chain. Today, she has one of the most enviable networks in the industry, and can often be found at all the hottest cultural events, the biggest professional networking conferences, and everywhere in between while maintaining that air of mystery. But she’s agreed to unlock a little mystique just for Honeysuckle’s readers.

Weedmaps is an awesome company to be part of, especially as we continue to change and grow with the industry. Personally, I have loved growing my career with the company. When I started at Weedmaps in 2016 I was hired as a receptionist, before being promoted in 2018 to the Office Administrator at our [headquarters] in Irvine, California.

My ultimate goal was to be part of our events team, which I officially joined in 2021 as B2B Events Manager. In early 2023 I was promoted to my current role, which entails identifying collaboration opportunities, and executing industry and client-facing activities and partnerships.

ROLL WITH NEW YORK 38

Upstate. Downstate. Mindstate.

At New York Cannabis Growers Showcase Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective

356 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018 1.888.GET.WEED

@weedubest

@HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

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Our multi-Clio award winning creative agency, Honeysuckle Studios, provides innovative and ROIdriven services in creative branding, print, digital, photography, video, Out Of Home (OOH), and events.

Since our inception in 2013, Honeysuckle has pioneered many initiatives in plant medicine for NYC and nationwide, across our multiplatform offerings. Visit our creative agency @honeymagstudios for corporate and creative work, including corporate photography, videography, events coverage, and film.

Lower left up and clock wise: Product photography / videography for Etain Health, New York’s first women-owned medical cannabis brand Photo and video for Happy Munkey’s 710 Sensual Soiree at NYC’s Museum of Sex Creative, photo and video for launch of Integridy Farms’ upcoming gummy drop Photo and video for hip hop icon Shiest Bubz’s Heavy Smoke pre-rolls Recap video of harvest season at FlowerHouse, one of NY’s most prolific licensed cultivators

Honeysuckle produces another legendary Times Square Billboard on 420!

We won 2 Clios and a short list. Go Team!

Production on Miss Grass “Faces of Cannabis” campaign Media personality / cannabis entrepreneur Jojo Simmons of 3IsFor, photographed at Honeysuckle Studios’ activation for Revelry Buyers Club in Hudson, NY

FlowerHouse: Gush Mintz

Team Honeysuckle is proud to present Season 1 of our new webseries and film, Girls Are Playas Too (GAPT)! The project originated with our Clio Award-winning photoshoot, also called “Girls Are Playas Too,” featuring women of the East Coast’s legacy markets. While producing that shoot, our founder Ronit Pinto was inspired by the group’s diversity of stories, their relationships with cannabis, and the wild nature of the women’s journeys.

Loosely based on real events, Girls Are Playas Too (the series) is an anthology of interlocking vignettes based on the lives of real women in New York cannabis. Each episode is introduced by “Mari Juana” (Tiana Walsh), the Plant Hostess with the Mostest, an embodiment of ganja who shares how these individual stories correlate to the stages of life from seed to harvest.

EPISODE 1: DIZZY

EPISODE 2: THE CANNA WITCH

Meet Dizzy (Dizzy Cordova), a young Latina entrepreneur who seeks to rise above her community’s legacy of oppression. In her quest to get a state license, she can’t prevent herself from a series of misadventures in the world of underground psychedelics. As Dizzy navigates being taken seriously as a woman in an often-sleazy male-dominated sector, she also has to battle some of the worst luck possible on one of the most important days of her life. Will she succeed, or has she spun out of control?

Meet Jackie ( Jackie Conroy), who finds liberation in cannabis when the people around her try to quash her dreams. Although Jackie loves the freedom the plant gives her, especially as she embraces her spiritual side through the persona of The Canna Witch, her lifestyle is causing friction with her uptight Wall Street boyfriend and friend. Through the pressure to give up cannabis for a more “normal” job, she must eventually confront her fears and choose what’s most important to her.

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EPISODE 3: VEGETATION

EPISODE 4: WHISTLIN’ PAT

Meet Ronit (Ronit Pinto), the founder of Honeysuckle Media whose unconventional ideas spark a creative revolution. In a stream-of-consciousness discussion, she ponders life’s biggest questions. Who determines what our existence should be? Why has she never fit any “regular” mold? What could our understandings of time, space, and planet look like in the future? With vibrant AI effects, this anime-inspired adventure is a glimpse into the fifth dimension and beyond.

Meet Pat (Patricia Wright), who learned to survive abuse by cultivating resilience. In a frank exploration of ritual and self-care, the hardworking mom reflects on her strict upbringing, where she was punished for “unladylike” behavior such as whistling.

As she goes through her personal meditation, she shares her experiences with being criminalized for cannabis and the pain of seeing history repeat itself with her son.

Despite the challenges, she finds respite in appreciating time to breathe.

EPISODE 6: JAIME

EPISODE 6: MARI JUANA

Meet Jaime ( Jaime Lubin), whose dual jobs working as Honeysuckle Media’s editor and assisting a busy attorney keep her constantly on the go. When the classic filmloving young woman is tasked with conflicting major deadlines on the same night, including the search for a priceless rare strain, she finds herself embedded in the noir adventure of her dreams. However, her trek through the streets of New York and encounters with shady characters may be more than she bargained for.

Narrator Mari Juana (Tiana Walsh) Beelzebub, the devils lettuce: I am the plant, I am that wonderful gorgeous golden feeling flowing through your veins. Nowadays I go by Cannabis. I bring you six stories from the six stages of my life. The real stories of real women in Cannabis told by the women themselves. Starting with a seed and ending witha weed.

@HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

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MISS FLOW "So I know psychedelics, specifically magic mushrooms, are hugely popular in American culture right now. Do you want to know how I know? Last weekend, at my neighborhood cafe, I overheard two people discussing how they had begun microdosing.

While riding the subway that same day, I noticed a woman reading Michael Pollan's "How to Change Your Mind." That evening, while walking my dog, I overheard a conversation between what appeared to be a mom's group discussing the sound bath and psilocybin mushroom retreat that one of them had recently attended. This was a loud signal that wow...psychedelics have officially entered the chat…the mainstream chat.

Then I got to thinking: do these new psychedelic explorers understand how the process works when one ingests magic mushrooms? Let's get a little nerdy, shall we?

There are a number of different processes that need to take place within the body before psychedelic effects can be produced after eating mushrooms with psychoactive properties.

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Ingestion: The journey begins when an individual consumes magical mushrooms. These mushrooms typically contain the psychoactive compound psilocybin. Users can eat them raw, dried, or in various culinary preparations, but the active compound remains the same.

Digestion: After being ingested, the mushrooms enter the digestive system. Gastric acid in the stomach begins to break down the mushroom material. Psilocybin, in and of itself, is not active in this form; in order for it to become active, it must first go through a chemical transition.

Conversion of psilocybin to psilocin: The critical step in the process occurs when psilocybin is converted into psilocin.

This conversion happens primarily in the liver, where enzymes, specifically monoamine oxidase (MAO), play a role in transforming psilocybin into its active form, psilocin. Psilocin is a neurotransmitter that has structural similarities to serotonin, which is responsible for mood modulation as well as other functions in the brain.

Crossing the blood-brain barrier: Psilocin, now in the bloodstream, crosses the blood-brain barrier to reach its target: serotonin receptors. There is abundant scientific evidence that the

5-HT2A receptors, which are abundant in the brain and play a key role in regulating mood and perception.

However, there are seven known classes of the 5-HT receptor with a total of 14 subtypes. Studies are still underway, but it is believed that these other class of receptors may also contribute to psychedelic effects as well.

• Interaction with serotonin receptors: Psilocin interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain by binding to a the primary type of serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A. Because of this interaction, the normal patterns of serotonin transmission are disrupted, which in turn causes alterations in mood as well as perception and cognition. The exact mechanisms through which this happens are still being studied, but it is believed that the altered serotonin signaling contributes to the psychedelic effects.

Altered brain function: As psilocin activates serotonin receptors, it leads to altered brain function. This includes changes in sensory perception, mood elevation, and the potential for hallucinations and profound insights. Users often describe experiences of heightened awareness, interconnectedness, and a sense of unity with the universe.

Duration and intensity: The duration and intensity of the psychedelic effects can vary depending on factors like dosage, individual sensitivity, and the set and setting (the individual's mindset and the environment in which the mushrooms are consumed). The effects usually last for about 4 to 6 hours, with the peak occurring within the first few hours after ingestion.

Metabolism and elimination: After the effects have worn off, the body continues to metabolize and eliminate psilocin.

This process takes place primarily in the liver and kidneys, and the metabolites are eventually expelled from the body via urine. Depending on how much you take, your body composition, and a few other factors, they may stay in your system for 24 hours or more.

USHERING A NEW WAVE OF CANNABIS FINE DINING 44

By: Honeysuckle Staff @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

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At the crossroads of culinary and cannabis, two dynamic players have their sights set on telling a new story through food, flower, and some damn fine beverages.

I

magine stepping into a world where opulent dining meets the seductive embrace of cannabis. The air is thick with the promise of an unforgettable evening; are those candles in the wind or lighters setting the initial spark flicker like secret desires? Only time will tell. Now, add a twist to this intoxicating ambiance—a cannabis-infused symphony that’s ready to take center stage. Welcome to Cannabis Mezze, a realm where fine dining collides with craft cannabis, and indulgence knows no bounds.

Honeysuckle was granted an exclusive peek into this unparalleled cannabis service, unveiling its secrets during a private dinner at the historic Claremont Hotel’s Limewood Restaurant. Picture this: R&B royalty mingling with Hollywood’s most notable character actors, all gathering on a warm summer night to experience an affair like no other. And this affair wasn’t just about the stars—it was about the symphony of flavors, aromas, and sensations waiting to be unleashed thanks to a newly minted collaboration between Emerald Triangle award-winning craft cannabis purveyor Sonoma Hills Farm and original “wintners” of Wine Country – a catchy portmanteau of “weed” and “vintner” – MAISON BLOOM. Under a canopy of lightly twinkling stars just peeking out beyond the dusty hues of the setting sun, we were met with a bewitching smile and meticulously curated cannabis-infused alt-tailTM upon arrival. This was the opening act of an evening that promised to be part information, part education, and all charm—a hospitality hallmark of what this dynamic duo calls their “mezze moments.”

After a tour of the well-appointed cannabis bar serving up the best of aperitivos – where your traditional alcoholic refreshments are replaced by a wonderous cannabis-infused bar offers hand-rolled joints, dabs, and gravity water-based consumption – we settled into our plush seats, our eyes feasting on an extravagant spread as tantalizing as a forbidden affair. There is no question that Cannabis Mezze blends abundance with curation, where each strain, beverage, and moment of consumption is a vibrant dish in its own right. The signature sequence of Mezze’s abbodonza takes you on an indulgent journey mixing indulgence and whimsy like the finest white tablecloth prix fixe from the most lauded culinary creators.

Let’s break this performance down into its essential acts of epicurean elegance: After “le début” – a cannabis-infused Seasonal Strain-Specific Spritz, custom-blended to align with the Chef Josh’s culinary vision – each of us were given a personal introduction to the evening, ensuring comfort around the dosing and consumption options for the evening and maintaining a safe, enjoyable experience. This emphasis on consuming responsibly, and without fear of pressure to consume everything offered, served as an opening salvo that set the tone for the evening and left us wishing more purveyors would take such care. We were then greeted with a delightful amuse cannabis course designed to awaken the senses, prepared alongside a specific beverage pairing from MAISON BLOOM. Terpenes’ power took the spotlight, guiding you through the upcoming meal’s intermissions.

For the primi course to accompany the Chef ’s first dish, an elegant personal use pipe pre-packed with a Sonoma Hills Farm strain complemented the food. The craft cannabis flower was matched with a handcrafted beverage delivering layers of flavor, each substantial on their own but even more engaging when brought together in concert like a well-tuned string quartet.

“In the times before legal consumption, we were conditioned to treat cannabis as something in limited supply – a scarce resource that we consume with an eye on stretching it out to the point that we are smoking stems and the saddest of leftover shake,” said Sonoma Hills Farm co-founder Mike Harden. “Cannabis Mezze is a celebration of the world of legal weed, and we mean this to be an evening of indulgence and abundance.”

He wasn’t kidding. Just as soon as we polished off our first of the sensational savory courses, we were greeted with our next in the series of mezze moments. Aptly named “secondi,” it was time for freshly Sonoma Hills Farms flower – this year’s award-winning Gastro Pop – carefully curated to amp-up the excitement before the second course. It was chosen to supercharge the ways in which we taste key notes like sweet, salty, and umami. This unique strain, paired with a perfectly matched MAISON BLOOM beverage, was a moment all on its own, only outshined by the fact that we were enjoying a “farm to table” experience where everything on the plate, in the glass, and in the pipe had come from Sonoma Hills Farm’s fully regenerative ecosystem.

As the evening’s sinfully sweet epilogue approached, we found ourselves greeted with freshly milled flower that leaned harder into the more grounding novel cannabinoids than heavy THC – rich in flavor and serving to help keep us present. Alongside it, a juxtaposition in beverage complements the experience, serving to maintain equilibrium and help transition us from a rather sexy set of savory courses towards all things sweet. And just when we thought the evening was truly winding down, there was one final digestif to bid us adieu as our Cannabis Captains made their way tableside with repurposed vintage cigarette holders filled with a surprise pre-roll for each of us.

“We’ve set out to tackle the question of if cannabis really does belong in the world of fine dining and answer it definitely,” said MAISON BLOOM co-founder and head of brand Tony Sananikone. “Our answer is one of simple elegance: we are the show.”

The Mezze service is a sensory masterpiece, an immersive journey where every puff, sip, and dish coalesce in an intoxicating dance. Flavors burst on the tongue like a symphony of tastes, an invitation to savor, explore, and indulge in pleasure. It’s a rendezvous with flavor, a passionate affair where cannabis and culinary artistry merge in ecstasy, leaving you yearning for the next tantalizing moment. If you’re ready for a rendezvous with the extraordinary, the Mezze service beckons. Surrender to the allure of a feast fit for indulgence’s gods, a sensory symphony that promises an affair you’ll remember long after the final notes have faded.

Rumor has it you’ll find the next Cannabis Mezze making its way to California’s Russian River for a collaboration with frequent guest visitor to Guy Fieri’s “Flavortown” empire of entertainment on the Food Network and Guerneville’s leading culinary visionary Chef Crista Luedtke, offering a celebration where wine and weed country collide for an experience that is farm to table, bloom to bottle, and an undeniable explosion of flavors.

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But what makes Cannabis Mezze a truly unique experience? It’s the union of two worlds—the meticulous art of fine dining and the captivating domain of craft cannabis.

The brains behind this operation are a group of visionary entrepreneurs who have honed their craft at Michelin and James Beard Award-winning establishments, including renowned chefs Thomas Keller and Michael Mina.

Together, the teams at Sonoma Hills Farms and MAISON BLOOM have converged to create a sensory abbodonza that reframes infused dining, producing a series of experiences that volley between food, beverage, and cannabis consumption like a rich conversation full of vin, vigor, and intoxicating vapors.

Green Acres: A Guide to Wine Country and Weed

Ah, the land of rolling vineyards and seductive grapes, where every swirl of the glass is an invitation to indulge your senses. But hold onto your corkscrews, folks, because Northern California's wine country isn't just about uncorking bottles and raising pinkies. It's time to unveil the true pairing that elevates your experience from "good wine" to "damn, that's good." Welcome to the realm of grapes and grass as we highlight some of the best epicurean experiences.

Sashay into Napa like a rockstar in a sleek limo, painting the town ganja-green as you soak in the landscapes that sparkle brighter than a top-shelf bong. With Michelin stars and ratings that rival the highest THC percentages, this is where luxury meets ganja-laden opulence.

Slide down a dirt road in Sonoma like a stealthy cannabis explorer, channeling the easy vibe of a smoky outdoor patio. Here, inexpensive tastings flow like the smoothest of sativas, embracing you in an embrace that's cozy, unpretentious, and high-vibe all the way.

Either way, get ready for endless rows of meticulously tended vines stretching under the sun, a symphony of flavors dancing on your palate, and now, a whisper of something a tad more illicit lingering in the air. If you thought the art of pairing wine with food was an aphrodisiac for your taste buds, wait until you discover the symphony that unfurls when wine mingles with the choicest strains of cannabis. This isn't just about sipping and swirling; it's about an experience that'll make your heart race faster than a sommelier sprinting to save a vintage bottle from toppling.

Northern California's wine country, the playground for the true cannabis connoisseur, beckons with its intoxicating blend of terroir and terpenes. It's not just about getting high; it's about elevating your senses to heights that even the steepest vineyard slope can't match. Here are a few of our favorite dispensaries we uncovered through our journey from Napa’s established Silverado Trail to the laid-back world of the Russian River, all offering a symphony of strains to complement your Cabernet and amplify your Zinfandel.

SPARC Sonoma

19315 Sonoma Hwy, Sonoma, CA 95476 www.sparc.co Just like Sonoma’s laid-back wine culture, SPARC Sonoma embraces the art of unhurried indulgence, infusing California’s cherished cannabis scene with a dose of that small town and small batch styled charm. Exceedingly shoppable with a charmingly knowledgeable staff, this is a shop where mellow vibes and top-tier strains collide only serving to prove that Sonoma County’s relaxed magic isn’t just for grape lovers – it’s for ganja enthusiasts too. Pro Tip: No trip is complete to SPARC without an order of quesabirria from Tacos Costa right next door.

Abide Napa

1963 Iroquois St, Napa, CA 94559 www.abidenapa.com If you like music, Abide Napa is likely the one that will grab your ear. Founded by Micah Malan, the man behind some of Wine Country’s most well-known music festivals, and his three partners, this dispensary positions itself as the ultimate conductor of cannabis symphonies. As the self-proclaimed original Napa Valley Cannabis Sommeliers, Abide decodes the intricate medical notes, terroir stories, and terpene harmonies that dance within each strain and product to find the perfect fit for consumers. From first puff to final exhale, this is a retail experience focused on making sure every session is a sensory masterpiece that enriches, enlightens, and elevates.

Velvet Cannabis Napa

2449 2nd St, Napa, CA 94559 www.velvetcananbis.com Not more than a stone’s throw from the sun-kissed vineyards of some of the most venerated wine purveyors, Velvet Cannabis isn’t just sharing joints – it is delivering a remarkably intuitive cannabis shopping experience fit for lifelong aficionados, medical users, and those simply curious about the canna-craze.

With a focus on world-class selections, Velvet Cannabis lands its product assortment squarely in the spaces where quality meets curiosity with an eye on making every toke a voyage into the lavish lap of green enveloping consumers in a softer side of cannabis products that are always approachable and most definitely shoppable.

In The Tree Apothecary

Solful Sebastopol

785 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, CA 95472 www.solful.com As the Bi-Rite (or Fairway for you East Coasters) of bud in California’s wine-soaked haven, Solful curates elevated encounters that’ll leave you higher than a vineyard hilltop. With an artful blend of cannabis and class, this is where intentional indulgence meets the intoxicating embrace of Sebastopol’s green embrace. Brothers Eli and Noah curate a unique selection focused on craft cannabis that celebrates the best of sungrown flower in all its forms drawn from the greater community in the same way wine purveyors assemble carefully curated portfolios. Don’t sleep on their exclusive offerings including this year’s award winners from Sonoma Hills Farm.

Jane Dispensary Cotati

8145 Gravenstein Hwy, Cotati, CA 94931 www.janedispensary.com Nestled in Sonoma County just alongside the highway, Jane is serving up a tasteful blend of green delights that do more than raise eyebrows, they raise the bar. The store’s carefully curated lineup is focused less on sativas and indicas and more on shoppable experiences that pair perfectly with the greater Wine Country’s finest. This spot is a go-to for a cannabis experience that’s in need of the full farm to table experience with the local favorite Acre Pizza right next door. Talk about a dynamic duo of the dank.

Herbivore Napa

709 California Blvd, Napa, CA 94559 www.herbivorenapa.com Nestled just off the highway in the intoxicating embrace of Napa’s historic district, Herbivore is more than just a purveyor of greens, it is cultivating an unbridled “soil-to-guest” affair that’ll make even the most seasoned vintners blush. With a terpene-rich twist on Napa’s revered craft, Herbivore is the bud-tastic symphony that shows the world how to truly play in wine country’s aromatic sandbox. With a shopping experience that feels more akin to shopping at Gucci than your general store for weed, the space boasts a unique outdoor consumption experience focused on intention and aromatic rich novel cannabinoids and other functionals that deliver a unique flower powered tasting experience perfect for Napa.

10665 River Rd, Forestville, CA 95436 www.inthetreeapothecary.com Tucked away from Napa’s heady aura in the always approachable Russian River, we got a preview of the soon to open In The Tree Apothecary where founders Brian and Dylan Ohm are serving up curated cannabis with a high-touch finesse that’s more like having a personal Michelin-starred chef whip up magic just for you. From harmonic wellness to cannabis therapeutics, this not-to-be missed shop is not just in the business of getting you high; In The Tree blends the recreational and medicinal sides of the flower power to deliver personalized wellness that’ll make you feel as special as one of Wine Country’s most prized vintages.

So, whether you're a sommelier seeking a different kind of "high" art or an aspiring cannabis enthusiast looking to cultivate your palate, grab your favorite wine glass, find that perfect joint, and let's navigate the fertile landscape of wine country like never before. Uncork the adventure, inhale the possibilities, and remember, as the vines sway and the cannabis blooms, there's a symphony of pleasure waiting to be composed in the heart of Northern California's terpenic haven.

ENDLESS SUMMER ENDLESS SUMMER

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CANNABIS CANNABIS

Association of New York (CANY) retail and policy committees, a Board Member of the Asian Cannabis Who is Anne Forkutza?

Roundtable, a Technical Advisory Board Member of the Association of Canadian Cannabis Retailers (ACCRES), Anne Forkutza is Head of Social Impact & Industry and a mentor for students at the University of Buffalo’s Partnerships at Dutchie, an all-in-one dispensary Entrepreneurship Program. platform solution designed for the cannabis industry.

Dutchie helps nearly 6,000 dispensaries across North What inspired you to get America stay compliant by providing them with point into the cannabis of sale, ecommerce, payments, and insurance, including industry?

New York’s very own CAURD-licensed retailers. Having I’ve always wanted to started in retail and digital strategy at age 18, Anne be part of something developed award-winning campaigns for major brands bigger than myself and including Starbucks, Electronic Arts, and Nike before have the opportunity to pivoting to cannabis. She’s a force in the industry - a create industry best member of the Cannabis practices that have not been invented yet.

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How would you describe Dutchie’s mission regarding social impact?

Dutchie aims to power positive societal change that cannabis can bring to the world. That means more than just making a donation or offering a “social equity discount” for our product and services. In order to generate lasting positive societal change, equal access to education, opportunity, and resources need to be provided. Some ways we are beginning to take steps towards this mission include: providing free access to compliant cannabis retail education and technology resources to underserved communities, as well as cultivating partnerships with local nonprofit groups to ensure fair access and opportunity for underrepresented groups in the cannabis industry.

Cannabis is a force for good, yet licensed, legal cannabis retail operators still get discriminated against and treated like criminals even in first world countries like Canada, where cannabis has been federally legal for over five years now. That is not okay.

"Being living proof that you can have a successful career and be taken seriously in the cannabis and tech industry."

What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment in the cannabis space so far?

Advocating for licensed, legal dispensaries to stay open and be recognized as an essential business during COVID. At Dutchie, we were able to mobilize online ordering and payments in a matter of days so licensed dispensaries could stay open and not lose their business to the illicit delivery market.

What is your hope for the future of New York’s cannabis industry?

A lot more licensed, legal dispensaries open. A lot less illicit bodegas.What’s the best thing about being a woman in cannabis?

Being living proof that women can have a successful career and be taken seriously in both the cannabis and tech industry.

What’s the worst thing about being a woman in cannabis?

Being mistaken as a diversity hire to meet a quota. I am here because I am smart and I work hard.

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For more about Anne and Dutchie, visit business.dutchie.com and follow Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneforkutza/

April Becker Macchio and her team are bringing cannabis to Upstate New York in the most relaxing way. As the founder and creative director of UNIFY Retreat, a plant medicine motel scheduled to open in the town of Cochecton at the end of 2023, Becker Macchio is excited to offer an elevated experience that normalizes cannabis consumption.

She’s inspired by the fact that UNIFY’s site is steps away from where the historic 1969 Woodstock music festival took place. “Cannabis and psychedelics played a pivotal role in fostering unity and connection among [Woodstock’s] attendees,” Becker Macchio says. “We believe that UNIFY Retreat Motel can carry forward this spirit, honor this history, and continue the dialogue around responsible cannabis usage. Among our objectives is to champion and support New York-raised brands, with a particular emphasis on those led by marginalized communities, women, veterans, and those who have paid this price via our justice system. We strive to create a distinctive and unforgettable experience for our guests while promoting unity, harmony, and a safe space for all cannabis and earth medicine enthusiasts.We plan to open our doors as soon as we've successfully completed our final outdoor construction projects, which were delayed by this summer's rain, including the completion of the new parking lot.

We'll open once we have obtained the final clearance required from the local and state regulatory departments.”

Descended from a proud Puerto Rican heritage, Becker Macchio learned about cannabis from her mother, who worked at the AIDS Center on Queens Boulevard during the height of the disease’s epidemic in the 1980s and 90s. Recalling that her mother and co-workers would

bake cannabis-infused brownies for the Center’s patients in the mode of medical pioneer Brownie Mary, the young woman grew up understanding the plant’s power to heal.

When cannabis legalized in New York, Becker Macchio formed the Instagram account Buy Cannabis From Moms, creating fun and approachable content so parents could learn about weed safely. A mother of two, she makes it her mission to shout out other courageous canna-moms, including those who facilitated her entry into the industry: “Tanya, Kimber, Rita, and Queenee were the first moms I ever met who were unapologetically BLUNT about their experiences,” she notes. “Not only with cannabis use, but also in navigating the challenges of a male-dominated industry and the complex dynamics of being mothers in the public eye. They tackled the perceived ramifications, both imagined and realized, and taught me how to persevere despite them. These are some of the strongest women I know.”

Becker Macchio encourages all women to “step into the light” with cannabis. For mothers (and all parents), she emphasizes that it’s essential to recognize how the plant can be used responsibly. “It's crucial to understand the remarkable gift that cannabis offers – the gift of presence. Cannabis, when used responsibly, has the power to help you be fully present in the moments of your life while providing relief from pain, nausea, anxiety, and even conditions like PTSD, which can be part of the normal load many of us carry; I carry all of these daily… This knowledge can provide parents with valuable tools to enhance their well-being and the quality of their parenting journey.”

For more about April and UNIFY Retreat, follow @unifyretreatmotel and @buycannabisfrommoms on Instagram.

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“People better pay attention and not sleep on us women,” says Britni Tantalo. “We know how to be moms and run businesses. And women are the largest growing consumer demographic for cannabis.”

As co-founder of the New York Cannabis Retail Association (NYCRA, formerly the New York CAURD Coalition), Tantalo epitomizes the journey of those fighting for the plant in the Empire State. Born and raised in a small town upstate, she remembers being negatively targeted as one of the few mixed-race children in her neighborhood. When she was arrested for cannabis use as a teenager, it was published in the local paper, further ostracizing her.

“A big part of my pursuit in elevating women and women of color is because I experienced that in such a traumatic way,” Tantalo admits.

Today, Tantalo is an advocate, educator, and entrepreneur striving to create an equitable legal cannabis market in New York. Based in Rochester, she and her husband Jayson, a 25-year veteran of the legacy space, own the cultivation supplies store Flower City Hydroponics. But when the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced its Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license for people criminalized by the War on Drugs, the couple knew they wanted more.

Though they still have yet to be granted a license, the Tantalos formed the CAURD Coalition in late 2022 with Coss Marte of CONBUD and Jeremy Rivera of TerpBros. They wanted to unite all entrepreneurs in the legal market, providing resources and a community to aspiring retailers, cultivators and processors. Over the past year, the organization has connected 200-plus members, forged strategic ancillary partnerships that empower licensees - such as an ATM company whose cash solutions helped fill the gaps when MasterCard stopped all payment processing for cannabis businesses - and coordinated numerous support efforts as its community was devastated by the New York Supreme Court’s injunction. In the wake of the legal proceedings, which halted all CAURD operations, the Coalition recently rebranded as the NYCRA, embracing a vision for a more universal industry.

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“We’re trying to provide access,” Tantalo states. “Cannabis is a real opportunity to completely change and revitalize my city. Rochester is extremely high in homicide and violent crime, and a lot of that is tied to poverty. The legal cannabis space and community reinvestment can do so much for smaller towns… New York City has great ambiance and [many] retailers now, but the majority of our cultivators and processors are upstate. I think it’s important that upstate and downstate work together synergistically for longevity. We

are different environments, but we can learn together from a business perspective and make New York State cannabis stronger.”

Some of the NYCRA’s upcoming goals include a movement to codify CAURD through the State Senate, and to strengthen the positions of small social equity businesses that are facing a market which will soon see the entrance of large corporate operators. Tantalo also applauds the group’s Women’s Committee, chaired by Venus Rodriguez with co-chair Jillian Dragutsky, which promotes allyship among the industry’s female business owners - as she likes to say, “Collaboration over competition.”

“My favorite thing about being a woman in cannabis is that I get to pursue something that heals people, whatever facet that might be,” Tantalo asserts. “I’ve also met some of my best friends, canna sisters, through this journey of legalization, when I’ve seen the times where there weren’t many women or welcoming spaces for them. When we show our unity, it encourages the younger generation and every other woman to be like, ‘Oh, they’re onto something.’ I have a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. I would love for my daughter to someday go into an industry where she didn’t have to combat others. I experienced that when I worked in corporate, where you realize you’re never going to be given the same access to things because you’re not a man.”

Tantalo also thinks of her mother, who passed unexpectedly two years ago: "My heart is so full of helping and seeing other women as allies. It all comes from how my mother raised me... it’s my only way to honor her.”other women as allies. It all comes from how my mother raised me... it’s my only way to honor her.”

For more about Britni and the NYCRA, visit newyorkcaurdcoalition.org or follow @newyorkcannabisretailassociation on Instagram.

Sonia Hendrix calls her entry into the cannabis space “a happy accident.” She founded her company Gallery PR in 2017, after years working New York fashion publicity. As California was set to legalize recreationally, the professional was approached to help a cannabis brand with a broadcast. It was easy to do, since Hendrix had built up a fantastic network after representing celebrity brands and her contacts understood her mission.

“I had no qualms whatsoever about promoting weed to media,” she says, “because I live with a chronic disease that, left unchecked, can absolutely kill me one day. On my worst days, cannabis is what helps me get out of bed in the morning. People deserve safe access to that.”

(C) Gallery PR

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Hendrix had the entrepreneurial spirit from a young age; the daughter of two chefs (one a part-time musician), she grew up working at the family restaurant in North Carolina. “The front door of my home opened up into a prep kitchen,” she remembers. “I didn’t have a refrigerator, I had a shelf on a commercial-grade walk-in fridge. Very humble beginnings.

Not poverty-level, but definitely working class. Still, I had an amazing childhood and grew up around loving people who were working front and back-of-house at my family’s restaurant, and were really charismatic…

All of that just gave me a soul-level love for hospitality, good vibes, and the joy of making someone smile.”

Now, running one of the few Latina-owned PR companies serving cannabis, Hendrix is proud to bring her passion to a still-emerging space. She explains the rollercoaster of cannabis media over the past few years: breaking “pot” stereotypes in 2018; surviving Vapegate in

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2019; working with lobbyists and lawmakers to protect people’s access to medicine in 2020; reintroducing cannabis events in 2021; producing more “positive media moments” in 2022 and 2023. “Today, the challenge has become identifying a company that excites me!” the publicist grins. “I look for companies that don’t put their chips in one basket, that intersect fashion, tourism, hospitality, design, art, and have global reach.”

Eager to uplift other women, Hendrix admits that the male-dominated cannabis sector can be often unsafe.

From female budtenders who are vulnerable to robberies to women facing sexual harassment, pay disparities, and the pitfalls of tokenism, she encourages everyone in the industry to look out for each other. “I throw my support to women in this industry,” she asserts. “We have to be there for each other and we have to keep it real with each other as well. Women have to take hundreds more [venture capital] meetings to unlock VC money. We are constantly underestimated. We have to work harder to earn trust from male investors… Stay safe out there, ladies.”

For more about Sonia and Gallery PR, visit gallerypr.com or follow @soniahendrix on Instagram.

You started with Puffco as a college student.

How did you learn everything on the fly?

In my opinion with sales, you either have it or you don’t. But Roger is probably one of the best storytellers I’ve ever seen, and he taught me that “the best sellers don’t sell.” He taught me about consultative selling. And I was really lucky that the first few years of Puffco, I was able to sit next to him while he told people his vision for the future, why he created Puffco, I credit a majority of my selling skills and experience to Roger…

I’ve also learned a lot from watching the people around me, from hiring people smarter than me on my team. Once I was able to get past my ego and realize, “This is the long game,” I just became a student and that’s how I got here.

For more about Chelsea and Puffco, visit puffco.com or follow @puffco on Instagram.

What was most exciting for you in your worldwide tour?

In North America, we think we have the best of everything – shout out to Wooksauce Winery and Feeling Frosty in California, who make incredible water melt. But there are so many cultures growing at the speed of light. I had the best water hash at GWA, a cannabis club in Barcelona, and tried something from Spain’s Uncle Farms called Pietella that was the most incredible concentrates experience I’ve ever had. Chile is the Barcelona of South America, with Mila Jansen the Hash Queen pioneering their hash game with the Dabadoo Cup. At Dabadoo, some of the best water hash I’ve ever

tried was from a grower in Argentina. Some of the best flower was from a grower in Uruguay. I had some of the best flower rosin grown by a woman who won the competition. And in Chile, most of the growers are single-source, so they’re doing everything themselves. To see a country that’s closer to Antarctica than to us putting out parallel product, it blew my mind.

South Africa is one of the most magical places in the world. The hash scene there is a mixture of a dispensary and a cannabis club with full restaurants. Shout out to Green Buddha, a hashmaker in South Africa – when I gave him a Puffco Proxy, his eyes lit up and he said, “I’ve never tasted my hash like this before.” That’s why Puffco goes to these markets; our mission is to accelerate the culture.

What’s the good and bad of being a woman in cannabis?

I think it’s not what we say about this, but how we talk about it. I’ve always worked for a company that’s platformed me. About 40 percent of our executive team are women. I don’t feel that being a woman has ever hindered my growth opportunities or career path at Puffco. Back [in the day], yes, nobody would talk to me unless Roger was there. But claps to Roger, he shut that down real quick: “Hey man, call Chelsea. She runs all the sales.” I’m thankful I work with people who don’t see gender. In my travels, I’ve seen it a little more, but that’s a culture thing. The only way to break that is to keep platforming and elevating the strong women in our industry, and there are a lot of people doing that.

There’s a panel that travels globally called Women in Cannabis. It’s run by Fahy Shark in Barcelona. The panel has also spoken in Uruguay, London, and Brazil; it’s just a group of powerful women in each country representing what they do for the industry… But I do want to say, there are some incredible men out there too.

So I think it’s important to shout out the people who don’t see what’s between your legs, just the value you bring for the work you do.

“My old school would call me ‘Indyka’ and I tattooed it,” says Evelyn Zapata. The New York native of Dominican descent is proud of her old nickname, which would prove a testament to her love of the plant.

She’s a true East Coast OG - “I hustled out of the same corner from 1989 to 2016/2017” - and describes how she got into selling cannabis at age 19 because of an eviction notice after her husband got shot. Today, Zapata is the founder of multiple companies and organizations, including the New York Cannabis Times, a news source covering all aspects of the cannabis culture; WeedClinic.org; the social equity nonprofit Not One OG Left Behind; and a co-founder of the Cannabis and Hemp Hispanic Business Alliance (CHHBA), among others. But she’s still adjusting to a landscape where those used to working in shadow can be more public.

“I had 30 years of an estranged relationship with my mom because of weed,” Zapata explains. “I was the black sheep. She wanted me to be a journalist - not a cannabis journalist, but that’s what she got. My mission now is to inform seniors in the Latin community who deem cannabis as crack, to change someone’s mind one person at a time.”

Zapata’s mother passed away from cancer in May 2022, but the two women were actually able to reconnect due to an effort in cannabis education. “My mom hadn’t liked me because of weed, but in the end it gave her back to me. I gave her ten weeks of [Rick Simpson Oil, a powerful medical cannabis extract]. I saw it working… The RSO cut [her suffering] in half - she was cleaning, cooking, and bathing herself... I admitted that I was giving her stronger weed than what I smoked.”

Currently the advocate runs a “Robin Hood Senior Day” project at the Washington Heights senior center on Audubon Avenue. With Etain Health, TribeTokes, Mary Says, Chime N Chill, TONIC CBD and other partners, Zapata helps donate CBD creams and topicals to the facility’s mainly Dominican senior population and educates them on the plant’s health benefits.

Now the New York Cannabis Times is her full-time duty, and while she loves bringing news directly to the people, the founder admits it’s hard finding trustworthy allies. “I share news just like I would share to my colleagues that the feds are lined up around the corner. The same should be done in this new corner called the legal industry… There are many undercover types in the boardrooms.

Many I consider an honor to roll with - and many I choose to steer clear from.”

Once a survivor, always. Zapata has been in cannabis so long she doesn’t worry much about it being a male-dominated space. “But as one of the very few, it is good to know I could inspire another woman to step into the industry.”

For more about Evelyn and the New York Cannabis Times, visit thenewyorkcannabistimes.wordpress.com or follow @thenewyorkcannabistimes on Instagram.

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For the past decade, Chelsea Kossower has helped the world consume better. As Vice President of Global Expansion at leading technology brand Puffco, she created one of the highest-performing sales teams in the nation and focuses on the company’s international expansion and revenue operations. Kossower was Puffco’s first employee, starting in 2013 working directly with founder Roger Volodarsky. Instrumental in the brand’s success, she’s had the time of her life on a global tour for its tenth anniversary, but is also psyched to innovate in all areas Stateside.

I c e D a w s o n ’ s nickname, The Cannabis Socialite, is fitting as she loves to talk about everything related to the plant and can do so with aplomb. Her life is cannabis communications galore, a specialty she shares with her older sisters Imani and Dasheeda.

Among her many roles, Ice is executive producer and co-host of the award-winning podcast She Blaze, showcasing cannabis culture; Executive Director of the Community Education Advocacy Symposium and Expo (CEASE), an organization that educates consumers about the plant’s medical and economic benefits; Brand Manager and co-owner of The WeedHead™, a lifestyle brand empowering aspiring cannabis professionals; and a partner in TCC Media, an award-winning communications agency.

“As a long-time cannabis enthusiast, I was drawn to the industry following my mother's passing,” Ice says. “My older sister, Dasheeda Dawson, recommended that I join her in Arizona to explore opportunities in the cannabis sector.”

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After journeys across the country, today the Dawson Sisters take the cannabis world by storm in their native New York. As she juggles her various leadership responsibilities, Ice loves being able to usher other canna-fans into the sector. “Beyond managing my family's media company, I oversee operations in several businesses within and outside the cannabis industry,” she explains. “For those venturing into media within the plant-based sector, my advice is to stay adaptable, foster innovation, and remember that media is only a facet of the industry; the core work lies in managing the supply chain.”

What is your hope for the future of New York’s cannabis industry?

I firmly believe that New York will maintain its status as a global cannabis hub. The state's market is unparalleled in size, diversity, and dynamism. I hope to see it excel, especially in the industrial agricultural hemp segment of the industry.

What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment in the space thus far?

Selecting a single accomplishment from so many is challenging, but a recent highlight is my role on the board of the Community Cultivated Foundation (CCF). There, I contribute technical support to adult-use applicants and have launched the CHEM Cooperative, a farming initiative tackling food and housing insecurity.

How do you like to consume cannabis?

I enjoy cannabis in various forms, but my favorite method is using a chillum.

What’s the best thing about being a woman in the cannabis industry?

What inspired you to enter the cannabis industry?

I was inspired to join the cannabis industry after witnessing the benefits of marijuana medicine. My mother consumed as a cancer patient to withstand the impact of chemotherapy treatments, and it was one of the few things that offered her relief. Her experience spurred my interest in cannabis after a lifetime of avoiding it because of the awful collateral consequences. I decided to enter the industry to advance social and economic justice by using my background in communications and advocacy. Understanding the disproportionate impact of America's War on Drugs, especially on marginalized communities like East New York, where I grew up, I saw the cannabis industry as a platform to advocate for change, educate about the benefits of cannabis, and support equitable legalization and regulation.

I wish other moms knew more about the medical benefits of cannabis and its potential for economic empowerment. It's important to understand the plant beyond the stigmas and appreciate its role in wellness and social justice. As a parent in this industry, balancing advocacy with education and messaging that reframes our understanding of cannabis is key. If you can speak to your children and families about cannabis as a medicine, it transforms their relationships with the plant as well.

What’s the biggest challenge in providing media services to the cannabis space?

As a boutique communications agency, navigating the complex and evolving legal landscape is significant for TCC Media. The cannabis industry is still emerging, and regulations vary widely. Communicating effectively while adhering to these regulations requires constant vigilance and adaptability. We focus on education and outreach, empowering people who are unfamiliar with the health and wellness benefits of cannabis as plant-based medicine to become patients and advocates for affordable access. We also champion prospective entrepreneurs and licensees who want an opportunity to build businesses and land good-paying jobs in the emerging industry.

In my view, the most rewarding aspect of being a woman in the cannabis industry is the ability to birth new opportunities across all its facets.

For more about Ice, follow @cannabissocialite and @she_blaze on Instagram.

Imani Dawson is the founder and President of TCC Media, an award-winning communications and digital media firm. The branding strategies expert has marked an incredible career evolution, spanning journalism for major outlets; production for MTV, BET and VH1; political advocacy; and of course, forging pathways in cannabis. With her sisters Dasheeda and Ice, Imani leads efforts both in New York and nationwide to educate the public on the plant. In addition to her work with TCC, she’s a co-founder of the Cannabis Education Advocacy Symposium and Expo (CEASE), a nonprofit raising consumer awareness.

What’s your biggest accomplishment in cannabis thus far?

TCC Media is a family company, and I'm proud of our work and the national impact we’ve had on legalization from hosting Oklahoma’s first cannabis expo to helping to make New York’s legalization the most equitable in the country through advocacy and creating and executing the industry’s first diverse cannabis internship program on behalf of USCC and being part of the pioneering group of cannabis entrepreneurs in the first ever industry billboards in Time Square. Our goal remains to make sure everyone benefits from legalization, particularly those who’ve been most harmed by the failed racist War on Drugs.

What’s the best thing about being a woman in cannabis?

We're bold boundary-breakers. We foster community, advocate for equity, and challenge stereotypes and the status quo. I love being on the frontlines of our emerging industry.

For more about Imani and TCC Media, visit tccmedia.co or follow @tribecalledcurl on Instagram. @HONEYSUCKLEMAGAZINE

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For Dr. Mary Clifton, MD, cannabis is a gift. An internal medicine doctor, bestselling author and internationally-renowned speaker on CBD and medical cannabis, she finds empowerment in the plant every day. She has a 300-plus video library at CBDandCannabisInfo.com and over 3000 Tik Toks. But nothing inspires her quite like her patients - particularly the memory of her older brother when he was dying of cancer.

Though Naissant was granted a Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license this summer, she says, “My role is bigger than holding a license. My intention [is] to bring a fully Black-owned dispensary to market, which meant limited fundraising and relying on my network of like-minded entrepreneurs. It’s my responsibility now to increase market share for young BIPOC women who also come from a STEM background. My goal is to show others we can be entrepreneurs of multi million dollar companies while maintaining ownership.”

In that spirit, Naissant teamed up with Jamila Washington to create The Dope Connection, a community and technology platform that amplifies diverse brands in the legal cannabis industry using AI to drive revenue growth and consumer engagement. The platform’s AI virtual budtender is one of its most unique features; it asks customers strategic questions to determine their preferences, but also shares stories behind the brands it promotes. Describing the venture as “a joint collaboration between my CAURD license and [Washington’s] data and technology company,” Naissant states that The Dope Connection “allowed us to fulfill our goals of integrating cannabis and technology amongst ‘zellenials,’ I.e Gen Z and Millennials.”

They also recently implemented REPOT BOX, a sustainability project with Monifa Foluke of Dutchie and Memphis Washington. This recycling initiative confronts the issue of cannabis waste management in New York. Programs in Harlem, Brooklyn and Staten Island have been successful thus far.

But the most important goal for the New York native is to open her dispensary as soon as possible.

“Many Black and Latinx licensees have no choice but to bow out because of financial hardships and because access to startup funding is difficult in this current market,” she notes. “Oftentimes failing entrepreneurs on the West Coast come to New York and assume they can purchase our licenses for pennies on the dollar. The Dope Connection is here to hold the line as a Black woman-founded and operated dispensary in Brooklyn.”

Since August, Naissant and her team have proudly launched New York City’s first three Cannabis Growers’ Showcases (CGS) in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Manhattan. The latter is Midtown’s only “recurring” CGS, curated with the Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective. Visitors can step inside the pop-up shop at 356 West 40th Street every day through December 30, 2023 to check out fully-legal product available from state-licensed farmers and processors.

More than anything, Naissant wishes for people from marginalized communities to have greater access to opportunities in the emerging industry: “My hope is that the CAURD program can be codified by the state and that more Black and brown people are able to open up cannabis businesses in New York in this upcoming license cycle.”

For more about Jessica and The Dope Connection, visit thedopeconnection.com or follow @thedopeconnection on Instagram.

Now the physician is expanding access to medical cannabis through her new platform SwiftieMed.com. “SwiftieMed.com is providing access to legal cannabis from the dispensary with your medical cards at low prices, entirely online, with no appointment necessary,” she explains. “For many people, the costs to obtain your medical card is another barrier to access. SwiftieMed.com makes medical cards accessible, inexpensive and easy to obtain. In most cases, you can be in the dispensary on the same day you have your appointment. For a limited time, medical marijuana cards are just $50 by using coupon code MMJ50 at checkout. As a special offer, you also receive a copy of my book Infused, a cookbook of delicious recipes with healing oils infused into every bite.”

Why is it so important to get medical cards, even in adult-use states? “Many companies still require medical cards for their employees, so for many people, a medical card is a condition of employment. For legal protection, such as disputes involving parental rights, motor vehicle accidents, workplace injury, and property and rental issues, a medical card can provide support and protection to bring the dispute to resolution faster and take medical treatment off the table as a bargaining chip for the patient and their adversary.”

With SwiftieMed.com, Dr. Clifton predicts she’ll help more people treat themselves with the plant than ever before. She wants patients to know that “Cannabis is safe, legal and readily accessible in most of the United States. There are many different cultivars and consumption methods, so individuals [can] choose the product and take it in the way that perfectly suits them and their needs [from those that] help stop your migraine headache or that ‘weekend warrior’ knee or back pain.”

When it comes to being a woman in cannabis, it’s still all about wellness for Dr. Clifton. On the less positive side, she reflects, “It’s still not an equal-opportunity world. I was a single teen mom at 17, and it was a herculean effort to succeed in medical school and run my practice while raising my kids. Pregnancy and motherhood in the patriarchal U.S. make it very difficult for many women to succeed and thrive in cannabis, or any other business.” But there’s still always an upside: “As a doctor and mother, I love to help people feel better and have more confidence, and also to have agency over their own health and medical treatments.”

For more about Dr. Mary Clifton, visit swiftiemed.com and doctormaryclifton.com, or follow @marycliftonmd on Instagram.

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For Jessica Naissant, cannabis has been a lifelong study in healing. Her grandmother, a Haitian plant healer and shaman, convinced the young woman to pursue a career in medicine; she graduated college with a Bachelors in Biochemistry. However, Naissant was denied entry to medical school based on her conviction for low-level cannabis possession. She decided to make history instead, becoming the first Black woman owner of a CBD business on Long Island: Her Wake and Bake Cafe opened in Valley Stream in 2019.

“I had every prescription medication at my fingertips,” Dr. Clifton recalls, “but the only thing that would control his symptoms, especially the psychic pain of his leaving too soon, was cannabis. Researching the overwhelming value of this plant led me to write two bestselling books and several companion cookbooks. I'm forever grateful to this God-given plant to help humanity with the aches and pains, physical and psychological, that living and dying together brings.”

“I am not interested in making cannabis acceptable,” says Lauren Avenius. “I want cannabis to be aspirational.”

As CEO of Node Labs, the licensor and home of Compound Genetics - one of the world’s most illustrious cannabis breeders - Avenius is dedicated to showing people how incredible the plant is. She swears by the company motto, “We serve the people and the plant,” by bringing different components to those who need it most. Avenius describes that as being “from cultivators who need to maximize their canopy and yields, to the processors who need to capture the best flavor and potency, to the consumers who are looking for the effects, from relaxed couch de-stress to pain relief to anti anxiety to unlocking their creative flow. We have partners growing cannabis for everything from hype street strains to fighting cancer. Our mission is to develop the strains and identify the genetics that will serve all those needs.”

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Growing up Mormon, the businesswoman recalls that she had little exposure to the healing power of cannabis. But at age 24, Avenius saw her brother diagnosed with depression and start to give up on life when his medications weren’t working. He turned to cannabis as a last resort, “and it was night and day almost immediately… He's never gone back on antidepressants, and today has a wife and son, a house and a killer job.

Without a doubt cannabis saved my brother's life.

Then later, [I was introduced] to the people who work it, grow it, and sell it, and I saw what it could do to build communities, empower people, and heal lives. I was sold.”

Avenius and her team have traversed the globe, bringing Compound from an “IYKYK” breeder to an industry-leading consumer flower brand. “I was committed to the vision of Compound, which was getting the flower into people’s hands,” the manifestor affirms. “I have one of the most unique jobs on earth…

It’s so fucking cool.”

Though she’s never consumed cannabis herself, Avenius spends every waking moment immersed in its culture. She meets with the most legendary trappers and distributors in the space, with high-level politicians deciding the legal framework. From nations far-flung as Israel, Colombia and Thailand to the deepest regions of the Emerald Triangle, she and the Compound team work with geniuses at every level of the supply chain, seeking out generations-old family farms, hot emerging brands, and all in between. In her words: “We meet with doctors who are using cannabis to shrink cancer tumors and researchers fighting bee colony collapse disorder and craft cultivators producing flower so beautiful it looks like precious jewels and smokes white as snow. I get to see so much of what the industry is doing, and how much this plant can do.”

Despite the beauty, being a woman in a male-dominated industry shows Avenius some of the uglier sides too.

“I have worked in a lot of other industries,” she states. “I have been at a 42 person table with 41 men. I have had men tell me that I am taking the place of a man who could have been there instead, and ask me, "Are you just a pretty face or can you actually do something for me?" Cannabis is no better, and no worse, than anywhere else I have worked. I have found, though, that when I have proven myself, that I am given a

p r o found r e sp e c t a n d tr e a t e d with a level of defere n c e that I wasn't able to earn in other industries. Not everyone is willing to give you that chance, though, and the gatekeeping is very real. I just focus on having a product so good and so essential that in the end, whether you want to or not, you're going to have to work with me.”

Avenius also rejoices that cannabis has led her to many kindred spirits. “Some of the best women I've met work in this space. Strong, determined, no bullshit women who have been through it. If you're in cannabis, it's because you feel called to a mission. I am so honored to be able to work alongside them.”

At the end of the day, her vision is still on the future.

“I cannot wait for the cannabis genome to be fully mapped, and for us to unlock all the potential of this powerful plant,” she enthuses. “We don't even know yet what all it can do.”

For more about Lauren and Compound / Node Labs, visit compound-genetics.com and nodelabsca.com, or follow @compoundgeneticsofficial and @nodelabs on Instagram.

(C) @cammargera8 / @the_rhp

On the subject of hip hop and cannabis, Mang-Yee Reverie makes her opinion clear: “You can’t have one without the other.” This is something the radio personality, entrepreneur, writer, and marketing expert understands well. Today she uses her voice hosting midday programming for FLO 107.1 FM in Denver, and on Wu-Tang Radio, but Mang-Yee’s good at her job precisely because she grew up in the world of hip hop, making friends with young creatives as an adolescent and then spending years in artist relations. Sometimes called “Snow White” by her loved ones, she’s used to being the only girl in a room of guys - whether that’s her blood relatives or her adopted family of Redman, Method Man, Havoc, the Wu-Tang Clan and countless music icons.

“I consider myself a hip hop historian,” the media pro says. She’s currently working on a children’s book documenting the eras of the genre, and being coached by award-winning writer Anita Kopacz. As a single mother of three, Mang-Yee considers educating young people to be her top responsibility: “I want to be able to show my kids that anything they want to do in life is an absolute possibility, because I’ve done exactly that and I’m still beating odds that were put up against me.”

Born in Panama, the Afro-Latina dynamo came to New York at age two. Because her father was in the military, the family moved all around the world and Mang-Yee found her solace in the arts.

“Music raised me,” she states. “I’m [in] lots of parts of this industry. I’m a host, radio personality, marketer, photographer, public speaker. There’s so many damn hats that I wear well, but you’ve got to learn to balance them all… I’m very grateful for what my life is, but it’s not as glamorous as it seems.”

Though Mang-Yee grew up as much around legacy cannabis as hip hop, because everyone smoked in the “Haze Days,” she found her stride once the legal industry blossomed. Starting her job in Colorado, she noticed a lack of marketing for local brands. The strategist then determined she’d use her radio skills to “resonate in cannabis,” and she’s since helped build brands that have launched in local states, such as Method Man’s Tical and The Honeybee Collective and High Society (@high.societythebrand).

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“I’ve worked on so many marketing campaigns as far as events, planning and walkthroughs,” she notes. “I was there when [Method Man] walked through all the dispensaries when Tical launched in Colorado, and artists weren’t doing that… I’ve been able to take my real world experience and gift it to people to help them grow.”

It’s high time she does that for herself. New Yorkers will soon be able to enjoy Joe Meets Jane Coffee, Mang-Yee’s own line of infused java that she’s producing with state-licensed processor HPI Canna. Until last April, she also operated her business Cloud Seven Studios in Colorado, a creative space for artists where she hosted her Mile High Sessions program exploring the nuances of cannabis culture.

“I’ve got a lot of shit going on,” the multi-hyphenate laughs.

She also never lets the difficulty of male-dominated spaces faze her. “You can’t be part of any industry as a woman and not run into ten times the amount of backlash and strife a man would get. I’ve been criticized because I’m a mother and [people think] it’s not a good example to my children. Same thing in cannabis and radio. I still, to this day, fight battles more often than I wish I did… But I like breaking barriers, so I keep my very masculine energy planted when I have to be in situations where people need to understand I'm standing firm, and whatever the hell it is, I demand my respect. So I’ve been able to earn respect in both industries.”

Her presence is felt in all senses, from sound (radio) to taste (coffee) to sight (writing) and so much more. That children’s book may be forthcoming, but we can predict the ending.

“Snow White” will live happily ever after - because she always rescues herself.

For more about Mang-Yee Reverie, visit flodenver.com/mang-yee and wutangradio.com, or follow @mangyee_reverie on Instagram.

The young leader has helped shape cannabis policy on statutory, regulatory, and municipal levels in New Jersey and advised on social equity efforts in seven different states. Gonzalez made history in 2021 as the first cannabis industry presenter at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, educating federal trademark examiners on the burgeoning space. Most recently, her Veridis Quo was selected as the inaugural consultant to develop and launch New Jersey’s Cannabis Training Academy.

Named as one of High Times’ 100 Most Influential People, a New Jersey State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Rising Star, NJ Cannabis Insider’s “Community Game Changer of the Year,” a 40 Under 40 in both Cannabis Now and Marijuana Venture, and many other accolades, Jessica Gonzalez is absolutely a cannabis superheroine.

What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

I’ve been a cannabis consumer since I was 17 years old, so it’s been an incredible part of my life for many years. As a first-year attorney in 2017, I was disheartened with the legal work I was doing, and it just happened to be the year NJ’s governor was running on a campaign to legalize cannabis… It was necessary for me to figure out a way to create a career that I was proud of and a sustainable life for myself. I knew that would only be possible if I loved what I did. My love for cannabis led me here.

As an advocate and a teacher, you often tell people to think about their family history with prohibition. What does that mean to you?

My advocacy began at the dinner table. Family is the perfect audience because they won’t go easy on you. You get to hear the concerns, the misinformation, the prejudices, their version of history, and all the falsities they were taught to believe about cannabis. Listening to their thoughts teaches you what you need to teach them and others. I am a firm believer that if you can convince your family to change their minds about cannabis, you can convince anyone.

What do you think people don’t understand about being a cannabis attorney?

Community Justice First: CannaBronx’s Kavita Pawria-Sanchez Fights For Social Equity

By Veronica Castillo Kavita Pawria-Sanchez is a civil rights attorney, consultant, policy expert, and the CEO of CannaBronx. She and the team behind the nonprofit are on a mission to bring communities impacted by the War on Drugs together to build community wealth, health and economic justice.

“I’ve been an activist since I was a teenager,” Kavita explains. “After I became an attorney, [and] then working in government… I wanted to make an impact. Coming back to cannabis ignited a fire in me.” Prior to her position with CannaBronx, Kavita served for ten years as Assistant Commissioner and General Counsel at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and Executive Director of NYC's Department of Social Services’ immigrant advocacy unit.

CannaBronx was founded by visionary Bronx leader Wanda Salaman, Executive Director of Mothers On The Move (another organization that works to create safe spaces for the disenfranchised). After years advocating for cannabis decriminalization, Salaman launched CannaBronx in 2022 with a team of community-minded experts including Kavita.

At CannaBronx, Kavita has led the charge for social equity reforms. The advocate spent months coordinating industry experts to send regulatory revisions to New York’s Office of Cannabis Management. She’s campaigned to raise awareness of the state’s lack of funding to aid social equity cannabis licensees, and has been instrumental in efforts to protect those harmed by the August 2023 injunction on the CAURD license program.

“This is everybody’s fight from up and down the supply chain,” Kavita notes. “And our fight doesn’t have to be antagonistic. Ideally, we’re thought partners and at the table with the state.”

Though focused on multiple communities coming together throughout New York, the organization is called CannaBronx because, as Kavita says, “I think our model of organizing, advocacy and actually building businesses could be scaled anywhere…

But [the] Bronx is the borough, maybe besides Staten Island, that is most left behind; always left with the crumbles, whether it's government policy or philanthropic dollars.”

Think of attorneys as a combination of preventative care and a defensive line.

Attorneys are expensive, but having a well-established attorney-client relationship allows you to build your company on solid legal footing and will save you dollars and heartache in the long run. Not all cannabis attorneys are built the same way. Do your due diligence [and] find an attorney whose intention, experience and vibe best speak to you and your business goals.

Currently, CannaBronx is working on addressing issues including reparations, trauma-related therapy, business accelerators, and more. Regarding major goals, Kavita states that “Number 1: funds for communities who were disproportionately impacted to get started in the licensing process. Number 2: technical assistance - get a business plan, figure out compliance, get an accountant. Number 3: community education and organizing. This dream being realized isn’t possible without engaging communities on the ground… [And] what we want to be talking about, in addition What’s the good and bad of being a woman in cannabis? to the laws and licensing, is jobs. There are going to be tens of thousands of jobs; Learning from other inspiring women. I’ve never felt as supported by women as I that’s critical for people.” have in the cannabis industry… Since the rooms are still male dominated, women We asked Kavita to provide extra insight on her favorite things about being a woman must be intentional about seeking each other out. in the cannabis industry. She responded with Alice Walker’s quote “We’re the ones For more about Jessica, visit rudicklawgroup.com and follow @jessfgonzalez on we’ve been waiting for,” elaborating, “So many women of color, myself included; we don't choose this work, we do it because it's a calling.”

Instagram.

For more about Kavita and CannaBronx, visit cannabronx.org or follow @canna.bronx on Instagram.

Thank you, cannabis industry sponsors: Higher Maintenance LLC (organic, vegan CBD products); Lockgreen (stash boxes and peace of mind); Weedgets (a healthier smoke through the Maze X Pipe); Kemistry Farms (CBD products and medicinal cannabis to Oklahoma residents); High Chris (over 20 years of insights for cannabis business owners on YouTube).

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Jessica F. Gonzalez is an attorney with Rudick Law Group, an adjunct professor at New Jersey’s Rowan University and Hudson County Community College, and the founder of educational / cannabis consulting firm Veridis Quo. An Ecuadorian immigrant and one of the East Coast’s most impactful advocates, she has dedicated her career to uplifting communities harmed by cannabis prohibition.

A CEO’s Unexpected Mentor The Cannabis Plant

By Ricardo Baca

Unpacking the profound influence of cannabis on leadership, culture and creativity.

(C) Grasslands

Honeysuckle is proud to present a new column by Ricardo Baca, founder and CEO of the communications firm Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agenc y. A pillar of the cannabis community and a history-making journalist, Ricardo has been named one of Fortune’ s “7 Most Powerful People in America’ s Marijuana Industr y” and an AdCann Marketer of the Year. His trailblazing work has appeared in the world’ s top publications, and he is a sought-after speaker on global platforms including The Colbert Report, NPR, TEDx, and SXSW. With over 20 years in journalism and drug policy advocacy, he has pioneered many tenets of modern cannabis media that he and the Grasslands team are constantl y e volving toward the f uture.

Change is here, friends—the type of change that politicians promise but never seem able to deliver. A change that’ s crushing the status quo, threatening deeply embedded systems of oppression and powerful special interests, and destroying stigma. Built on the backs of the queer-liberation and greater civil-rights movements, this change is freeing political prisoners while giving millions of Americans a second chance at life and success through expungements and social-equity programs.

It’ s the type of change that only a diverse, nonpartisan, tireless and fearless coalition working for decades through policy, education and culture can accomplish.

And it’ s all because the establishment is caving to the power…of a plant.

When I was privileged with the opportunity to cover Colorado’ s burgeoning cannabis industry as the first Cannabis Editor at a major U.S. newspaper, I knew we were documenting the start of something bigger than our square state of, in 2013, about 5.3 million people. But I didn’ t know just how big that something was, or the sudden speed of progress.

Here we are, reader, a decade later, and there’ s a good chance you live in a state where cannabis is legal. About half of the U.S. population now lives somewhere adult-use cannabis is legal. When you consider states with medical-only programs, that number grows to more than three-quarters of Americans.

There have been plenty of unforeseen consequences of state legalization, but this is the new normal. There are bad actors and bad policy mixed with the larger social good.

That said, every time you shop at a locally owned cannabis retail store or purchase a regulated gummy manufactured by a social-equity entrepreneur, you’ re pushing forward this revolution—accelerating it, even.

For the past seven years, as I’ ve built and run the top cannabis- and psychedelics-focused public-relations agency in the world, I’ ve been fortunate enough to work side by side with some of the people in the driver’ s seat of this movement.

Ye s , I ’ m p r o u d t h a t m y fi r m G r a s s l a n d s : A Journalism-Minded Agency represents Cookies, Puffco and other leading brands. But I take greater pride in the small part I’ ve played in influencing policy and sentiment through investigative reporting, TEDx Talks, film and, most recently, being appointed to Colorado’ s first-ever Natural Medicine Advisory Board by Governor Jared Polis.

I’ m incredibly excited, too, to begin writing this regular column for Honeysuckle Magazine and its growing national readership.

In these pages, I’ ll be exploring some of the many ways that legal cannabis enhances our lives individually and communally. Here’ s how: As a former music critic who spent a decade embedded in Denver’ s music scene, I will undoubtedly be talking about music and art—and the myriad ways that cannabis weaves itself into all elements of artistic creation and culture.

As an avid and passionate consumer of the cannabis plant, I will definitely be writing about my penchant for low-temp dabs, my preference for rosin edibles and my obsession with well-crafted weed cocktails.

And as a political activist, I will without a doubt write about human rights, social movements and our still-critical need for more comprehensive and effective criminal-justice reform.

But with this introductory column, I want to share with you an immensely personal story about how weed has made me a better husband, a better friend and a better colleague to my team.

I want to talk explicitly about leading my small business and how weed has made me a better CEO. Though I had officially been a leader at The Denver Post as editor of online vertical The Cannabist, I had never considered myself an entrepreneur, let alone pictured myself as the chief executive of a PR agency that pays dozens of full-time employees and contractors.

As with the cannabis industry itself, I was learning as I moved forward, and doing my best to incorporate those lessons back into building my business, the right way.

In my new line of work, it was serendipity that my passion for

writing and storytelling was matched with business leaders who were so passionate for the plant.

How did cannabis help me be a better leader as well as a more effective advocate for my clients?

Let’ s start with what is probably the most obvious to anybody who’ s ever consumed both cannabis and alcohol: Weed killed the hangover. Losing that alcohol-induced productivity killer in and of itself has been a game-changer for my output and mood, and it’ s informed the Grasslands culture. While I still enjoy a good mezcal tasting, I don’ t drink nearly as much these days.

In my 24 years as a professional journalist, I had noticed a significant lack of compassion, respect and socio-emotional leadership in the communications sector. And my goal every day with Grasslands is to lead and make stronger a workplace culture that’ s the categorical opposite.

My cannabis consumption has taught me an elevated sense of patience. The simple recognition that an edible can take a full hour to totally unfold and reveal itself to you has helped me understand that the best leaders are those who comprehensively understand complex issues before they manifest. That a knee-jerk reaction (like impatiently eating another edible 20 minutes after the first hasn’ t kicked in) can be the key difference between a great outcome and a nightmarish experience.

The plant has helped me stay true to my desired goal of creating a human-centered business that revolves around core values: accountability and detail-orientedness, yes, but also compassion and empathy.

And I can’ t neglect one of the most celebrated traits of the plant, as one of the items near the top of my long list of CEO roles and responsibilities is to think creatively.

Cannabis sparks my imagination and has taught me to ideate differently, even when not under its influence. Some of our most successful ideas at Grasslands have been elevated by the use of weed.

This empathy, patience, creativity and passion goes beyond the walls of our offices near Denver’ s historic Art District on Santa Fe, and the video meetings we hold with our coast-to-coast team, and extends to my homelife and personal relationships.

The same traits that make me a better boss make me a better husband. They make me a friend and mentor with better insights.

And I look forward to sharing those insights with you in the coming months.

MetaWRK’s Emerging Tech Takes Businesses To The Future Thanks to metaWRK, a company developed by accounting guru Harry Shurek and visionary artist “NotYourMuse,” businesses of all kinds will have access to services that bring the best of Virtual Reality to life. MetaWRK builds solutions that take your brand to the next level. Technologies such as Virtual Reality, AI, mixed reality AR, app development and more are metaWRK’s specialty. MetaWRK provides cutting-edge services to facilitate customer interactions, marketing solutions and tools that empower your team’s creativity.

“We are a full-service agency for emerging tech,” says Muse.

The possibilities for metaWRK are limitless. Soft-launched in Fall 2022 at MJBizCon, the cannabis industry’s largest international conference, the venture facilitates clients’ entry into the future of marketing, making it both fun and practical for any application.

Shurek, founder of My Cannabis Accountant and The Crypto Accountant (collectively MCA Accounting), is a pioneer of innovative spaces. His was among the first accounting firms to do business in the cannabis and crypto sectors as well as in the metaverse. With this expertise, he and Muse, the creator of Shurek’s metaverse headquarters, were inspired to co-found metaWRK to address the most immediate needs for cannabis brands as well as a number of other industries.

“Each individual brand has different needs,” Muse notes. “It depends on what their products and goals are. Client per client, [we’re looking at] how we can best utilize all of these tools and how to best combine them to get your brand identity, your world and all of the products you’re promoting across to customers.”

Though metaWRK began with the implementation of a Virtual Reality Metaverse headquarters that highlights Shurek’s businesses, one of the company’s most intriguing developments is the introduction of their AI division, most notably their personalized chatbot. This AI creates a custom personality based on your brand's unique voice. An example of this can be found on all of MCA’s associated websites.

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We had an especially entertaining experience chatting with the AI chatbot on MyCannabisAccountant.com. which offers a little something special – it has the personality of a happy stoner, and will answer customers’ questions as such. You’d never expect asking tax questions of a bot would be so delightful, but when the replies deliver perfect information, punctuated by a “Whoa, dude” or “Peace, man,” the interactions are fun and memorable.

“We’re training bots to become salespeople, and to process data on the accounting side,” Shurek says. “That’s one of the things we bring to companies – we can help make their processes more efficient.” To critics of AI, he seeks to give some reassurance: “AI isn’t scary, we are seeing reactions similar to when the internet first came out, or the invention of TV. Today everyone’s like, ‘Oh no, AI could take my job.’ I’m trying to figure out how to make it do that.

When implemented in combination with things like VR and AR, you can have a full circle brand experience.

AR allows pairing of branded content or AI driven data to be displayed via smartphone, glasses or other hardware. These products are getting information from the AI in real time and relaying this information back and forth, it becomes pretty powerful and futuristic.”

“The reality is, these tools enhance brand loyalty, efficiency and engagement. If you don’t adapt to these technologies, you’re going to get left in the past,” Muse adds. “[With metaWRK’s services] you can get an answer immediately when you’re looking for it, enter into a brand’s curated Virtual World, as well as merge your content with the real world using AR. Business owners can now access all of their data and market towards what people are asking for most often, giving you an ongoing dialogue with your clients and helping you understand what they are looking for. With metaWRK, your brand becomes more efficient, interactive and memorable and can better serve your customers. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

According to Muse, that’s precisely the idea. “It’s an immediate interaction with your audience,” she states.

“You want to think about the user experience. When [customers are] coming to your website, you want to bring them into your world; they’re greeted with your chatbot, who’s now making conversation with them, and when paired with a Virtual Reality space, they can enter into your brand’s custom reality and explore.

There’s a lot of marketing info about your company inside and cool games and branded activities.

Memorable experiences that keep your customers engaged are our focus. Conversely, if I were to go on a regular website with no interactivity, no chatbot, nothing to communicate with, I’m just going to move on to another site that gets my attention and answers my questions right away.”

“For example, a dispensary can have a bot that’s set up on their site to answer questions about all of their products,” Shurek explains. “Then the dispensary can now take this information and use it to decide how to purchase its products based on what people are asking for most frequently. The difference in what we offer it to companies is this: Normally you pay Google for this information [and] they sell that information to the dispensary. In this case, the dispensary sets up their own chatbot and it becomes their own salesman, while simultaneously collecting consumer data, which we all know is the most valuable thing in our business.”

Elements like these are how you lay a foundation for brand loyalty and community. AI has plenty of functions beyond answering questions (though it will answer anything – give it a try!) Just ask metaWRK about their wide range of AI capabilities. metawrk.io.; mycannabisaccount.com

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ZOE WILDER

Named “Cannabis Empressaria” by Forbes and one of the “35 Most Influential Women in Cannabis” by E n t r e p r e n e u r Magazine, Zoe Wilder is a public relations professional and business consultant orbiting lifestyle, culture and wellness.

For over 20 years, Wilder has worked with hundreds of clients across a variety of industries to develop a n d execute

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inventive promotional content and campaigns that capture the attention of tastemakers and influencers from around the globe. She a founding member of the DoubleBlind Magazine team and an ambassador the restorative justice nonpr ofit Last Prisoner Project and the acclaimed Equity Industry Program at Success Centers. In alongside DJ/producer Nutritious, Wilder launched Liquid Culture, a community of artists creators dedicated to preserving and furthering psychedelic experience.

Her life motto is, “I was born to support artists, visionaries and innovators who inspire and share their stories with the world.”

How has cannabis inspired your journey over the years?

Awareness for the plant and my interest in advocacy both started when I was a young girl growing up in Atlanta. My mother enjoyed cannabis openly and normalized the plant for me. I grew up in the late 70s and 80s, the height of the War on Drugs… I witnessed firsthand how cannabis can improve the quality of life in people who suffer from health issues…. While working for American Thoracic Society, a nonprofit organization responsible for the publication of some of the first favorable peer-reviewed studies on cannabis and lung health, I earned a master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University.

There, I studied harm reduction approaches for substance abuse and quickly became disenamored by the way in which our Western society has a tendency to pathologize and overprescribe — personality traits, phases and cycles in our lives, you name it— without looking at ourselves holistically. Turned off by elements of the allopathic system

JAMILLA WASHINGTON

“Cannabis has always been a part of my life,” says Jamila Washington. She grew up with parents in academia and the jazz scene, constantly aware of the plant’s involvement in what she describes as “conversation, celebration, and self-care.” Now she’s progressing those conversations; in 2021 Washington and Jessica Naissant founded The Dope Connection, a community and technology platform that provides consumers with easy access to socially conscious and responsible cannabis brands, particularly BIPOC and diversely-owned businesses.

“We believe that technology can help expose consumers to brands that they otherwise might miss,” the entrepreneur states of The Dope Connection’s mission. “We also believe that using technology such as our virtual budtender can help to spread brand stories and create the provider-consumer connection that creates brand loyalty over time. Where before only large corporations had access to broad narrative building tools, technology enables small scale operators to reach directly to those people who would be interested in their products. We’re excited to pilot our platform when The Dope Connection-powered dispensary in Brooklyn goes live for sales!”

Washington looks forward to her platform helping to promote other diverse brands’ success in New York’s legal market. The Dope Connection was largely sparked by her earlier experience pitching a CPG brand called Ghetto Betty to a multi-state operator in Massachusetts, and being disappointed when the meeting only focused on the etymology of the word “ghetto.” Seeking out community from other women of color in the space, the businesswoman created her own database, collecting qualitative and quantitative data with her team via partnerships and events on what brands and consumers both need.

Additionally, Washington is tackling New York’s environmental issues through the project REPOT BOX, formed this spring with her sister Memphis, her Dope Connection co-founder Jessica Naissant, and Monifa Foluke of Dutchie. There’s a huge problem

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as I watched patients suffering, repeating the same old patterns, stuck in the same old routines, I was inspired to dedicate my life to finding alternative ways for us all to thrive.

What are some major challenges of working in cannabis?

As an ambassador for Last Prisoner Project, one of our biggest challenges is freeing everyone in prison for cannabis offenses that are now legal in most states. My colleagues and I at LPP are working hard every day to bring awareness to this situation through intervention, advocacy, and awareness

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campaigns. We’re blessed to have some really passionate people on board like Jim Belushi, Ricky Williams, Montel Williams, B Real, Anna Symonds, Fab 5 Freddy, and Jessica Golich to name a few — but we could always use more support, so please reach out to me to get involved or text FREEDOM to 24365 to learn more.

Liquid Culture has done incredible work over this first year!

What’s next?

Thank you! We’re proud of the albums we released by Nutritious and Kukuni, along with visual artists we worked with to promote the releases, Emily Eizen, Spooky Girl Art and Nick Setteducato. We’re looking forward to releasing new music (always happy to listen to submissions — you can drop us a demo via our website: https:// www.liquidculturerecords.com), and currently manifesting fun events, and artist collaborations as we head into 2024.

What do you most hope to accomplish, or see accomplished, in the future of cannabis?

I encourage everyone to experience visionary plants immersed in nature while supporting indigenous communities like Life Is A Ceremony retreats, where Earth’s peaceful warriors, healers, shamans, artists, change makers, and more, commune in nature’s wisdom, hold space for personal development, solve systemic issues — all within a village of elders among the glory of Jamaica’s most potent and powerful resources: visionary plants, the healing powers of nature, and the unique wisdom held within Rastafari Indigenous Village. zoewilder.com @zoewilder

with cannabis waste, the self-proclaimed sustainability queen describes, “First, people were lighting up all over the city, which was quite a change from the days of stop and frisk, when I last lived here. And second, the amount of cannabis packaging waste I saw on the streets was staggering.

[Since launching REPOT BOX, we’ve] partnered with Cannabis NYC to bring our recycling initiative to New York City. We started in Harlem, then Brooklyn and Staten Island, targeting areas where cannabis was being bought and enjoyed.

Our goal is to tackle the environmental impact of this fast-growing industry and promote responsible waste management. But we're not stopping there. We believe our initiative can be a blueprint for the entire country as the cannabis industry expands and I’m really proud of it.”

As Washington anticipates her projects forging new pathways for people everywhere in the cannabis industry despite high barriers to entry, she’s most inspired by the shared experiences between women in the space, which she says can create instant sisterhood. And when it comes to what she most wants to see product-wise, the businesswoman can’t help going back to OG roots. “Rainbow Chip [is my favorite strain] and I miss the old Sour Diesel - ready for it to come to market!” thedopeconnection.com; @thedopeconnection

SHIRLEY JU is a journalist, media personality and seasoned music industry professional.

The founder of Shirley’s Temple, a podcast series focused on mental health, she has interviewed numerous cultural icons including Trippie Redd, Chanel West Coast, Ricky Williams, Blac Chyna, and many more. A fixture in the hip hop scene, Ju’s work has been featured in publications such as Variety, Complex, Nylon, Flaunt, REVOLT, and The Source. She also does exclusive interviews for leading urban news source VLADTV, featuring a platform with 5 million subscribers. Additionally, Honeysuckle readers can often get the hottest news in West Coast cannabis events and drops straight from Ju’s POV - we love this California girl!

What inspired you to get into the cannabis industry?

My love for cannabis, first and foremost! I started smoking in high school in the Bay Area, picking up dime bags from homies who were selling it. Pipes were really popular back then, the tiny ones that are extremely harsh. We also definitely smoked blunts back in the day…

Now I won’t even touch tobacco!

During college at the University of California Santa Barbara, I got my medical marijuana card from a super sketch doctor. At the time, I was heavily struggling with insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Cannabis really saved my mental health in so many ways. Cannabis has changed my life for the better and being able to now be so active in the industry is something I definitely don’t take for granted… ever!

What motivates you as a journalist and content creator?

What motivates me the most is being able to tell an artist’s story. Being able to connect with them on a personal level, beyond what meets the public’s eye or what you may find on Google. I pride myself in writing the highest quality articles that tell a story, that inspire, that motivate, that make a difference in the world.

As a content creator, I try to always uplift my audience and provide entertaining yet inspiring content. My biggest thing is work ethic, working your ass off to get whatever it is you want to achieve in life.

Spreading that message of inspiration and motivation is essential.

How does cannabis influence your creative process?

Cannabis sparks my creativity to the fullest! I get the best ideas when I smoke. It also relaxes me and calms my anxiety, so that I’m able to think clearer and better. I’m incredibly grateful for the flower. The only problem is remembering to write down those high-deas!

What most excites you in cannabis-cultural crossover spaces?

I’m so honored, grateful, and blessed to have created this cross-section between music and cannabis. Being able to interview artists and gift them weed at the same time truly warms my heart. If you smoke, you know there’s nothing like getting free weed as a gift! I also love how much progress cannabis has made in the legal market… There’s a dispensary on every corner now!

NYC, NYC, LINDSAY LINDSAY LOO LOO WANTS WANTS TO TO DO DO YOUR YOUR HAIR HAIR

Joints! Pre-rolls. Gave up tobacco a year ago for health reasons.

What’s your favorite strain?

I love anything that’s fire and indica. OG is my favorite!

The potential women have in the space! To grow, to boss up, to become leaders. It’s honestly a beautiful thing.

What’s the worst thing about being a woman in cannabis?

There’s nothing bad about it. Women are the future! And the cannabis plant is female also! @shirju

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What’s the best thing about being a woman in cannabis?

NYC, Lindsay Loo Wants to do your Hair!

@IamLindsayLoo

How do you like to consume cannabis?

NYC, NYC, LINDSAY LINDSAY LOO LOO WANTS WANTS TO TO DO DO YOUR YOUR HAIR! HAIR!

That we continue to break down the stigma! That we free everyone who’s locked up for weed. That to me is the most unfair thing. How is weed legal in some states, and people are still doing jail time for it? Marijuana hasn’t killed anyone… It makes no sense!

NYC, NYC, LINDSAY LINDSAY LOO LOO WANTS WANTS TO TO DO DO YOUR YOUR HAIR! HAIR!

What is your hope for California’s, and the overall, cannabis industry?

Lindsay Loo wants to do your hair!

@iamlindsayloo JLByrd.com

Equity Trade Network: As We’re Flyin’, Stars Are Multiplyin’ Whether you call it a collective, a co-op, or even a collaboration, one thing’s for sure - the team at Equity Trade is blastin’ off straight to some good vibrations and Honeysuckle is here to ask: Can we take it higher?

By Jake Wall

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t’s no secret that the California legal cannabis space is a fractured and fragmented marketplace trying to figure itself out. Some argue it’s a meltdown, others that it is simply a reset. Regardless of what position you might take there’s no denying that a new movement is taking root—one that’s all about community, collaboration, and cultivating a better future focused on the small players who put the real craft in California’s historic cannabis story. Enter Equity Trade Network (EQN), a dynamic force that’s changing the game by uplifting marginalized communities, breaking barriers, and building a bridge between a highly curated collection of cannabis and conscientious consumers with an eye on supercharging owner operated brands from the legacy, BIPOC, and underrepresented communities.

At the heart of Equity Trade’s mission lies a powerful drive to empower those who were unjustly impacted by the War on Drugs. While the rest of the state continues to ride the waves of economic reverberations and MSOs turn tail and run from the Surf State, we’re focusing our attention on this collective of like-minded individuals, pooling their resources and passion to create a more inclusive, sustainable industry that defies past injustices. EQN’s visionary approach is a rallying cry for change, an invitation to rebuild communities and heal wounds inflicted by outdated policies.

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EQN doesn’t just talk the talk; they walk the walk. One of their standout offerings is the certification mark for businesses with at least 50 percent ownership by individuals impacted by limited access and opportunities. Brands like California Rolls, Cloud 9, Dolo Rolling Co, Elefante, Headstash, KGB Reserve, MAISON BLOOM, and SF Roots have earned this esteemed badge of honor. When you support these brands, you’re casting a vote for change, injecting life into local communities, and making a statement with every dollar spent. Equity Trade’s message is a strong one that resonates with the greater legal cannabis community including the team at Embarc Events who worked closely with this band of doers to carve out space at this year’s Grass Lands, a cannabis consumption experience, at San Francisco’s famed Outside Lands Music Festival. While one could argue that just having exposure to the over 250,000 people who make their way through the gates across the three-day experience is invaluable to these small businesses, The Legacy Market by EQN managed an unrelenting line of consumers, keeping the activation consistently in Top 3 in terms of sales across each of the days.

Ramon Garcia, co-founder of EQN, argues that what he and his cohorts have created is more than just a name—it’s a force to be reckoned with. “When people buy these brands, they are supporting reinvestment into local communities and businesses, and voting with their dollars,” said Garcia. “The Equity Trade Network stands out because we are a series of independent operators who work as a collective and we deliver.”

An advocate for communities scarred by colonialism and myopic policies that are shortsighted at best, Garcia’s journey is one of activism and empowerment. From his roles

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in Original Equity Group SPC to Sanctuary Farms LLC and beyond, he’s shaping the cannabis landscape with a dedication that’s nothing short of inspiring. Garcia’s touch reaches far and wide, from California Growers Association to the National Cannabis Industry Association, ensuring a better future for all.

Another force driving Equity Trade’s momentum is Nina Parks, a fierce advocate for cannabis equity and a recognized name in the industry. Born on Ramaytush, Ohlone Land, AKA San Francisco, Parks’ mixed heritage and middle-class upbringing ignited her passion for art, community, and cannabis. “It’s no secret that California’s legal cannabis marketplace is a case study of what happens when overregulation and shortsighted legislation created by people with a draconian perspective on what this plant represents has only served to create even higher barriers to entry for many players,” said Parks.

As a co-founder of Supernova Women and EQN, she’s leading the charge for change.

Her journey began with a personal story—her brother’s incarceration in NYC— inspiring the launch of their Prop 215 compliant delivery service and a feature on Viceland’s docuseries Weediquette, “Going Legit.” Parks is a catalyst for transformation, a symbol of resilience, and a true embodiment of cannabis empowerment. “But at Equity Trade, we don’t focus on the ‘glass is half full’ mentality,” Parks highlighted.

“Instead focus on delivering a new archetype for the modern co-op and collective with an eye on proving that we can still lift as we climb together, just like we always have.”

Chelsea Candelaria, another EQN powerhouse, brings compassion and science to the forefront. With a background in environmental and energy programs, Candelaria’s journey into cannabis was fueled by a desire to uplift her community. From the board of Equity Trade Network to recognition in publications like The Huffington Post, Candelaria is a beacon of change that’s lighting up the cannabis sky. Ishaq Ali, a policy analyst focused on social impact, has dedicated his efforts to launch, manage, and grow initiatives like the Momentum cannabis business accelerator and Halal Hemp.

Terryn Buxton, a 20-year veteran of the legal cannabis industry, co-founded Oakland Extracts and serves as a staunch advocate for POC and equity candidates.

In the buzz of Equity Trade Network, these individuals are orchestrating a symphony of empowerment, shining a light on a vibrant, inclusive future. It’s a melody of change, a harmonious blend of vision and action. It’s a movement that’s taking the cannabis world by storm, proving that unity and collaboration can transform industries and rewrite narratives. In the world of cannabis, this isn’t just a buzz— it’s a revolution from the stratosphere, dedicated to sending love with just the right amount of business and commerce mixed in.

(C) Equity Trade Network

VOLUME 17

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