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The trouble with transdermals
Cannabis patches work. Maybe that's a problem.
remembering Weir
How Bob Weir helped carry the Grateful Dead’s music for the past 60 years and beyond
obsession, compliance and really good soda
An inside look at Looper
AFG, OMG!
How All Fun Gifts found its voice with a muscular marketing team and the powerful Pulsar Chorus
women in cannabis
A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis: Using Marijuana to Feel Better, Look Better, Sleep Better–and Get High Like a Lady
the best 2026 music festivals In cannabis-friendly states
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The Trouble with Transdermals
Cannabis patches work. Maybe that’s a problem.
BY MATT WEEKS
For years, Jennifer Mansour felt them coming.
“You can’t stop one,” she said. “As soon as I’d notice that the lights felt a little too bright, I knew I was done for. I’d tell my boss, and then I’d get in the car and pop on my sunglasses because I could feel another one coming on, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”
There’s no cure for migraines, and sufferers usually find their own ways to cope—strong headache medicine, blackout curtains, meditation. Overusing NSAIDs, the only thing that really helps, creates its own problems. Mansour needed a different painkiller. Then she heard about transdermal cannabis patches.
“Migraines can come on due to what you eat and drink, like alcohol or coffee, so you get used to basically ‘saying no to drugs’ when you’re little,” she said. She discovered the patch on TikTok, where, she says, she converted. For Mansour, the patches function as advertised, dulling her pain and relaxing her muscles. “I stick one on the top of my foot, and in about 20 minutes, it hits me,” she said. “It relaxes my shoulders and neck. That’s where I store tension.”
But for every Mansour, there’s a James Mesh. A 38-year-old drywaller, he deals with back pain the way most of us deal with email. Most mornings, he washes down four ibuprofen
with a Monster energy drink. He tried transdermal patches, too. Didn’t work.
“I searched it up, called the shop, and went down and bought a big roll. I ended up giving most away. I don’t know if I sweated too much or what for them to work, but I never felt a thing,” he said. “It was really just like going to work any old day.”
An Inconvenient Truth
Transdermal patches have become a staple in modern medicine, treating conditions as varied as heart problems and Parkinson’s disease. The steady dosage they deliver makes them ideal couriers for a wide variety of drugs, from lidocaine to nicotine to estrogen. But cannabis presents a tough case. Unlike those other compounds, THC and CBD exhibit hydrophobic properties, so they’re not especially good at passing through human skin. Because our skin is mostly water, and each person’s dermal layers are unique, the effectiveness of transdermals can vary from person to person. Just because CBD relieves Mansour’s headaches doesn’t mean Mesh was lying when he spent the day with an achy back.
This might be because Mesh has, literally, thicker skin, or maybe he didn’t take enough. It’s hard to gauge how much
cannabis a patch delivers. A 40 mg transdermal that lasts for 10 hours will, at best, deliver 2mg of active ingredients per hour. For experienced users, that may be too low to register. It’s also possible that patch placement affects the process. The common advice of applying transdermal to veinous regions, like the inner wrist, rests on the theory that the active ingredients will have an easier time passing through thin skin.
As tidy as these explanations are, they’re not what keeps transdermals from gaining popularity. People don’t clamor for a patch because they can’t get you high. Not really. Although patches allow THC and CBD to pass into the bloodstream, it never gets metabolized by the liver. Scientifically, patches cannot produce psychoactive effects. That makes them the best example of cannabis medicine that has been produced so far. But by existing as all relief, no buzz, they betray a certain truth about cannabis users. One that, as it turns out, is the central issue surrounding transdermal patches.
For years, a sizable portion of cannabis enthusiasts have sworn by its medicinal potential. Advocates pushed for legality, citing its potential to transform treatments for pain, seizures, and cancer. The fact that it got people high was beside the point. Like a majority of functional medicines, they argued, cannabis use comes with side effects. But, as patches prove, once that side effect is nullified, the cannabis option becomes less appealing for potential users. Or at least some of them.
Sufferers of arthritis, migraines, cancer, and chronic pain are united in their efforts to prove to naysayers that patches don’t interfere with cognitive function. Many of these groups openly advocate for the right to use patches at work, yet no state legislature will take up the cause. Why not? Bias—this time from the other side. The anti-cannabis crowd should be thrilled someone subtracted fun from the equation. Yet many skeptics still look sideways at cannabis-based treatments.
When pressed, every subject interviewed for this article admitted to following a don’t-ask, don’t-tell policy at the office: They simply slap on a patch without alerting their bosses. A few pointed to the recent wins in public schools as a reason for optimism. In 2018, the family of an Illinois teenager with Leukemia successfully lobbied the state to allow patch use during school for students with medical marijuana prescriptions. Since the passage of “Ashley’s Law,” five more states have used it as a guide for incorporating doctorprescribed cannabis in public schools.
Despite the momentum, few expressed hope for real change. “With A.I. coming, they look for any reason to fire you,” said one patch user who asked to remain anonymous. “If you fail a blood test, it doesn’t matter if you never got high. That’s just another reason for them to let you go.”
Unemployment would have one upside, the patch user added. “If I got fired? Well, I guess I could finally get high.”
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Obsession, Compliance, and Really Good Soda
An Inside Look at Looper
BY MATT WEEKS
Sometimes, it’s good to be obsessed. In an industry heavy with similar products, it’s often the little things on the margins that separate great products from good ones.
At least that’s how Looper sees it. The decision makers behind the high-potency alt-cannabinoid brand pride themselves on their ability to pore over the smallest particulars.
That’s where they find an advantage.
“We obsess over the details that most people skip,” explains Looper Marketing Director Nathan Tagalag. “That means clean inputs, pure distillate with no filler or additives, rigorous testing, and packaging that actually reflects what’s inside.”
That works on two levels. Looper packages its altcannabinoids in charismatic boxes that emotionally evoke each product’s effects while plainly stating its contents. The unstated goal is to simplify the experience. Tagalag wants to guide customers toward Looper products because they produce deliberate results. The company thoroughly tests its wares to ensure every vape, pre-roll, extract, and soda delivers predictable, high-quality encounters.
“We think a lot about experience, how a product makes you feel, how it fits into your day, and how approachable it is,” he added. “Our audience is typically adults over 21 years of age who are curious, informed, and intentional. They’re the people who want an elevated experience without the stigma
or confusion that, sadly, still exists around cannabis. And while they range from first-time explorers to seasoned users, they all care about quality, transparency, and consistency.”
The Goods
The result of that careful approach to cannabinoids came late last year, when Looper’s line of Delta 9 sodas was recognized with top honors at the 2025 High Spirit Awards.
Its 50mg Pineapple, Orange, and Grape flavors took home Platinum, Gold, and Silver medals in the category of Best Infused Soda/Best Infused Beverage. The competition was created by the L.A. Spirits Awards, which typically recognizes outstanding alcoholic products. The cannabis-infused portion debuted last year in recognition of the popularity and quality of cannabis-based drinks.
“It all comes down to formulation. We don’t overload our drinks or try to mask poor inputs with sweetness. Instead, we focus on balance and clean Delta 9 dosing. We want it to taste like something you’d actually want to drink again,” Tagalag said. “This recognition was validating because it comes from people who understand both the beverage craft and cannabinoid performance.”
Building off that success, Looper launched three new flavors in March: Toka Cola, which features a more traditional soda pop taste; Diet Toka Cola; and Lemon, which goes down like Sprite.
Looper’s beverages aren’t the only products whose reputation is on the rise. Another new addition to its line, Booster Shots, has been building a reputation. Created from the same formulations as their terp-heavy vapes, Booster Shots are syringes filled with cannabinoid-infused oil that’s meant to enhance the punch of vape carts, although creative users have discovered numerous other uses.
“We’ve heard from a lot of our customers who are using this as an additive. They put it on top of their pre-roll, or they add it to their gummies or maybe a cookie or a brownie. Some even just, um, put it in their rig and just partake,” Tagalag said.
The Tobacco Pivot
Booster Shots’ popularity stems from Looper’s reputation for hard-hitting vapes. Reading online reviews about the brand’s disposables, you’d think every customer just had a religious experience. But the hype is well-earned. Before joining the counterculture industry, the team behind Looper functioned as an e-liquid company. They jumped to alt-cannabinoids after deciding the new laws governing tobacco products were too suffocating. Yet, in an ironic twist, that issue has become the core of their brand’s identity.
“The industry definitely has matured rapidly in the last 10 years. Regulations are tightened. Consumers got smarter, and the hype phase ended,” Tagalag said. “For us, it meant doubling down on compliance, tightening our formulations, and being more disciplined operationally. Thanks to our history, we’re pretty comfortable moving around regulations.”
The lessons Looper took from its days in the tobacco vape industry taught the company to see around corners. The company’s highest priority, Tagalag said, is keeping products shelf-legal.
“Rules change fast, and enforcement isn't always consistent; that keeps everyone on edge,” he says. “At the same time, what excites us is how sophisticated consumers have become. People are asking better questions, demanding cleaner products, and exploring cannabinoids beyond THC alone. That curiosity is pushing the industry forward, and it's exactly the environment Looper was built for.”
Not that it’s easy. The raft of changes that happened in 2025 alone is enough to cause serious legal headaches for even the most careful cannabinoid maker. Tagalag, however, chooses to remain optimistic. He sees recent crackdowns as a step toward greater acceptance and legitimacy.
“There's a lot of regulation and a lot of banning going on. I think the best way to come out of that is to better regulate the products, making sure they’re being manufactured in a safe environment with all the right warnings and verbiage on the packaging. We as an industry need to be fully transparent with the consumer, just to give them the assurance that these are safe products and we're not hiding anything,” he said. “Having transparency from every brand would definitely help the industry. I think that, five years from now, that's where we’ll be, and it will really be a good thing.”
women in cannabis
BY EMILY LONG
An old adage tells us not to judge a book by its cover, but A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis: Using Marijuana to Feel Better, Look Better, Sleep Better–and Get High Like a Lady makes a powerful statement about the role of beauty and femininity in the cannabis industry before you even read the first page. The cover features an elegant, red-lipsticked woman smoking a joint, whose plumes of smoke become her wavy, black hair. She’s surrounded by a kaleidoscopic array of marijuana leaves in teal, yellow, green, red, and purple— some are even embossed in gold. This classy and classic cover sets the stage for the book’s overall mission, which is to empower women to use cannabis to “feel better, look better, and sleep better.” By writing directly to women—and writing specifically for mothers and older women with chronic health conditions—Furrer debunks common cannabis myths and reimagines the negative image of a stoner.
In A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis, author Nikki Furrer combines her passion for both books and cannabis. When she couldn’t find the perfect introductory book to recommend to women at the beginning of their cannabis journeys, Furrer decided to write it herself. As a former independent bookstore owner of Pudd’nhead Books, Furrer was struggling with burnout and depression and knew she needed to make a career change. This decision led her
from Missouri to Colorado, where she worked in several grow operations and medical dispensaries. Though it was published eight years ago, Furrer’s accessible guide remains relevant and approachable for both the canna-curious and the more seasoned stoners alike.
A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis begins with the “why” of cannabis use, digging into the medicinal history of the plant and its various use cases, from pain relief to beautification to the more widely known mood boost. “Cannabis doesn’t just make us feel high and happy; it also has powerful analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antianxiety, and antidepressant qualities,” Furrer writes. While she delves into the “how” of the science more in the next section, this first chapter serves as a helpful primer for anyone new to marijuana who might be fearful or intimidated by it. There’s even a step-by-step guide for how to start a conversation with your mom about trying medical cannabis herself.
Furrer is especially passionate about medical cannabis use after a car accident left her with a fractured spine and chronic back pain. As a budtender, she became an expert in Colorado’s medical strains and products, helping each patient find the medicine that worked best for them. She
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A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis is full of helpful tables, tips, and drawings, including some helpful criteria for how to determine the quality of a cannabis flower and illustrations of different cannabis concentrates. The section on edibles also includes over 20 recipes for various infusions and extractions, including cannabutter, caramels, and even bacon, and, of course, her recipe for some “classic pot brownies.” The topicals section also showcases recipes for THC- and CBD-infused serums, lotions, and lip balms. At the end of the book, the glossary includes helpful terminology and cannabis slang so even a one-time smoker can walk into a dispensary or circle of stoners and sound like a pro.
In addition to authoring A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis and working as a cultivator and budtender, Furrer is also a cannabis lawyer and the CEO of Fleur. This cannabis company develops products focused on women’s health. One such product is Infused Ink, a line of temporary tattoos infused with CBD for transdermal application, including the original “Cramp Stamp”, designed specifically for menstrual cramps.
You can buy A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis: Using Marijuana to Feel Better, Look Better, Sleep Better–and Get High Like a Lady at bookshop.org or wherever books are sold.
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remembering weir
How Bob Weir Helped Carry The Grateful Dead’s Music for the Past 60 Years and Beyond
BY JAMES JOHNIVAN
Born Robert Hall Parber, most people knew him better as Bob, Bobby, or Ace. He played with numerous bands over the years: Further, The Other Ones, Ratdog, Dead & Company, Wolf Bros., and many more—but almost everyone knew him best as one of the original co-founders of The Grateful Dead.
He was only a teenager when he joined up with the likes of Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann to form the band in 1965, but, even at such a young age, Bob Weir was already well on his way to becoming the quintessential rock star.
“Nobody called him Bob Weir; it was always Bobby. He didn’t become Bob Weir until Jerry died, and then all of a sudden, he was referred to as Bob Weir. But in The Grateful Dead days, it was always Bobby. He was the kid, you know, and Bob is an old guy’s name,” said Jodi the Jedi, a long-time Grateful Dead fan and a local legend in the jamband community.
If the young Bobby Weir was an up-and-coming, eager-to-learn minstrel, then the older Bob Weir was a well-practiced and aging troubadour who took delight in passing the proverbial torch and teaching others the tricks of the trade. Not only did he play guitar and sing, but he had a hand in writing some of The Dead’s most iconic songs, including “Truckin,” “Jack Straw,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Cassidy,” “One More Saturday Night,” and many others.
“The Grateful Dead experience, for me, all of it from start to finish, has been more of a religious experience than any of the organized religion that I’ve been a part of in all my years—and I was raised Catholic! I’m not devoid of religion, but The Grateful Dead and their community has done more for me in growing my person than any other organization that I’ve come in contact with, whether that be political or religious or scholarly. The single biggest influence in my life has been the Grateful Dead and what Bob Weir helped to create with Jerry Garcia, Ron McKernan, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and all of the different keyboard players that they had,” said Jodi the Jedi.
Although he took somewhat of a backseat to Jerry, especially in the earlier years, there’s no denying the impact Bob Weir had as a member of The Grateful Dead. After the unexpected death of his mentor and muse, Weir was given the monumental task of carrying the band’s music for another 30 years. For those of us who never had the opportunity to see a show with Jerry at the helm, Bob represented the spirit of The Grateful Dead in a way that few others could. And he did so with all the style and grace you’d expect from a musician of his caliber.
Carrying the Tune
“Fare-thee-well now
Let your life proceed by its own design
Nothing to tell now
Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine.” – Bob Weir, “Cassidy”
To say that The Grateful Dead community was saddened when Jerry died would be an understatement. At the age of 53, he wasn’t exactly young—but he wasn’t really that old, either. It was the unexpected nature of his passing that had the most profound impact amongst Deadheads around the world.
While I don’t think anybody necessarily had Bob Weir’s passing on their 2026 bingo cards, he was 78 years old at the time of his death. Bob Weir lived a full life and, more importantly, he spent it exactly how he wanted to.
“He was rock solid and became the main guy after Jerry passed. He carried the legacy and did some killer solo music. My favorite was seeing him do the Blue Mountain / Campfire Tour with the Campfire Band at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, in October 2016. It blew me away, and I was not expecting to be wowed in any form. His rendition of Peggy-O still lives with me. I liked it better than any of Jerry’s versions,” said Mark M, who has been seeing The Grateful Dead since the late 1970s.
More recently, Bob Weir was regularly touring with the latest incarnation of The Grateful Dead. Known as Dead & Company, his bandmates included the likes of John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, and Oteil Burbridge. The group, amongst others, had just celebrated the 60th anniversary of The Grateful Dead in San Francisco in August 2025.
“His last years with Dead & Company just didn’t impress me. The cadence got too slow for me, and the pricing got out of hand, in my opinion. So I haven’t seen The Dead in any form since COVID. Instead, I’ve fallen for a number of local and Bay Area cover bands that are just fantastic at keeping The Grateful Dead spirit alive and well,” Mark M. continued.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Nobody knows for sure what will become of The Grateful Dead’s music from here, but their legacy will undoubtedly live on for ages. Bob Weir himself believed that their influence would continue for another 300 years, and some can envision it lasting even longer than that. Whether it’s Dead & Company choosing a new guitarist, another band working with Bob’s blessings, someone else picking up the ball and running with it on their own, or simply through the hearts and minds of their fans, one thing is for certain: our love for Bob Weir and The Grateful Dead will never fade away.
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AFG, OMG!
BY MATT WEEKS
How All Fun Gifts found its voice with a muscular marketing team and the powerful Pulsar Chorus
BY JIMMY WOHL
Many companies are good at being just good enough. For a long time, they got the job done. Everyone went home at the end of the day. It’s fine. It works, most of the time, as long as business is going well enough.
And that’s a rut All Fun Gifts (AFG) had gotten into. They’d been around for 25 years, and they were a solid member of the industry that had emerged from the cannabis-andaccessories parking lot scene at ‘90s Phish concerts.
Demand for its products was solid. But as new distributors and brands emerged, goosing the competition, it was time to shake things up.
The culture of AFG was ripe for innovation.
Members of their team, even people who had begun as product pickers before they had joined R&D, became pioneers. They brainstormed and built the perfect dabbing device: the Pulsar Chorus. And customers liked it. A lot.
But what they also needed was someone to keep them tight and let the world know what they were doing.
A catalyst arrives—and converts the culture
Will Lewis is a former US Marine. When he got injured on his base in California, he found that conventional remedies were not as good as cannabis products.
“I was always interested in the business of cannabis,” says Will. “When I was in the military, I broke my back, and instead of managing pain with pharmaceuticals, I preferred edibles. That was my step into it.”
When he got the chance to work in the industry and move back to his home in Asheville, NC, the headquarters of AFG, he jumped at the opportunity. He saw a chance to revolutionize their marketing department, and from Day 1, he began to boost AFG’s signal and exceed expectations.
AFG had experienced recent success with the Chorus, but the culture felt disjointed. People in different departments did their own thing, communicating only when necessary. But when Will got there, he instituted a culture of collaboration. Soon, employees from all departments were speaking to each other, hanging out, and having fun.
“The whole team is talking now,” says Will. “Before I came on, there wasn’t much cross-team communication. I came in and made sure that departments speak to each other to make sure releases are going off well. Not hitting any unnecessary snags.”
Will’s other big move was a massive social media outreach. He shifted focus to Facebook, Instagram, and boosted the number of AFG’s followers. Paired with the resounding success of the Chorus, AFG was becoming known by many new potential customers, generating buzz, and sliding into a slipstream toward success.
“I told my team to avoid paper marketing. It’s all digital now. Understand the market, research the market, follow its trends. See what the company is doing, how we’re dropping the ball, and turn it around.”
With this pivot, Will expanded AFG’s visibility in the market. Dramatically.
“Within the first two months, we essentially doubled our following on social media from the beginning of the year. Going from 60,000 to 120,000 followers in two months. We’ve seen some explosive growth in the company, and it’s not accidental. It’s intentional.”
Will wanted to make this more than a company; he wanted a team. With the world finally learning about AFG’s incredible products and world-class crew, he tried to inject a sense of purpose into the ethos of the group.
“Instead of chasing expansion for expansion’s sake, as a company, especially in an industry that grows so fast, we are looking to find that maturity. We took a step back and asked ‘How do we build something sustainable’?
We don’t want to inflate and deflate right away. We are trying to respect the long-term of what this industry is. That meant tightening operations, modernizing our marketing, improving supply chain discipline, and building stronger relationships with both brands and retailers.”
Everyone has great ideas
“We fully leverage the experience we have inside our walls. It’s the culmination of all these people and their concepts that make the products.”
These days, the Pulsar Chorus is the flagship product of AFG. It emerged from everyone putting their heads together and coming up with something useful.
“That wasn’t just a one-person job. That was us all being like, ‘What is something that we all want in our pocket that’s gonna be a hit?’ And it shows through the device.”
If you don’t already know, the Pulsar Chorus is a concentrated vape that comes with its own storage case. It has a hot knife built into it and a 2000 mAh battery. So it can go all day—or all weekend if you’re not a crazy dabber. It’s an everything-youneed device that slides into your pocket. A seamless, all-in-one product you can carry around for the weekend.
“Our R&D team is phenomenal. They came up with the Chorus, and it’s making its waves across the industry right now.” Will adds that it’s a multipronged effort to extend its reach. “We made a big push to show how Pulsar shows up visually, digitally, and culturally, in this industry.”
Looking forward with purpose and excitement
“Since the Chorus’s release, everyone has been excited,” says Will. “It’s hit the market the way we want it to be hit. We’re releasing devices that make a difference now. At work, there’s booming energy, and people are making sales. The noise is fantastic!”
And Will is determined to keep the momentum going. To make sure AFG can fulfill its potential.
“I’m trying to take this next year to move AFG and Pulsar from a strong product company, which they are, to an industry platform driven by the purposes and the processes of the company.”
For fans of AFG’s products and services, including their blockbuster Chorus, that’s music to their ears.
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2026 music festivals the best in cannabis-friendly
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We love a good music festival here at HQ Magazine. Now that the major music festivals in the U.S. are starting to release their initial lineups, we figured it would be a great time to review some of the best 2026 music festivals in cannabis-friendly states. Although we couldn’t possibly mention them all in one article, this list has been handpicked and carefully curated to ensure a perfect blend of music and cannabis—all within an environment that is safe for responsible smokers.
Electric Forest
Dates: June 25 - 28
Tickets: Starting at $600
Location: Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, MI
The long-running replacement for the original Rothbury Festival, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2028, Electric Forest itself started in 2010. While it has evolved from a jamcentric festival in its early days to a more EDMheavy lineup these days, Electric Forest has a lot to offer—including onsite camping, an indoor waterpark, several stages of music, and Sherwood Forest, a small forest that is lit up with lights, lasers, and projections every night.
Cannabis has been available for recreational use in the state of Michigan since 2018, and it had a medical program predating that. Regardless of its legal status, Electric Forest itself has always taken on a hands-off approach to enforcing cannabis laws. Now that it is available recreationally, many local dispensaries even offer themed discounts in the days leading up to the fest.
Movement (Honorable Mention)
Dates: May 23 - 25
Tickets: $378.20 (3-day pass) or $207.23 (per day)
Location: Hart Plaza, Detroit, MI
Did you know that Detroit is the birthplace of techno music? Not only does Movement Detroit celebrate techno, but it also offers nearly every form of EDM imaginable. The lineup itself features dozens of DJs and EDM artists, with the 2026 lineup including the likes of Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Dom Dolla, DJ Godfather, Kyle Hall B2B Byron the Aquarius, Whodat, Hot Since 82, and many others.
Movement Detroit is held annually at Hart Plaza. The festival has a rich history in the area, having started as Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF) in 2000 before rebranding as Movement in 2003. They underwent another rebranding to Fuse-In in 2005, but eventually reclaimed the old name of Movement in 2006. While the original DEMF attracted well over 1 million attendees each year from 2000 to 2002, the modern Movement festival regularly sees around 100,000 concertgoers.
Organized by the Australian band known as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Field of Vision 2026 is the second incarnation of the group’s latest festival. Held at Meadow Creek in Buena Vista, CO, in both 2025 and 2026, the festival features on-site tent camping, RV access, and early arrival options for those who want to beat the crowd. For those who don’t want to deal with the hassle of setting up their own camp, Field of Vision even offers pre-set glamping tents.
Colorado is one of the most cannabis-friendly states in the country. Their medical program was approved all the way back in November 2000, with recreational cannabis becoming available in 2012. The first official dispensaries in Colorado opened on January 1, 2014, and many have remained in business ever since.
Sonoma Wild Music Festival & Community Gathering (Honorable Mention)
Dates: June 6
Tickets: Starting at $75 + fees (adults) or $30 + fees (children)
Location: SOMO Event Village Center in Rohnert Park, CA
Unlike the others on this list, Sonoma Wild Music Festival & Community Gathering isn’t a weekend-long event. Although it only lasts for one day, the festival packs plenty of music within that timeframe—including bands like Elephant Revival, Sam Grisman Project, Hot Buttered Rum, and more. This year’s event will also feature an appearance from the counter-culture icon himself, Wavy Gravy.
There are craft and food vendors, activities for children, and environmental information booths that draw attention to a number of local issues. Proceeds from the event will go to benefit local environmental organizations.
Stagecoach
Dates: April 24 - 26
Tickets: Starting at $599
Location: Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA
With an eclectic blend of country, classic rock, EDM, pop, and rap, Stagecoach is held annually at the pristine Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA. The festival began in 2007, and it’s been held every year since—with the exception of 2020 and 2021 (due to the COVID pandemic). While their lineups always focus on country music more than anything else, they’re diversified enough to attract concertgoers from all walks of life.
Given the fact that it’s in California, it’s safe to say that Stagecoach is a cannabis-friendly festival. This year’s lineup is headlined by Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, and Post Malone, with other artists including Counting Crows, Wynonna Judd, Diplo, BigXThaPlug, Hootie & The Blowfish, Journey, Bush, Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers, Brooks & Dunn, Diplo, Pitbull, Ludacris, and more.
Dates: July 9 - 12
Tickets: Starting at $185 (3-day pass), $35 (Thursday), $85 (Friday), or $95 (Saturday or Sunday)
Location: Hunter Park in Manchester, VT
Taking place in Vermont over a weekend in July, The Dead of Summer Music Festival certainly holds true to its name. It’s more jam-focused than many of the other events on this list, with artists including Leftover Salmon, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Pink Talking Fish, Deadgrass, Way Up South, and others.
Vermont might not be the first place you think of when it comes to cannabis-friendly states, but it’s had a medical program since 2004 and recreational cannabis since 2018. Local dispensaries include Green Mountain Cannabis Works, Verdiggity Organics Cannabis Co., Vermont Hemp Farmacy, and more.
Looking Forward to a Summer Full of Fun (and Cannabis)
Whether you enjoy the music, the vibe, or the cannabis itself, you really can’t go wrong with any of the festivals on this list.
However, there are summer music fests held in nearly every state across the country, and many of them provide a relaxed, cannabis-friendly environment once you’re on the festival grounds. If you can’t make it to any of the shows on our list, look for a festival near you—you won’t regret it.
