HOW THE OUTSPOKEN MUSIC ICON SHARES HER LOVE FOR CANNABIS WITH THE WORLD
RIHANNA
nwlEAF.COM
A S O N E O F T H E WO R L D ’ S WEALTHIEST FEMALE M US IC I AN S , T H E M US ICAL P H E N O M K N OW N S I M P LY A S R I H A N N A L I K E LY N E E D S L I T T L E I N T R O D UC T I O N . In brief, she was born in Barbados, moved to the U.S. in 2005 as a signee with Def Jam Records, and scored a big hit with the song “SOS” in 2006, helping her burst onto the international R&B scene. And with it all she brought her unmistakable swagger and powerful self-confidence. Her sometimes controversial, but ultimately humanizing approach to celebrity, has won Rihanna adoration from fans and the media alike. Throughout it all, Rihanna has done celebrity her way – with little regard for what people think. Perhaps that’s why, even before it was legalized, Rihanna has been outspoken - or at the very least - never tried to hide her relationship with Cannabis. While many celebrities recoil from the public spotlight when it comes to consuming herb, she is often found smoking out in the open, and very often it’s on social media. The first time Rihanna made Cannabis related headlines was due to getting kicked out of a hotel in 2010 for setting off the smoke alarms in her suite due to smoking blunts. A year later,
AUG. 2019
RIHANNA HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN THE PRESS USING PLENTY OF CANNABIS, OFTEN ROLLING BLUNTS DURING INTERVIEWS AND HER PHOTO OP’S...
“SHE’S OUT THERE TOASTING LIFE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SPECIAL MOMENTS LIKE SO MANY OF US DO, WITH CANNABIS MORE OFTEN THAN ALCOHOL.“
the cover of her album “Talk That Talk” featured her blowing out a massive puff of smoke, thus announcing to the world that Cannabis was an integral piece of her creativity, style and personality. But it wasn’t until social media outlets like Instagram became the modality by which we corrode our social structure that we truly found out how many blunts Rihanna actually smokes. Here, instances abound. There was the time that she rolled a blunt on her bodyguard’s head while seated on his shoulders in the audience at Coachella in 2012, and more recently at Coachella 2018 - minus the epic rolling performance. There’s also the widely publicized photo of her smoking yet another blunt dressed in renaissance garb, shot by Terry Richardson for CR Fashionbook. And while these photos are just the tip of the iceberg for this hyper-celebrity, what
truly makes following her on social media interesting is how casual she is about smoking given her stature in the world as an international celebrity. She’s out there toasting life’s accomplishments and special moments like so many of us do, with Cannabis more often than alcohol. At the end of the day, people love Rihanna because she’s authentically herself - and of course, the music that comes along with this embodiment. This is refreshing, because while Cannabis is more legal than it has ever been in America, the world as a whole is still catching up. An international celebrity like Rihanna is helping with that, but it’s also an insight into the fact that Cannabis gives us the opportunity to see our reality in a different light, a way to adjust our own perspectives and to be open to the moments as they come to us. That’s the freedom this herb provides, and perhaps that is what attracts celebrities like Rihanna to it. Thankfully, she’s not hiding it.
STORY by PACER STACKTRAIN
Michelle Andonian
highly likely #48
28
Highlighting Cannabis pioneers who paved the way to greater herbal acceptance.