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Jimmy Kimmel just told the world about 710. Well, “just” is a relative word here, since although these thoughts are hitting the page in July, as they seep into your brain, via the portal of your glassy eyeballs, it’s already September. Be that as it may, he did it—and it was on live television. He even highlighted the basis for the celebration, explaining how if you turn the number upside down, it spells “oil.”
“Somebody got high and turned their calculator upside down and now it’s a holiday,” he quipped. Shit. They’ve cracked our code. Quick! To the Emerald Triangle where it’s still safe! They’ll never find us!
Easy, Windtalker. If you were really guarding a hallowed secret, you probably shouldn’t have used the same protocol that had you snickering at “58008” in the eighth grade. It’s safe now anyway, or at least close to it. Legalization is no longer a question of if, but rather, when.
[read more]Even Congress seems to agree. Just a few days before Kimmel aired out our dirty little secret, our pals on Capitol Hill were holding a subcommittee hearing on ending prohibition. But it wasn’t about whether they should legalize. They were debating on how far their legislation should go; whether they should simply legalize or go further with measures of restorative justice. Legalization seems a foregone conclusion.
Unfortunately, Zuckerberg hasn’t received the memo. In fact, if you gauged the movement through Facebook’s evolving policies, you’d be hard pressed not to think we were losing. They’ve gone beyond blocking ads and issuing warnings now. They’re drawing blood. Just this past month (July), they closed down the Smoke Shop Owner’s Society, a thriving Facebook community of about 1,500 members. For many businesses, both retailers and vendors alike, the forum was vital artery for information and commerce. Buy, sell, discuss, debate, network and interact, all in one place. But now it’s gone, and if its fate is any indicator, the half dozen or so groups like it will be on the chopping block soon.
So what now? There are still thousands of stores who prefer to stay analog, as it were, handling the daily grind by flipping through catalogs and enduring the barrage of sales calls. But for the digitally savvy among us, Facebook is practically cutting our legs out from under us. We need a backup.
We knew this day would come, which is why we already built the solution. Remember all that talk about the MarketZone? We didn’t put that together just for fun. It’s for you. It’s everything you’ve wanted in a forum, but couldn’t quite have, thanks to Facebook’s stodgy policies. Everything in one place, with a community aspect sure to keep the conversation going. Go to Facebook for cat memes and troll fights. Go to the MarketZone for business.[/read]
Our Mission
As the industry’s leading publication for over two decades, we want to remind you all that we are more than just another magazine; WE are the nexus of commerce for the counter-culture marketplace; headshops, smoke shops, vape shops, adult novelties, and dispensaries. Both publisher and platform, HQ exists to facilitate the continued evolution of a once-marginalized industry now on the cusp of legitimization.
[read more]As a publisher, we are your advocate and your advisor, your continual stream of all information that matters to you; from product knowledge, to business insights, to how it all fits into the panorama of the bigger world. As a platform, we are your connection. We are the bullhorn, the billboard, and the bridge; the perfect bullseye of your target market. And as this industry continues to come into its own and navigate the coming seismic shifts in the landscape, we’ll be the light to guide its steps.[/read]
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ABOUT US
Headquest (HQ) is a monthly business-to-business magazine that has been serving a broad range of counterculture retailers since 1998.
HQ goes to smoke/gift shops, hydroponic stores, cannabis dispensaries, adult stores, convenience stores, and similar retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Look for HQ Europe/U.K. coming soon!
HQ has a monthly circulation of approximately 16,000. As HQ is distributed to retail outlets only, it has become a trusted buying tool and information source for these retailers. HQ is also distributed at all major tradeshows. Retailers find HQ’s unique insights into our industry via full-length articles and product spotlights, always refreshing and informative. In addition, HQ provides readers with first-hand, successful business practices by featuring a thriving retail store every month. All of this makes HQ the premier trade magazine and your best venue for successful advertising.
FEATURES & NEWS
News Briefs: September 16, 2019
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