It’s a brave new B2B world

Our goal at HQ has always been about introducing retailers to the best of the best products and brands in the smoke shop and cannabis industries. Sure, you can check out the ads in our monthly magazine, read up on the latest industry news and meet the leading store owners, vendors and glass artists — and we hope you do — but to keep up with our fast-moving, ever-demanding audience, we’ve gone digital with the HQMarketZone shopping platform (hqmarketzone.com) which gives buyers flexibility, vendors increased exposure, and ultimately, the ability to deliver on the promise of a great customer experience. 

Wholesalers can register and begin selling their products to verified retailers almost immediately. Retailers can conveniently search for top, trusted products through vetted wholesaler storefronts and place orders via an easy-to-use shopping cart feature. Those orders will be instantly submitted and quickly on their way to your store — and your customers. 

 HQ is excited to offer this new state-of-the-art solution and continue to deliver on the promise of an exceptional end-to-end selling and buying experience. 

Recent Articles

Dr. Macias first fell in love with science while studying at Howard University, where she completed her undergraduate studies and later earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology. While at Howard, she became especially interested in cancer research due to personal ties. Growing up in a Creole family and predominantly Black community in Louisiana, Dr. Macias watched many women around her battle breast cancer, so at Howard, she decided to focus her research on the BRCA1 gene.
It’s almost amazing that the same institutions that brought us the 2008 financial crisis have a problem with selling glass pipes. Almost. The truth is that an industry's past sins are only held against it when the money isn’t right. Big banks were willing to risk cratering the U.S. housing market because the profits were too good to ignore. But the cannabis industry rolls a different kind of paper, so instead of a slap on the wrist, it gets a surcharge.
Smokeshop and counterculture enthusiasts enjoy discovery as part of the experience. Customers enjoy browsing. When they walk into a shop, they don't simply grab a product and leave. They look for something new. This is the main reason flyers and posters still work. Smokeshops and dispensaries are highly visual environments. You want to see bold artwork, psychedelic graphics, and street-style posters that naturally capture attention.
The use of cannabis in professional sports has always been a controversial subject. While some are firm believers that all substances should be banned from professional sports altogether, most people aren’t thinking about cannabis when they’re discussing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In fact, there have been countless cannabis users in the world of professional sports throughout the years; some of whom are more open about their love for the plant than others.
North Carolina might save us all. A new state bill may be the industry’s best option to save itself from demise when new federal cannabinoid bans take effect in November. And it could use your support.
Hemp is often considered for the things that it is not. It is not intoxicating, it is not illegal, and it is not marijuana. However, now we are seeing a focus back to what it can be. The plant is moving into the level of wine and chocolate and becoming a movement and a culture.
It’s been several months since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III within the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). On paper, the recent executive order, entitled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research,” is a huge step in the right direction for cannabis smokers across the country.
For years, we’ve been told that this industry is the Wild West: a place where the only law amounts to whatever the guy with the gun says. But over the last 12 months, state governments have passed a spate of new regulations that promise to swap the relative lawlessness of poor enforcement of vague rules with real law and order.