January Welcome

By
HeadQuest

January 2022 Welcome

The first issue of 2022 is here! The fact that we made it through the past 12 months is nothing short of miraculous, and we all know why, so there’s no need to revisit the chaos that was 2021. It’s time to move forward and embrace new adventures and opportunities. As we’ve discovered, germs, the government, and even the wrath of mother nature are no match for creativity, stamina and the entrepreneurial spirit. A big shout out to retailers, manufacturers, and distributors for finding ways to connect and deliver products that fit the needs of today’s cannabis enthusiasts and progressive wellness consumers. Pause for applause. We encourage everyone to join us in helping to bring more positivity, more stability, and more community to our industry. Stay tuned for another exciting giveaway coming up soon where you can win prizes galore from your favorite vendors. And don’t forget about the HQ Event trade show happening later this Spring. As always, it’s our continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations — wait, that’s Star Trek — but our course heading is kinda the same: to boldly go where few B2B magazines have gone before, to bring you more products, more features, more news, more inspiration (more run-on sentences) not only in the print editions, but online and on the social media platforms where you get your news and information. Think of us as HQ-PLUS, the Metaverse of the smoke shop industry, but without the need for crazy goggles. v

Recent Stories

Recent Articles

CBD 3
By
Jimmy Wohl
Lung, Tongue, and Skin
I went home and told my girlfriend, who, after Googling the name of the business I bought it from, told me that, yes, it was technically weed. But it was CBD. She started laughing, telling me I had been ripped off.
banking 2
By
Joe Reefer
High Risk, High Cash: The Banking Struggles of Legal Cannabis
State-sanctioned medical and recreational cannabis programs benefit the average user in many ways. Still, they remain a double-edged sword for dispensary owners, greenhouse growers, and others who earn their living from the cannabis industry. There are plenty of profits to be had, sure, but how exactly are you expected to secure your cash or process electronic transactions when banks refuse to work with you?
WIC 2
By
Emily Long
Women in Cannabis – Aubrey Amatelli
Aubrey Amatelli wants to help dispensaries and cannabis retailers navigate one of the toughest parts of the industry: money. When the company she worked for right out of grad school was acquired by JPMorgan, Aubrey entered the complex world of payments and has stayed there for her entire career.
MJ 1
By
Matt Weeks
Building the Best: How the MJBizCon Gets Made
There’s a paradox to business conferences. The best ones manage to swing from buttoned down to wildly unscripted—sometimes seconds apart. For attendees, it’s the combination of personal connections and professional development that makes regular trips to conferences worthwhile. And in an industry like this one, pulling that off is harder than it looks.
staffing 1
By
Karen Maina
Staff Your Shop And Build Your Tribe
Your shop is not only a smoke shop; It's also a hangout spot and a community hub. It is a place where the regulars know your staff by name, and your staff knows what the regulars need. That's the secret sauce that the big-box chains can't replicate, and it starts with who you put behind the counter. A well-staffed smoke shop is an operational strategy, but it's also a community. In lean economic times, that community is what keeps the lights on. When people feel like your shop is their spot, they don't stop coming in when money's tight. They prioritize it. It all starts with Hiring.
2026-06-01_20-59-01
By
Emily Long
Women in Cannabis – Dr. Chanda Macias
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.
2026-06-01_20-45-52
By
Matt Weeks
Cards Denied: Smoke Shops, Dispensaries, and the Paradox of Modern Banking
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.
2026-06-01_20-34-44
By
Karen Maina
Print Lives! Why Flyers and Posters Still Work
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.