Happy Holidays!

By
HeadQuest

Happy Holidays!

Another year in the books and what a year it has been! Welcome to the last month of 2021…we have quite the round up for you this month as we round out the year. First up is Bronco Distribution. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Bronco has the advantage of being at ground zero of the cannabis industry and has had unique access to innovative startups leading to their great success in the industry. Take a look at everything this company is doing to help lead their customers to bigger sales! Did you know that in 2014 the Oxford Dictionary named the word “Vape” as their Word of the Year…be sure to check out Top Trends & News from 2021 + 2022 Predictions to find out this year’s word of the year contender. Next up is our last Shop of the Month feature of the year, Eufloria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many shop owners and entrepreneurs in the smoke/ head shop industry do not look like “typical” business owners, which makes sense since this industry is anything BUT typical. Pierce Wright looks like a stoner, with long hair, long beard, piercings, and tats. When a “conventional” looking business owner meets Pierce, they underestimate him, since this guy is as sharp as anyone in the industry. This story is interesting because Pierce did not have your “typical” start in the industry. Check out how he turned a consultative business into the empire it is today. Lastly, HQ would like to congratulate Cosmic Fish in Springfield, Missouri for winning the HQ Holiday Giveaway! We hope that you enjoy the products from all of our participating advertisers! And thank you to every one who so graciously sent product for the contest. We appreciate all of you! Happy Holidays and we will see you all in the New Year!

Recent Stories

Recent Articles

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By
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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.
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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?
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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.
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By
Matt Weeks
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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.
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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.
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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.