January Welcome

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 Articles

“Winter rain Now tell me why Summers fade And roses die.” – Bob Weir, “Weather Report Suite”
For years, Jennifer Mansour felt them coming. “You can’t stop one,” she said. “As soon as I’d notice that the lights felt a little too bright, I knew I was done for. I’d tell my boss, and then I’d get in the car and pop on my sunglasses because I could feel another one coming on, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”
We love a good music festival here at HQ Magazine. Now that the major music festivals in the U.S. are starting to release their initial lineups, we figured it would be a great time to review some of the best 2026 music festivals in cannabis-friendly states.
An old adage tells us not to judge a book by its cover, but A Woman’s Guide to Cannabis: Using Marijuana to Feel Better, Look Better, Sleep Better–and Get High Like a Lady makes a powerful statement about the role of beauty and femininity in the cannabis industry before you even read the first page.
Sometimes, it’s good to be obsessed. In an industry heavy with similar products, it’s often the little things on the margins that separate great products from good ones.
Even without the representation and recognition they deserve, women have always been at the center of the cannabis movement.
There are objects Americans buy because they need them, and objects Americans buy because they let them be a certain kind of person. A perfectly functional version exists, usually for a fraction of the price. But the other version comes with a name, a story, and a reason to pay extra.
Walk into any warehouse rave, desert gathering, or rooftop after-hours in 2026, and you’ll feel it: the psychedelic underground is back, louder, weirder, and far more self-aware than its ‘60s predecessor ever imagined.