September Welcome

Guys, it’s September. Do you know what that means? It means we’ve now made it through three-quarters of the year 2020 and the sky has yet to collapse on our heads.  Four months to go, fellow Heads on the Quest. Four months, and we’ll have officially survived the year in which everything happened.

It’s time we start planning for 2021 and with that in mind, we have two suggestions. First, let’s plan on having one of those years where nothing memorable happens—at least on a national level. We could all use the break. Second, let’s all plan on attending the HQ Event and Trade Show, the game changing counter-cultural exposition being put on by yours truly in conjunction with Smoke Shop Events in New Orleans on January 14th and 15th. Why? Well, the short answer is because we’re doing it and you don’t make it two decades in this space by doing things half-assed.

  • CannaAid and Peak: Something new for everyone.

Recent Articles

ile Mike Wittenberg sat in a Dominican Republic prison, a thought occurred to him. “I could appreciate flushing the toilet,” he said. “When you’re in a third-world jail without running water 23.5 hours a day, you learn to appreciate the little things.”
When it comes to marketing, cannabis is different from every other consumer good available today. If sales start to dip in traditional retail, you can simply increase ad spending. However, with companies like Google, Meta, and even traditional broadcasters placing strict bans or severe limitations on cannabis advertising, the standard “pay-to-play” system just doesn’t work.
It feels impossible sometimes to escape the more ridiculousness aspects of pop culture—like pickleball, whatever a Labubu is, and the inevitable media frenzy surrounding Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's upcoming wedding. Thankfully, there’s at least one trend that’s still on the rise that I can get behind, which is kratom.
On its face, it makes sense: an anti-establishment asset in a counterculture shop. But the ethical ramifications of cryptocurrency ATMs have divided smoke shop owners, who are increasingly asked to host them.
When Adelia Carrillo (Fakhri) and Parisa Rad first sat down for brunch in Phoenix, AZ, with a few other women in the cannabis industry, they had no idea how that moment would change the trajectory of their lives. “The energy in that room was transformative,” Adelia says.
Cannabis and comedy go hand-in-hand. After all, who hasn’t smoked a joint and immediately caught a case of the giggles? Who hasn’t taken a huge bong rip, only to have your best smoking buddy crack a joke as soon as you inhale?
How Aaron Pavloff made Field Tryp an exclusive luxury event for big-time buyers and vendors.
For Asia Cannario, the War on Drugs is especially personal. Like many people, she started using cannabis as a teenager and got into selling cannabis in her 20s in Baltimore, Maryland, long before any legalization efforts grew teeth.