Welcome – March 2020

Welcome to March, fellow Heads on the Quest. Glad to see everyone survived the bleakness of the winter months, now gloriously giving way to the warmth of spring. Likely, you’re still recovering from CHAMPS, which literally just ended a few days prior to this issue hitting your mailbox. We hope your recuperation is coming along swimmingly and would like to take this time to encourage you to get your rest, stay hydrated, and next round, maybe consider orthopedic shoes. Let it never be said of us that we don’t care about our readers.

That being said, keep the R&R to a minimum. April’s around the corner, which brings with it the annual hell week where the dreaded tax deadline and your customers’ favorite made-up holiday for some reason fall within five days of each other. Why the gods have seen fit to put these two events in such close proximity is a mystery requiring minds greater than ours to solve, but one thing is certain—and that is that you’ll need to be on top of your game. No doubt, you’ve amply prepared for both, but surprises always happen, so stay limber.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy what we’ve prepared for you within the pages of this, our latest issue. We’ll catch you in April.

  • 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.
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.
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.
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.