For an article in the December, 1979 edition of High Times, late, great counterculture correspondent Glenn O’Brien examined the connections between Santa Claus and a specific kind of psychedelic mushroom known as the fly agaric, aka the toadstool that conquered the universe. In fact, the existence of Santa could be related to a shaman in Lapland who ate Amanita muscaria. Even the government supports the compelling association between Santa and the fly agaric. Was Santa a mushroom eater?

This year, as usual, you’re going to get a lot of reminders on the subject of the Real Meaning of Christmas. And, as usual, these reminders will just be reminders. They will say, “And don’t forget the Real Meaning of Christmas.” They won’t remind you what the Real Meaning is, they’ll just remind you to remember it. They will assume that you know what it is. And you do, don’t you?

The Real Meaning of Christmas goes something like this: Christmas is not just a time for spending vast sums on lavish gifts, eating and drinking heavily and observing a complex of celebration scenarios derived more from the Druids and Vikings than from the apostles. No, it’s not just that. First and foremost Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. For Christians it is the holiest of holy days, marking the birth of a Divine Man. The first Christmas was the day God was made Flesh.

Now that is certainly something to bear in mind as you make your Christmas rounds this year. But don’t let it put a damper on your shenanigans. For unlike most of those who would like to remind you of the Real Meaning of Christmas, we are not suggesting that you have a solemn, meditative or restrained little Xmas. No, not at all. Maybe all of the wild partying and gift giving and the artificially good manners that have sprung up around the day and all of those funky old neopagan trappings like the mistletoe and the Yule log and that old elf Santa are not really so far removed from the most holy Real Meaning of Christmas after all.

High Times wants you to remember to do both things this Christmas—get wild and high and ponder the significance of this highest holiday. There may be more of a connection here than meets the first two eyes. Maybe there’s a Real Meaning of Christmas that’s even more real.

Let’s start with the basic Real Meaning: All of a sudden God is a man. That’s the first Christmas. And a first-class mystery. How did man become God? A tough question. The traditional religious answer is that God became man. But supposing it was the other way around. How did man do it?

That’s a very tough question—especially because there is very little agreement as to how man became man. But maybe the answers to both questions are similar, if not one and the same.

Most docs think that man got to be man by evolution. From apes. Then again the apes are still around. The mystery hasn’t been totally solved by science. Some researchers seek the key to the evolution of intelligence in the DNA molecule, some suggest it drifted here in virus form from other worlds. One evolutionary theory that gets better every day suggests that man became man through his apprehension of God through the ingestion of psychoactive plants—a phenomenon still popularly known as seeing God. And who knows, maybe man got to be God, or vice versa, in a similar fashion.

The first Christmas was two millennia ago, give or take a bit. Stories can change a lot in a week. So our search for the secret, inside story of the Real Meaning of Christmas won’t be easy. We’ll have to look at the facts. We’ll even have to keep thinking, What’s a fact? Above all, we’ll have to keep our inspiration level high and hope for a perfect coincidence of the scientific method and shamanism or pharmacological Gnosticism. So keep your eye on the interstice at all times. If this works, it might disappear.

The Secret Funk Gospels

To rehash, the basic premise: If a man takes drugs, he may see God. If an ape takes drugs, may he see man?

The case for psychoactive plants as prime catalysts in the evolution of human consciousness (“creation”) has advanced remarkably over the last 30 years, and what not long ago was lunatic-fringe thinking in academia is now a heavyweight contender of a theory. Its first great proponent was R. Gordon Wasson, who rediscovered in the ’50s the Mexican psilocybe-mushroom culture. He later published a landmark of scholarship called Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971), in which he sought to prove that another psychoactive mushroom, the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), was the lost drug of the gods mentioned in the Vedic scriptures.

Another significant contribution to the idea was made by Andrija Puharich, whose Sacred Mushroom: Key to the Door of Eternity (Doubleday, 1959) made an impressive case for a similar usage of the fly agaric in ancient Egypt—although Puharich, unlike Wasson, did not limit himself to traditional research methods, and most of his data came through a medium.

Although the questions raised by Wasson and Puharich may have been hot questions in certain academic circles, they didn’t bring about a full-scale furor, nor did they instantly revolutionize modem thought. But in 1970 John M. Allegro, a distinguished philologist and the world’s foremost authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls, exquisitely blew the finely tuned minds of his academic colleagues—philologists and theologians alike—with the publication of The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (Doubleday).

R. Gordon Wasson, in Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality, had already presented a distinguished scientific case for the fly agaric’s being Soma, the God-Plant of the Rig-Veda. And the research of Wasson and others had already established the widespread role of mushrooms in other shamanistic religions. But Allegro’s serious, scholarly case for Christianity’s being the decadent and totally misunderstood remnant of a tremendously powerful magical fertility cult that used a mushroom called Christ-Crucified was quite simply too much for almost everybody. It was bad enough that Allegro smoothly traced the origin of Yahweh to “juice of fecundity,” but to interpret the life of Jesus Christ as an allegory concealing a drug cult was simply preposterous. But, as Jesus said, “the last shall be first.” Right? Maybe that’s true for theories, too.

Anyway, even if it’s preposterous, it’s great Christmas reading and it certainly sheds a whole new light on the whole Christmas story. Allegro’s key to the Gospels is built into the fact that Semitic writing before and after the Gospel writers is uniquely rooted in puns as conveyors of multiple levels of information.

Jesus and his followers are not walking mushrooms but priests who used the various divine plants to heal, anointing the sick with them and casting out demons or various illnesses in their names.

According to Allegro, the sacred mushroom is the manna that fell from heaven and fed the Israelites in the desert. It is also the sacrament, the body and blood of Christ, that Jesus fed his apostles. It is the unleavened bread.

The body of Christ was born in a stable—traditional birthplace of mushrooms. At night. Of a virgin. The virgin birth is of particular interest since it explains the peculiar form of reproduction in fungi.

And no less an authority than Pliny is quoted as characterizing the Magi as “the great drug peddlers of the ancient world.” (Their gifts to Jesus were medicines and drugs.)

Whether or not there was a historical Jesus remotely resembling the object of Christianity is besides the point this Christmas, as the stars glide by Bethlehem.

You can’t write everything down. You have to use your imagination. Keep your eyes on the crèche.

According to Allegro, the real Christians wrote the Gospels when their cult was imperiled by Roman repression of the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66. He wrote:

“Instigated probably by members of the cult, swayed by their drug-induced madness to believe God had called them to master the world in his name, they provoked the mighty power of Rome to swift and terrible action….The secrets, if they were not to be lost forever, had to be committed to writing, and yet, if found, the documents must give nothing away or betray those who still dared defy the Roman authorities and continue the religious practices.”

The Gospels were the secret handbooks of the cult, and Allegro describes their intent:

“To tell the story of a rabbi called Jesus, and invest him with the power and the names of the magic drug. To have him live before the terrible events that disrupted their lives, to preach a love between men, extending even to hated Romans. Thus, reading such a tale, should it fall into Roman hands, even their mortal enemies might be deceived and not probe farther into the activities of the cells of the mystery cults within their territories.”

Of course this literary plot failed miserably and the cultists were persecuted like nobody else in history. Until the secret had to be covered, until the whole thing was forgotten. Almost. The greatest cover-up in history. And the cover organization, the copy of the original cult, became the greatest religion in the history of the world and invented Christmas, the greatest religious holiday in history.

Sound farfetched? Of course it is. And so are you. Look at all the things you did this year. All the stupid, selfish, dumb things. Jesus, of course, will forgive you. But what about Santa?

The Santa Connection

When it comes to Christmas, Santa is the one cat who can give Jesus a run for his money. Christmas might be intended to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but for the kids it’s mainly the arrival of Santa.

Now who is this Santa Claus character, and what does he want?

Actually, Santa Claus, like most success stories of today, is a conglomerate personality. He is, of course, Saint Nick, the patron saint of Greek sailors. But his real popularity began in Holland, where, known as Santa Klaas, he was associated with Christmas because of his alleged generosity, and thereby inspired the custom of gift giving. But obviously the Santa of today bears virtually no resemblance to Saint Nicholas (bishop of Myra, persecuted by Diocletian), who remains one of the more obscure martyrs on the heavenly roster. But even the Saint Nicholas of today, the patron saint of Russia, bears little resemblance to the “jolly old elf” who runs Christmas.

Most of Santa Claus’s characteristics, in fact, seem to be derived from Thor, the thundering hearth god of ancient blonds, who also celebrates his birthday on December 25th. Santa Claus is a sort of Thor emeritus, who held the old pagan rituals together in Europe under Christianity. He rides through the sky on a sleigh drawn by flying reindeer. And, of course, he can levitate, after placing a finger to the side of his nose.

Santa’s workshop is located at the North Pole. And what would he be without his red and white Santa suit? And for that matter, where would the Salvation Army be?

The truth of the matter is that the Santa suit depicts the Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) mushroom mentioned earlier. For one thing, his suit looks more like this mushroom than it does the suit of any other person, actual or fictional. If that isn’t enough, consider that Santa is the world’s largest employer of “little people.” It is well known that elves, gnomes, leprechauns and other diminutive types are often seen in the vicinity of these mushrooms, in the field and in children’s literature and interior design. And if that isn’t enough, what about the flying reindeer?

Well, anybody who knows anything at all about reindeer knows that there are two things in the world that reindeer crave: human urine and mushrooms, particularly the fly agaric mushrooms of the sort resembling Santa’s suit. It would seem that reindeer like to get off on amanitas as much as their Mongol owners do. No sane reindeer owner would consider whipping it out in front of one reindeer, much less ten, because the urine of the amanita user has the same potency as the mushroom.

Anyhow, this constellation of amanita clues could be laid to coincidence if it were not for the flying and the levitation, both symptoms of amanita eating in reindeers and humans.

It is also likely that Rudolph’s red nose comes from amanita consumption. And his ability to guide Santa’s sleigh through the densest fog in Christmas history is perhaps not from the actual illumination of his nose but from a sort of psychic radar. This same ability is perhaps what enables Santa to know when you are sleeping, to know when you’re awake, and to know when you’ve been bad or good.

And let’s not forget that you never see Santa without his cap.

As for living at the North Pole: Santa denies any connection with Hollow Earthers, Theosophists, the Nazi Party and UFOs. His only human contacts are a few neighboring Eskimo who trade in amanita and reindeer. Every once in a while they all get high and eat golden snow cones.

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In the “Opinion” section of the December, 1978 edition of High Times, famed writer Truman Capote (1924 – 1984) chats with art-world legend Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) about what they want for Christmas.

Merry Christmas…

AW: So do you know what you want for Xmas?

TC: Well, first of all, I don’t want anything for myself at Xmas, I think that’s very selfish and what not. I know what I want for other people.

• For Jackie Kennedy I want a sex-change operation. The reason is that since the American people must have a Kennedy, I’d rather have a Jackie than a Teddy.
• I want for Timothy Leary justice at last, a ten-year full professorship at Harvard.
• For Richard Avedon, I hope his portrait of Kate Graham finally makes the cover of Newsweek. You know, they took a picture of him for the cover of Newsweek and then discarded it because I don’t know…the Pope died or something.
• For Gore Vidal, because of his great politics, I wish him an ambassadorship to Paraguay…and hope he stays there forever.
• For Larry Flynt, the newborn Christian, I want him to be made first ambassador to the Vatican.
• For Norman Mailer, I want a five-million-dollar contract to rewrite the old Tenth Amendment.
• For Mick Jagger, in his old age, the directorship of the Metropolitan Opera.
• For Andy Warhol, at all times, the directorship of the Metropolitan Museum and all its branches.
• For Anita Bryant, I want her to be appointed editor of the Advocate.
• For Steve Rubell [owner of Studio 54], I want him to be appointed ambassador to the court of St. James.
• For Muhammad Ali, I want him to be our first black president.
• For Ralph Nader, a wife at last, none other than little Anne Ford.

Joy to the World…

AW: Is high society really high?

TC: I wouldn’t know, I never met anyone from high society. I think high society is a complete myth, made up from the movies. When Joan Crawford died, so did high society.

Amen…

AW. Do you think everything in the world should be legal?

TC: Yes, I do, except murder.

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The election and holiday season is upon us. So it’s time to settle the toughest questions. Which is better? Smoking weed before a meal, or after? Let’s put this to rest once and for all. The eternal question When it comes to pairing weed with food, timing can be everything. So, what’s your move? Are […]

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14 expert picks from across the US and Canada.

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Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) released a press release Wednesday, reminding residents that alcohol sales will be banned on Christmas and New Year’s Day, but cannabis and gambling is allowed.

Connecticut officials told residents to buy alcohol ahead of time if they want booze on Christamas and New Year’s Day.

“Every year we remind consumers and businesses that, due to Connecticut law, hours for some liquor permittees change during the holidays. If you choose to consume alcohol with your holiday celebrations, be sure to make those purchases ahead of time, and, of course, please drink responsibly,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli. 

“And, because we regulate many things you may be wondering about, Connecticut Law does not prohibit the sale of cannabis, or limit your ability to place wagers during the holidays. No matter how you choose to spend the holidays, please know your limit, arrange designated drivers and be respectful of the establishments and communities where you celebrate.”

Changes to hours for certain liquor permittees are only in effect on the day of the actual holidays, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, which both fall on a Monday this year.

The announcement included the specifics of where alcohol can be purchased:

Regarding off-premise alcohol consumption, package stores must remain closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day; Grocery stores cannot sell beer on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day; and Manufacturer permits cannot sell alcoholic liquor to go on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

Regarding on-premise alcohol consumption, Permittees who serve food may sell alcohol for on-premise consumption on Christmas Day; Normal hours remain the same, except premises may stay open an extra hour New Years Eve evening until 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day morning.

If anyone has questions about the policy in Connecticut they are encouraged to contact DCP’s Liquor Control Division via email or phone.

“Adults who choose to consume cannabis are reminded to do so responsibly, including storing cannabis products in their original packaging, locked up and out of reach of children and pets,” the release reads. “Resources regarding responsible cannabis use, as well as information about addiction and health risks is available at ct.gov/cannabis.”

Cannabis sales in the state have no signs of slowing down, according to state data published each month.

Connecticut Doubles Personal Cannabis Limit 

The DCP announced in an Oct. 10 press release that new preliminary data shows combined sales for adult-use and medical cannabis totaled to over $25 million for the period from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, 2023. The numbers do not include adult-use cannabis taxes, and medical cannabis patients never have to pay taxes on cannabis purchases.

“The adult-use market recorded more than $14.3 million in sales during the month of September, while the medical marijuana market recorded almost $11 million in sales for the same period. Adult-use sales began on Jan. 10, 2023,” the report reads.

“In September, medical marijuana patients purchased 284,116 products, and adult-use consumers purchased 376,035 products,” the report continues. “The average product price for medical marijuana patients was $38.21 in September, while the average price of adult-use products was $38.37. In September, 52 percent of sales were usable cannabis, or flower, while vapes made up 30 percent of sales. Edible products represented 11 percent of sales.”

Connecticut regulators have doubled the amount of adult-use cannabis consumers can purchase in a single transaction.

Per the new regulations approved by the Connecticut DCP, adult-use cannabis consumers will be permitted to purchase up to a half-ounce (about 14 grams) of cannabis flower or its equivalent beginning next month. 

The limit on purchases of medical marijuana has not been changed. It remains at 5 ounces of cannabis flower or the equivalent monthly, with no limits on purchases in a single transaction.

The DCP noted in a statement that the decision to increase the limit on adult-use cannabis purchases was made based on an ongoing analysis of supply and demand in Connecticut’s regulated cannabis market. The agency also said that the limit will continue to be reviewed over time, adding that the caps are in place to help ensure an adequate supply of cannabis for both adult-use consumers and medical marijuana patients.

“DCP has continually reviewed available supply and demand since prior to the launch of the adult-use cannabis industry in January 2023,” DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement from the agency. “As more retailers, production companies and other supply chain licensees have come online, the capacity of the industry has increased. We are confident this measured approach to adult-use sales has resulted in a healthy market for businesses, and a safe and fair marketplace for adult-use cannabis consumers and medical marijuana patients.”

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The best books for the connoisseur and canna-curious in your life.

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With new Zkittlez, Blue Face, Raw Garden gummies and more.

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Santa Claus is coming to town—this year, loaded up with cannabis deliveries available at locations in Southern California. Give the gift almost everyone wants this holiday season: weed.

For the time period beginning December 19 and running through Christmas Eve on December 24, Emjay will send a cannabis delivery courier dressed as Santa Claus to deliver orders throughout Los Angeles and San Diego. It’s one of the most creative holiday sales gimmicks we’ve seen in a long time within the cannabis retail space.

In the spirit of the Christmas season, Emjay is trying a different marketing approach this year, giving the company and its leadership a chance to be extra festive.

“We’re always looking for ways to use the Emjay platform to uplift people’s cannabis experience, and so we’re happy to have Santa dressed couriers delivering orders to our customers this holiday season,” said Chris Vaughn, CEO of Emjay. “Having Santa couriers is an exciting and festive addition to our offering and for delighting our customers this time of the year.”

Emjay encourages customers who receive a Santa delivery to take a picture of them and tag Emjay’s Instagram account via Stories (which has been targeted by Instagram Community Guidelines by Meta).  If you do so, Emjay will then DM you for a gift for your next purchase.

In addition to the possibility of receiving a Santa courier, Emjay is also offering curated holiday Kushmas Bundles with $144 or more worth of product on sale for $80, discounts on select products, along with food and toy drives, giveaways, and customer appreciation days at their brick-and-mortar stores in Los Angeles and San Diego.

Kushmas Bundles are available in several options with reindeer names: Rudolph, Comet, Blitzen, Dasher, Donner, Prancer, etc., each coming with a mix of flower, edibles, and other cannabis products. They feature high-end cannabis products from brands such as Lowell Farms, Kurvana, and so on.

Emjay launched in 2019, growing to become one of the leading California-based cannabis delivery and retail platforms. Emjay also opened retail locations in Los Angeles and La Mesa, California. One of the company’s main selling points is to provide prices comparable to prices you’d see at the counter at a dispensary.  

“… Whatever you choose will be brought by one of the most professional couriers in the industry,” the company states on its website. “For us, the entire experience matters—from how you view our curated list of products to how they end up in your living room.All of the weed. None of the markup. A better experience. Because we’re Emjay, and we’re the best cannabis delivery service in the world.”

Santa Claus Roots

Holiday marketing gimmicks are nothing new, especially in the cannabis industry. High Times Magazine has explored the topic in detail—usually when someone dressed as Santa gets into trouble. In North Pole, Alaska, voters in 2015 rejected a measure that would have banned dispensaries in the town.

There may even be a psychedelic connection between the Santa Claus origin story and psychedelics. In the December, 1979 issue of High Times Magazine, the late counterculture correspondent for the publication Glenn O’Brien examined the connections between Santa Claus and a specific kind of psychedelic mushroom: fly agaric, aka the toadstool that conquered the universe. In fact, O’Brien argues, the mere existence of Santa could be related to a shaman in Lapland who ate Amanita muscaria. 

For more cannabis holiday gift ideas, check out The Ultimate High Times Holiday Gift Guide 2022.

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New Frontier Data compared cannabis sales data for the month of November in 2021 and 2022, which shows a shift in sales patterns. While Green Wednesday was the third-highest grossing sales in 2021, sales collected in 2022 on Friday, Nov. 4; Friday, Nov. 11; and Sunday, Nov. 18 were nearly equivalent as Nov. 23 (this year’s Green Wednesday) and Nov. 25 (Black Friday). New Frontier Data consulted many of its leading experts to analyze the reasoning behind this change.

According to New Frontier Data Senior Research Analyst Noah Tomares, the Michigan cannabis industry is evolving rapidly compared to mature markets such as California. “Perhaps the most notable difference in November was how Michigan’s product breakdown stayed similar throughout the month, where in 2021 they favored more edibles and cartridges right before the holiday,” said Tomares. “It’s striking how much more stable Michigan is in 2022 versus what it was ’21, and how much more it looks like California.”

Tomares also added that we’re beginning to see a shift in purchasing behavior as well. “In California, a relatively mature market, purchases remained largely consistent in terms of product breakdowns year-over-year. Michigan consumers last year gravitated towards more subtle or ‘family-friendly’ products such as cartridges and edibles: In 2021, those products spiked from 37% of transactions during the first week of November to 43% for the week of Thanksgiving. This year, the month looked much more normalized, with cartridges and edibles accounting for approximately 40%+ of sales during each week in November.”

New Frontier Data’s Chief Knowledge Officer, Dr. Amanda Reiman, suggests that cannabis normalization is likely the reason that sales aren’t highest on previously predictable days. “I think it’s normalization and increased access nationwide that is driving the change in holiday purchasing,” said Reiman. “Not only are people just more comfortable using their regular products in more places and with more people, but cannabis is available in more states, so there is not as much need to stock up before you go if you can get it wherever you’re headed. Many folks would likely rather wait and buy cannabis at their destination than to take it on a plane.”

Consumers spending time with family and friends on or around the Thanksgiving holiday is also a point to consider. New Frontier Data shared that 44% of consumers source their cannabis from friends or family, and 29% say that it’s their primary source of access. In some medical-only states, as well as those that still don’t have any cannabis legislation, family is the primary source of cannabis.

Previous data has shown that 68% of people consume with others, 21% consume with siblings, 19% with extended family members, 11% with parents, and 6% with their children. Additionally, 85% of consumers say that their family knows about their cannabis use, and 59% say that their family is supportive of consumption.

Thanksgiving-related consumption is also a common practice, where 40% spend time with family or spouses while consuming, 38% report pairing cannabis and eating, and 33% cook with cannabis.

Overall, Tomares believes that these activities will continue to become more normalized over the next few years. “We expect that as markets continue to mature and new markets come online, consumer preferences will become increasingly normalized, and acquisition of cannabis will become increasingly integrated into consumers’ daily routines,” Tomares said. “Already, 48% of consumers report just visiting a dispensary after they run out, as opposed to planning a dedicated trip. With new markets opening with lower barriers to acquisition, consumers may feel less pressure to purchase cannabis before travel or social events. As this plays out, we may see some unofficial holidays playing a less significant role in consumers’ purchase decisions.”

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Seasonal slogans like “holiday spirit” and “the season of giving” are an annual reminder to give back to those in need. Here are just a few great examples of how cannabis businesses continue to give back.

Ayr Wellness, which has dispensaries operating in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, announced on Dec. 5 that it would be starting its “12 Days of Giving” campaign. While every purchase at its dispensaries will collect $1.12 per transaction to two of its partner organizations, Freedom Grow and Minorities for Medical Marijuana Project Clean Slate Initiative. Overall, Ayr Wellness aims to reach a goal of collecting more than $100,000, which will go toward supporting cannabis prisoners and their families, as well as various advocacy efforts and expungement programs. “Ayr’s ‘12 Days of Giving’ initiative aims to reinforce our commitment to being a Force for Good by activating twelve days of charitable giving across our retail footprint,” said Ayr president David Goubert. “This marks Ayr’s second year of the program, which is poised to directly benefit the families of those who have been incarcerated for cannabis offenses.”

Florida-based AFC Foundation, which offers financing in the cannabis industry, recently made a donation to Georgia-based Corners Outreach organization. In the past, AFC Foundation has also contributed donations to groups like Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, Yo Soy Ella, and The Weldon Project. According to AFC Foundation president and co-founder Robyn Tannenbaum, it’s essential for the company to give back. “The evolution of the cannabis industry is heavily reliant on the health of the communities in which the businesses operate. As a result, it is imperative that we work to improve these communities and invest in their future endeavors,” said Tannenbaum. “We are proud to continue our efforts to enact social change. More importantly, we are excited to support an organization like Corners Outreach that works to improve education and career opportunities for families.”

In November, Michigan-based Puff Cannabis gave out more than 1,700 turkeys prior to Thanksgiving. Now, the brand announced its “Jackets for Joints” event. Running between Dec. 5-18, the campaign is asking for coats and jackets that fit kids between the ages of three to 12. In exchange, Puff is giving out one jar of pre-rolls. Puff president Justin Elias expressed the need for kids in Michigan. “I recognize that due to the times we live in, many children throughout the state of Michigan need warm jackets and coats and our ‘Jackets for Joints’ program will come to the aid of many of those little ones,” Elias said. “I hope we can collect and give away thousands of warm jackets and coats this winter in order to keep our children warm.”

40 Tons, which is an organization dedicated to assisting people affected by cannabis convictions, as well as their families. This past weekend, the organization held a Canna Christmas event that invited attendees to donate to a Christmas wish list created by people who have a loved one currently incarcerated for cannabis. Although the event has already passed, 40 Tons is a worthwhile organization to donate to this holiday as it continues to help others.

A medical dispensary in West Virginia called Cannabist recently donated $6,473.65 to its local American Legion Post 159 last week. Cannabist has four locations in the state, and took a portion of funds from weekly sales that will go on to fund scholarship opportunities for local high schools, provide funds for state capitol trips, and more.

We’re seeing tons of cannabis businesses giving back, but non-cannabis businesses are also pitching in to help patients with access to medical cannabis, too. According to Lanakshire Live, a Scottish news outlet, local businesses are stepping up to help Cole Thompson, a young boy who suffers from cortical dysplasia and uses Bedrolite cannabis oil to treat his condition. Like many other children throughout Europe, access to medical cannabis medicine is an expensive strain on their families. 

A campaign called “Cole’s Christmas Wish” is currently underway, asking for donations to help fund his family’s access to the medicine. “An amazing 15 businesses have signed up already, but for it to work we really need to get the full 36 businesses signed up, hopefully by Christmas, which would give Cole the money for his medicine for the year,” said Cole’s mom, Lisa Quarrell. “We are still looking for 21 businesses who are willing to get on board by donating a one-off payment of £500 to keep Cole seizure-free and safe.”

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