Musician, singer, actor, comedian, and beatbox extraordinaire, Reggie Watts has layers like an onion. If onions ate edibles, that is.

Born in Germany and raised in Montana, Watts’s love affair with cannabis started with the finest schwag a teenager’s money could buy. Thankfully, that crispy weed didn’t hinder him as he stayed on a path that led him to learning all of the benefits the cannabis plant has to offer. 

Somehow he always gives the audience exactly what they want—not even Watts knows what he’s planning, from a TED Talk and comedy specials to his tones and beats on Comedy Bang! Bang!. His gift comes naturally and what a gift it is.

Edibles have also been a gift to him, not just to reduce stress and anxiety, but as a muse as well. He even takes his love for cannabis steps further, advocating far and wide in loopy improvised musical odes to 4/20 on The Late Late Show with James Corden where he serves as the leader of the show’s band, called Melissa.

We talked to Watts about practicing proper dosage, vibes over terps, and an “edible game” he plays when alone with himself. (Get your minds out of the gutter.)

High Times: What was the weed like growing up in Montana?

Reggie Watts: Oh man, I mean, it was very schwaggy. It was very brown with seeds in it, but we would get really fucked up! I don’t remember its efficiency, I didn’t know anything about that then, but we were high. I guess it came from Mexico? That’s what everyone always said, “It came from Mexico.” Who even knows if it was true.

Do you remember where you got it back then?

I like that question because it’s like you’re trying to score some.

Yeah so, where’d you get that dirt weed from? Can I get that number like, pssst… Reggie sent me?

So yeah, is there an email I get? A number I can hit up? I need some schwag! You know, I don’t know where we got it from back then. It was always my friend that procured it, and I had no idea where he got it. Ok actually, there was one time when I knew where we got it. I had broken into a small pickup truck and behind the seat, there was a huge brown paper bag full of weed. We ended up selling that in the summer, but we kept a bunch too. So that’s where we got some of our weed, but the rest of it my friend Beav got that was probably just from some guy. Maybe he got it from Mexico.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve MacGyvered to smoke pot out of? 

Wow, what would that have been? Oh, you know what? This one was a pretty good one. I had this wood coffee table that I got from a thrift store when I was furnishing my first place in Seattle. My friend was a woodworker so, we decided to make one of the corners of the table into a pipe. So, we carved out a bowl and then drilled a hole in the corner so you had to just like, get down on your knees, put some weed on top of the table in the bowl, and draw from the corner of the table. You know what? It worked!

That’s the most random thing I’ve ever heard. Now that you’re a vet in the game, do you have a favorite strain?

My favorite stuff comes from my friend Dave. He’s in a band and grows the most amazing weed. It’s incredible because it’s grown biodynamically and it just has this really chill, fun, and awesome feeling to it. That’s my favorite. I’m not really a connoisseur when it comes to strains and things like that because for me it’s like, is it weed? Ok, lemme get high off of it.  I’m not really like, well the terpenes are like… yeah, I have no idea.

“What gets me high? What’s a good vibe? For me it’s about the vibe. When someone is like, this is great for being creative… yeah good, let’s get high. That is all I need and I’m happy.”

– Reggie Watts

That’s so funny because every weed store is like, this is great because of the percent of terps and I’m like, “Let me stop you. I’ll take a sativa. Preferably something fruity.”

Yeah! What gets me high? What’s a good vibe? For me it’s about the vibe. When someone is like, this is great for being creative… yeah good, let’s get high. That is all I need and I’m happy. I also try to stick to edibles because smoking does kind of fuck with my throat.

Ahhh yes. I recall a space cake story you told on A Little Late with Lilly Singh. Have you given space cakes another go or was that it for you?

Of course! I’m not one of those people who give up or have a crazy experience like, “oh I’m never going to do that on stage again.” Of course I’m going to do that on stage again. The one thing I dislike is that every single person I run into when I offer them an edible is like, “I don’t know mannnn, I just can’t, it makes me all urghhhh.” I just feel like, you have to keep trying. You have to practice, know your amounts, and pick a brand that is consistent. People just give up so easily and weed has so many benefits. Don’t pass on it!
 

I hate to be part of the problem, but I once ate 25 mg, couldn’t move for 12 hours, and I had shit to do.

I don’t think anyone is a pussy for not taking them. And if you took too much, you took too much. I can’t just be like, “SUCK IT UP!” There are tricks you can do to calm yourself down and get through it, but it’s not really about that. It’s about how that was too much, so next time, you’ll do 4 mg or 2.5 mg. People get afraid of edibles and they’re so scienced out now and have all different kinds of doses from low to high. And their levels are insanely accurate, which makes them awesome products. I think edibles have a big advantage and I think they’re very helpful.

OK you win! I’ll give them another go. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re all high and such?

All stizzy? That wasn’t sponsored. I enjoy the classics like video games and watching a really amazing show of any kind, mainly science fiction. Those things I really love. Something else I really love is, I just recently got ahold of some Level pills that are 100 mg each. I’ll take a high dose, like 100 mg, and then just try to complete technical tasks. Firmware updates or organizing a drawer or something like that. I love stuff like that because it’s basically me trying to batten down the hatches on a ship that’s in the middle of a hurricane, you know?

It’s a mental exercise or a creative challenge. Can I maintain my composure? A lot of people don’t know I’m high on an edible, or on anything. I have some weird ability to tap into normalcy and I can get into a pragmatic mindset. I just kind of do it as a practice because you know, when shit goes down, I don’t wanna be freaking out! I want to go into problem solving rather than being all, “AHHHHH!!!!”

I think you need to sell portions of your brain to other people. We all need a little Watts brain, please.

Yeah, I should do that. I need to create a method. The Watts method!

instagram.com/reggiewatts

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Whether trying to connect with other 420-friendly humans or trying to sound less like a narc, our slang dictionary will keep you up-to-date.

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Weed lovers rejoice! We’ve made a list of DIY upcycled gift ideas you can make easily at home, without breaking the bank.

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CNN announced on November 22 that it would be airing the sixth installment of its cannabis series, WEED 6: Cannabis and Autism, which explores the benefits between medical cannabis and symptoms of patients with autism in its debut this weekend. 

Featuring CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, this segment follows the traditional format of the previous WEED series to introduce viewers to firsthand experiences with medical cannabis benefits. “Autism, ASD for Autism Spectrum Disorder, is by definition a wide array of behaviors. Whether mild or severe, two core symptoms are social communication challenges and restrictive or repetitive behaviors,” CNN states in a press release. “In WEED 6: Cannabis and Autism, viewers will meet researchers, doctors, and families, some of whom are coming out publicly for the first time, and will see in real-time how life-changing the plant can be for them.”

The first WEED documentary released in 2013, and opened up an entirely new discussion on the stigma of weed. The honest headline of Gupta’s 2013 CNN article “Why I changed my mind on weed” directly opposed his 2009 TIME article “Why I would vote No on Pot.” 

In his 2013 article, Gupta apologizes for letting the cannabis stigma prevent him from seeing the plant’s true potential. “Well, I am here to apologize,” he wrote. “I apologize because I didn’t look hard enough, until now. I didn’t look far enough. I didn’t review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.”

In WEED, he brought the spotlight to Charlotte Figi, a young Colorado girl suffering from Dravet syndrome, who found relief with medical cannabis. She sadly passed away in 2020, but her example has inspired many other parents to seek out medical cannabis for their children.

It’s been eight years since that original documentary released, and Gupta has produced a total of six documentaries with a unique perspective on cannabis. In WEED 2: Cannabis Madness (2014) he dove into the complexities of politics when it comes to medical cannabis. WEED 3: The Marijuana Revolution (2015) continued to review the benefits of medical cannabis. WEED 4: Pot vs. Pills (2018) tackled the devastating effects of the opioid crisis, and how medical cannabis can help. Finally WEED 5: The CBD Craze (2019) explored the boom of CBD and the dangers of an unregulated market.

Since 2013, Gupta has been a strong proponent of medical cannabis, but his involvement isn’t limited to the WEED series. Most recently on October 13, 2021, he appeared on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience where he discussed his stance change on cannabis, and how he publicly came out stating that he was wrong about medical cannabis.

Gupta also provided insight about the problem with many medical studies now being conducted on cannabis. “If you’re just looking at papers—well, this one potential long harm, this one possible addiction, this one gateway—you know, you’re seeing all those individual studies, but at a broader level, one step upstream, you realize that most of the studies that are getting funded are designed to look for harm,” Gupta told Rogan. “When I saw that, that was the first time I thought, ‘well, why are the studies that are getting out there, why are they all designed to look for harm?” he said. “Then I started looking at other countries, and some really good research out of places like Israel in particular.”

WEED 6: Cannabis and Autism will debut on November 28 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN live, and can also be watched on the channel’s live streaming service, CNNgo.

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Cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts will no longer be permitted to offer curbside pickup of recreational marijuana purchases to their customers after state regulators allowed an emergency rule permitting the practice to expire. 

At a meeting of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on September 17, regulators voted to extend some emergency regulations put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, including a rule that allows medical marijuana patients to receive recommendations from their physician via a telemedicine appointment. The commission also voted to continue curbside cannabis purchase pickups for medical marijuana patients but declined to extend a similar authorization for adult-use cannabis customers.

Decision Ends Pandemic-Era Rule

Cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts were barred from making sales of recreational marijuana for two months under an executive order issued in March 2020 by Governor Charlie Baker that directed nonessential businesses to close to help stem the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

Medical marijuana dispensaries were deemed essential businesses, however, and allowed to remain open with special safety precautions including social distancing and curbside pickup put in place. Shops supplying both medical marijuana and recreational cannabis were directed to serve registered patients only. Sales of recreational marijuana resumed the following May with similar restrictions in place, including social distancing and curbside pickup for most transactions.

“The Cannabis Control Commission, with the cooperation of licensees, municipalities, and most importantly, registered qualifying patients, has demonstrated that we are effectively able to preserve public health and safety through curbside operations and other emergency protocols,” CCC executive director Shawn Collins said at the time. “I am confident that our adult-use licensees and their customers will adapt just the same when they reopen under similar protocols next week.”

Leave the Kids at Home

Only a week after curbside pickup of adult-use cannabis began, however, the commission clarified that customers picking up recreational marijuana orders could not have children with them in the car. At a June 2020 CCC meeting, commissioner Britte McBride said that state law forbids people younger than 21 from being on the premises of cannabis retailers and argued that vehicles used for pickup transactions are included in the restriction.

“It states really explicitly in the statute what our obligation is,” McBride said. “For me, that’s the beginning and the end.”

Commissioner Jen Flanagan also opposed allowing children in vehicles making pickups at cannabis dispensaries and said that recreational marijuana is not an essential service.

“While I understand that parents may be having difficulty accessing this product, given the circumstances that we’re currently in… I don’t believe that anyone under 21 should be in the car,” Flanagan said. “I’m sorry, this is not something that is absolutely necessary. This is not food… we’re talking about a choice a parent is making.”

Emergency Rules Expired this Month

The emergency regulations for cannabis dispensaries were based on a state of emergency declared by Baker’s 2020 executive order. When the governor rescinded the state of emergency declaration in May of this year, the CCC voted to extend the authorizations for curbside pickups and telemedicine appointments until September 1, a deadline that passed without action from the commission until the meeting on September 17.

Members of the commission noted that as the COVID-19 pandemic continues with the Delta variant raging across the country, it may still be unsafe for some medical marijuana patients to pick up their purchases in person.

“Patients may not be comfortable just yet entering a dispensary,” Collins said at this month’s meeting.

Although he acknowledged that adult-use cannabis customers may also still be wary about making in-store purchases, Collins noted that lawmakers passed legislation authorizing home delivery of recreational marijuana late last year. 

In June, the CCC began accepting applications for home delivery of recreational marijuana under a program that prioritizes social equity applicants who want to enter the regulated cannabis industry. While delivery is not yet available in all areas of Massachusetts, Collins said that new delivery operators are being approved every month.

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“This is an extinction event,” Johnny Casali, owner of Huckleberry Hill Farms, a cannabis farm in southern Humboldt County, said over the phone. “Things are really, really bad.”

Casali is referring to a recent wholesale price collapse in California’s outdoor-grown cannabis market. 

This time last year, a pound of the best quality sun-grown, light dep weed on the market cost between $1,200 to 1,600, according to Chris Anderson, founder of Humboldt County-based distributor Redwood Roots and a former cannabis farmer himself. Wider wholesale prices settled between $800 to 1,000 per pound.

Now, the same quality cannabis is fetching as low as $400 to 600 a pound and “going downhill,” though some outdoor growers are still getting in the $800-1,000 range, Anderson explained. That is for the best outdoor pot money can buy, “fresh, sun-grown, light dep,” which he said is genuinely limited and harder to find. 

For contrast, Anderson says that indoor-grown “shitty, low end” flower is fetching around $1,000/pound, up to $3,000/pound for the best “designer, truly AAA, best indoor pot in the industry.” He added that lower quality pot, whether indoor or outdoor grown, exists in nearly “endless” quantities.

Data firms like Leaflink have not yet registered a price drop. A representative for Leaflink said it’s too soon to see definitive or robust data for this summer’s outdoor price drops.

That’s just in the legal market. Elsewhere in the country, pounds of the same pot trades at higher multiples in the illegal market, in some cases reaching upwards of $5,000. Supply and demand still rule the day, Anderson said, followed by quality. Indoor pot always fetches higher prices and outdoor lower, owing to outdoor weed’s relative lack of potency compared with top-shelf indoor, as well as its potentially variable appearance.

The decline in pricing, which began at the beginning of June, is expected to get worse as the cannabis harvest season proliferates and finishes in late October and November.

Following that, a remaining glut of outdoor-grown cannabis from last year’s and this year’s harvests is expected to keep prices low for “at least the next couple of years,” said Anderson. By that point, industry insiders say, many small farmers could be all but wiped off the legal cannabis cultivation map.

The immediate cause is a lingering market surplus from last year’s grow—a supply that has proved to be too large to be absorbed by the legal market.

In years past, since outdoor cannabis is not harvested during the winter, an autumn harvest will supply the market for several months. Come spring, supply is lower, therefore, prices are typically higher. Late spring and early summer are when the first rounds of harvest—referred to as “light deps” for the cultivation technique employed (which involves light deprivation)—typically begin. From there, prices begin to drop, usually to more reasonable levels. The harvest continues and the cycle begins anew.

This year, farmers are beginning a new harvest with last year’s cannabis still in hand. The expected spring price drop never came, which signaled to small farmers that something was seriously wrong. 

Fast-forward to now, after the first rounds of deps, and farmers are realizing that not only could they not sell last year’s weed, but they will have to sell this year’s crop at a steep loss if they are able to sell it at all. Off the record, many growers commented that this is the weed that ends up on the illegal market.

“This state has an over-production problem,” said Natalynne DeLapp, executive director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance. She explained that owing to the local control provision of Proposition 64, so many municipalities in California have opted out of allowing sales and distribution within their limits that there simply are not enough places to sell the amount of legal cannabis grown in the state. 

“Currently, there are 1,775 acres of cannabis licensed by the state, which conservatively produces more than six million pounds of cannabis,” Delapp said. “CDFA [California Department of Food and Agriculture] has estimated in its Standard Regulatory Impact Analysis in 2017 that California likely consumes 2.5 million pounds of cannabis. Not all cannabis consumed in California is purchased at legal retailers, so a very conservative estimate is that we’re producing twice what the legal market can consume, but in reality it’s probably worse than that.”

That 2.5 million number, Delapp explained, is the “only and ‘best’ number we have from the state back in 2017.” She added that the state’s opacity and not releasing data from METRC, the tracking system, that shows what amount of cannabis is legally sold in licensed retail shops is part of the problem.

At the same time, the state and its counties continue to issue cultivation licenses, the fees from which produce revenue for municipalities. As the number of growers increases in size, so does the amount of cannabis being produced, but the pool of would-be legal customers isn’t following in lockstep.

Bigger cultivators pose a very specific problem. In addition to flooding the market with large amounts of cannabis, driving down prices, they are also able to sustain market fluctuations, seeing as they are highly capitalized. 

According to industry insiders, like DeLapp and Genine Coleman of legacy grower advocacy organization Origins Council, larger cultivators weren’t supposed to be able to participate in the legal market until 2023, but the provision that granted small farmers a five-year-long head start in the market was scrapped just as Prop 64 was passed.

“It’s basically systemically dysfunctional,” said Coleman. “As for prices, the lowest I heard was $275. But that was a month ago. The thing to remember is that that farmer is paying a $150-per-pound cultivation tax,” she added, citing a harsh truth that applies to every cultivator regardless of what price per pound their weed ends up being sold for.

Coleman also lays out immediate solutions that she and others in California’s small grower community say would provide meaningful relief.

“Between COVID, the fires, that reality [of crashing market prices], and the budget process unfolding, there could be some legislation and a trailer bill. There could be temporary actions taken while time is taken to sort out a broader policy issue,” Coleman said, referring to a potential temporary moratorium on issuing cultivation licenses, as well as amending the cultivation tax, which are two fixes many growers say they would gladly welcome.

“From our perspective, the most immediate thing that can happen is some kind of tax restructuring, that at least offers temporary relief from the cultivation tax. Because the rest of the supply chain is better positioned than small farmers, in particular,” Coleman said. She added that these larger operations are also much more equipped to handle compliance as it relates to state regulations, like the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), from both a manpower perspective and a monetary one.

“The next order of business is, ‘What can be done for market expansion?’ The lateral growth in the retail sector is unacceptable and can’t carry the production trajectory that we have,” Coleman explained. She said that larger-scale operations continue to come online and everyone in the industry is preparing for an eventual interstate market that doesn’t exist yet while at the same time there has been a contraction of customer access.

For Coleman’s part, she is on the board of the Alliance for Sensible Markets, another advocacy organization that has been in conversation with a number of states to evaluate interstate compacts and prospective trade between legalized states. Nothing has been decided on that front as of yet, but she indicated that news was coming soon.

As for the state, Nicole Elliott, director of the Department of Cannabis Control, shared, “The Administration has always been committed to supporting small and legacy businesses in the cannabis market, as evidenced by a number of the policies and programs that have been pursued and implemented in our 2.5 years in office.”

Elliot points to the creation of a standalone state department, the Department of Cannabis Control, which recently consolidated from three separate state agencies to help simplify the administration of regulated commercial cannabis businesses. She says this includes a “sustained focus on streamlining licensing processes and regulatory requirements. All of this is being done with an eye towards making it easier for businesses, particularly small businesses, to operate within the legal, regulated market.”

Elliott added that the state’s budget, which is enjoying a $75.7 billion surplus this year, allocated $100 million for a Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program. 

“These grants specifically target regions with high numbers of small farmers and was structured in a way that really sought to preserve significant funding locations with legacy small cultivators that often have unique regulatory needs,” Elliott said. She also adds that some legacy operators in the Emerald Triangle are also equity beneficiaries who receive funds from a $35.5 million Local Equity Grant Program and $30 million for fee waivers and deferrals.

Both Coleman and DeLapp said they appreciate this cash injection from the Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program but that the money is already earmarked for other projects. Specifically, DeLapp said that in Humboldt County, they are looking to use it to bulk up water storage systems, which addresses the other looming catastrophe of climate change. Across the board, cultivators and their advocates say the state needs to do more. Halting the cultivation tax and enacting a moratorium on new cultivation licenses appears to be at the top of everyone’s lists.

There are other longer-term measures the state and industry advocates have taken, like the recent ratification of Senate Bill 67, which creates appellations of origin for cannabis grown in specific geographic areas. This is expected to increase tourism and provide an extra layer of education and protection around legacy growing areas that believe their cannabis is unique to where it’s grown. In an age where interstate commerce looms, it should be a huge boon—who from further afield is not going to want to buy California weed? But it’s not expected to meaningfully take effect for at least a couple of years.

Meanwhile, back in the Emerald Triangle, farmers are hurting. DeLapp says this is not only a likely “extinction event” for small legacy farmers but that it’s one of several. Back before Prop 64 passed, there were a number of cultivators who jumped ship, claiming they knew the bloodbath to come. Just after legalization was another when small farms struggled to find the capital and manpower to get and stay licensed. This outdoor price collapse is expected to be another.

Jackie McGowan, who is currently running as a candidate in Governor Newsom’s recall election, told us that she’s running specifically because she knew “at least four” grower friends of hers who died by suicide since the beginning of June 2021, owing to the price collapse. Her despair over the lives of her friends and colleagues, as well as the state of the industry, is what has compelled her to run, she said.

Coleman said that, apart from the injustice done to the small farmers who quite literally began and weathered cannabis cultivation in the United States throughout prohibition and into the legal area by allowing them to fail at this critical juncture, there are other potential losses to consider should small farmers be forced out of business.

“Something I’m always aware of regarding the extinction of small legacy farmers and farming communities is the extinction of a whole bunch of genetics,” Coleman said. “From the broader, more international perspective and especially in the medical realm of cannabis research, that’s a lot of loss in terms of the genetic library that should be researched and preserved. For an annual plant, in particular, it happens really quickly,” she added soberly.

At the end of the day, the growers and their advocates lay the blame both on the state’s failure to properly implement rules and regulations for a healthy legal cannabis market, as well as the large cultivators who are taking advantage of a law that was, frankly, made just for them.

“We were supposed to have this runway to 2023 before the market was overfilled. We didn’t get that,” DeLapp said.

She added, “What is the state going to do to fix this? Is the plan going to be to just let the legacy regions die?”

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Denver, Colorado-based dispensary Strawberry Fields and the doobba delivery service announced pot deliveries will be open to the public today, August 23. The companies completed their first six legal pot deliveries on August 19 during a soft launch test round.

Strawberry Fields is Denver’s first dispensary that received a permit for delivery, while doobba was Denver’s first delivery service to receive a license, and several other companies are in the process of nearing operation. 

In order for a dispensary to offer delivery, it is required to either qualify under a social equity designation intended to benefit communities negatively impacted by the War on Drugs, or partner with a social equity delivery company—Doobba, in this case. Strawberry Fields chose the latter route, partnering with Doobba to meet the city’s requirements. 

Per city code, dispensaries cannot operate delivery themselves; instead, they must go through third party transporter businesses. The city has issued four transporter licenses, according to Denver city data.

Doobba’s owners, the husband-and-wife team Ari and Karina Cohen—plan on expanding into more dispensaries in the future. Ari qualified for social equity status because he has previously been arrested for cannabis “lifetimes ago.” The company was close to an agreement to deliver for L’Eagle, according to doobba co-founder Ari, and is in talks with other companies such as Seed & Smith.

“We are thrilled to be able to deliver cannabis to customers in Denver and Aurora,” doobba co-founder and CEO Karina Cohen told High Times. “It’s a first step in helping doobba in ending cannabis prohibition. Customers who live in Denver and Aurora can also sign up for unlimited delivery membership on doobba.com”

Both of the Cohens have a long history of working in the cannabis industry, and together, they are excited to take on these new challenges. 

How Cannabis Delivery Works

Ordering cannabis delivery works in a similar manner to ordering food or alcohol delivered to your door. Think DoorDash for weed. Customers go to the doobba or Strawberry Fields websites, or they can go through one of several online dispensary menu services, such as I Heart Jane, for delivery. They then choose a time frame for the delivery and receive updates via text message about their order’s progress. 

Doobba is currently giving customers a two-hour time frame for deliveries.

Denver allows people ages 21 and older to order cannabis for delivery between the hours of 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Deliveries can cross into other jurisdictions that also allow delivery, such as nearby in Aurora.

Last July, doobba handed in the first application for a license to deliver cannabis. Strawberry Fields will rely on doobba for the time being to carry out deliveries across Denver city proper during the early stages of the rollout.

Currently only five other dispensaries are permitted for delivery in Denver: Cookies, Denver Kush Club, Diego Pellicer, L’Eagle and Star Buds. But Strawberry Fields and dooba are the first to become operational, as none of the others launched delivery services yet. A small number of stores and transporter services are currently awaiting approval from the city.

It appears as though several other companies are positioning to get involved in cannabis delivery as well. “Most people still don’t know this is available,” Cohen told Westword. “Like anything that’s new, normally it would take a year for everyone in Denver to realize they can do this. We’re going to try our darnedest to get to that point within three months.” Delivery sales are poised to become a convenient way to order cannabis in the area.

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Cannabis reform may be progressing in America, but access on social media remains an uncertain landscape. While brands have thrived, reaching millions of followers and verified status, many others have been cut short, suspended and deleted along the way.

Even those succeeding appear only to have a glimmer of an idea about what’s right and wrong when marketing cannabis. With so much uncertainty, brands proceed cautiously in a direction that may or may not be the correct path. 

The Three Outcomes To Avoid: Deletions, Suspensions and Shadowbans

Whether violating the rules or innocently caught up in the review system, accounts face severe punishments if accused of violating the terms of services. They include: 

1. Total account deletion
2. Suspension, lasting one to 90 days depending on the platform and violation
3. Shadowbanning 

Each result is devastating, especially to a brand or company spending countless hours building up a following. The first two consequences are straightforward. Shadowbanning, on the other hand, is a bit more unclear. Much like how Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Shadow Realm is an alleged place of suffering, so is social media’s apparent shadowban realm. Instead of anime-purple smoke and monsters, social media accounts face a near-complete banishment from the site without losing their posting privileges. 

In short, shadowbanned accounts remain in working order but essentially get removed from communal activity and engagement. While banned, few if any people will be able to see the offending account’s new posts, stories or other activity. 

Brittany Hallett, VP of marketing at cannabis CPG brand SLANG Worldwide, elaborated, saying bans are a means of suppressing organic, unpaid-for reach. “Essentially, rather than turn an account off, the content posted on a page is suppressed, limiting the number of impressions you receive on that content,” she explained.

Not confirmed by social media platforms, the existence of shadowbans has broadly been accepted, with most reporting that bans last two to six weeks.

Harrison Baum, CEO of Daily High Club, said shadowbans are an engagement killer, ultimately stunting follower growth and brand bottom lines. “People also won’t find your brand unless they type the whole name into the search bar,” said Baum, who also oversees all social media initiatives for cannabis brand High Tide.

He believes his account has experienced shadowbans several times but cannot confirm if that is the case. 

Hallett said some possible solutions to a ban include creating a post asking followers to like, share, comment and save posts. “Instagram wants to show valuable content to the platform’s users, so if you can show that your page is offering value, it will improve your reach,” she said. 

Cannabis Brands Try to Stay Compliant

Cannabis is still not welcomed on social media, Google AdWords and other major outlets where people and brands converge. U.S.-based social media companies adhere to federal guidelines, which continue to prohibit cannabis. Therefore, they don’t want cannabis’s money or the consequences if they did.

Instead of outright bans, social media platforms have allowed cannabis brands to develop, with several becoming verified, racking up millions of followers in the process. A few in the space have remained fully or largely compliant by sticking to a few crucial rules they believe social media giants operate by. 

Much like the rationale for bans, there is some understanding of what cannabis compliance means on social media. Broadly summarizing the steps, companies should avoid selling products, consuming pot or using imagery they don’t own. However, the ambiguity and potential for unanticipated consequences leave many to form their conclusions and hope they remain online. 

Several sources said keeping sales out of content is essential. Unlike many other industries, cannabis brands are recommended to use social media as a lifestyle brand, using their channels to start the conversation with followers rather than generate sales. 

“If you’re directly selling a product or linking to your website, don’t show cannabis,” advised Baum. He added, “If you do show cannabis, don’t act like you’re selling it.” 

Adam Greenblatt is a Canadian advocate and cannabis brand manager working for Canopy Growth. He creates content regularly on his accounts, amassing nearly 6,000 followers on Twitter and 80,000 on TikTok. He has only had content flagged during his early TikTok days. He was never deterred by the warnings. 

“Even when they did, I could submit a written appeal, which worked nine out of 10 times,” Greenblatt said. 

Despite cannabis being legalized in Canada, brands and people like Greenblatt must adhere to social media’s U.S.-focused rules. He believes he’s remained relatively unscathed because he does not show or consume cannabis. Instead, he keeps the tone educational or sarcastic. 

“That said, other science-focused creators have been banned from TikTok for no apparent reason,” he recalled. 

Maria Brasco is the social media manager at MATTIO Communications, managing numerous cannabis clients in the space. She reports that, so far, little has proven effective across the board. She delved into specific tactics, including prohibiting content from reaching underage users via an age-gate, but that has not worked entirely.

Instagram’s current rules have no rhyme or reason, according to Brasco. “Accounts that err on the side of caution are being penalized, while their industry colleagues are blatantly ignoring the rules, and nothing happens,” she said, calling the situation the Wild West. 

While frustrating, adhering to the rules is essential. Allison Krongard, co-founder and co-CEO of female-centric cannabis and sexual wellness brand Her Highness, said posting or communicating about any illegal activity is never wise. 

“I don’t respond to plugs or people asking me to send them weed,” said Krongard. She said people reach out daily. 

Overall, compliance is key for a brand. Courtney Wu is the co-founder of Amnesia, an digital agency devoted to cannabis brand compliance using its social media monitoring tool Highlyte. 

“We are always trying to educate people that you have to think about compliance from the very beginning,” said Wu. Amnesia, which boasts zero shutdown accounts as of July 2021, tells brands to consider compliance in the forefront, not as an afterthought. 

How to Stay Creative While Walking the Social Media Line

Social media rules limit cannabis content creators. Still, operators have found ways to create compelling content without losing their accounts. 

Wu emphasized the importance of compelling content. They noted that companies, cannabis or otherwise, succeed when considering how their brand provides better value than the competition. “Those kind of individual value propositions that may not be necessarily unique to you,” still work, said Wu. She said brands can also excel by showing consumers how their product fits into a person’s life. 

The Her Highness co-founders said that reading the rules helps, while being provocative without overdoing it is critical. 

“There have been times when we couldn’t show smoke coming out of a joint for text ads, but we could show our gold pre-roll box and a grinder,” said Krongard, calling the issue a design obstacle. 

Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, went so far as to create alternative phrasing and imagery in YouTube videos promoting a new flower-only extraction process. The company used oranges and juice as slang and a visual aid for CBD and relied on fresh-cut flowers to replace nugs.

“By being creative in these ways, we hope that YouTube’s mods and bots are more friendly to our content and that we remain compliant to their standards,” said Higdon. 

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Sen Dog, the co-lead rapper of the legendary multi-platinum group Cypress Hill, discusses the early days of rap and finding success through their connection to cannabis.

It’s been 30 years since Cypress Hill’s eponymous debut album, and co-frontman Senen Reyes—aka Sen Dog—is still feeling blessed. “It’s kind of surreal we’ve even made it 30 years, since we didn’t expect our careers to last this long. Our original concept was to be around for five or six, put out two albums and tour a little bit. No one thought about longevity in hip-hop in those days, so to hit this point in our careers where we’ve done our thing for 30—it’s hard to believe.”

To help commemorate the milestone, Cypress Hill will perform at Shrine LA Outdoors alongside Atmosphere on August 13, 30 years to the day of their debut album drop. Additionally, Legacy Recordings—the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment—will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cypress Hill by releasing an expanded, 30th anniversary, digital edition of the album that features three bonus tracks.

When we connect by phone, Sen was fired up for both the anniversary album and the anniversary show, eagerly recounting Cypress Hill’s early days, the influence of cannabis on the group, and reveling in their newfound position as the “Triple OGs” of hip-hop.

Let’s start by clarifying something: It’s been said you gave B-Real his first joint when you were kids. Is this true, and if so, how integral was cannabis to the formation of Cypress Hill?

Cannabis has always been an important aspect of our lives and has always been part of the “Cypress way” in which we do our thing. I started smoking weed when I was 12—even though it wasn’t an everyday thing until 17 or 18—and around that time, B-Real wanted to try it one day. I guess he’d tried pot once before, but it was some boo-boo weed, and that day, I had a strong strain on me: Chocolate Thai weed. 

“I was on my way to work and was carrying a joint to smoke after, but B-Real convinced me to smoke it with him beforehand. So I got him high, and as I’m leaving for work, I see him just standing on my mother’s front porch. I’m wondering, “Is he alright?” About nine hours later, I come back, and he’s still standing on my mom’s front porch. I said, “Hey man, are you okay?” He said, “Yeah, man. I’ve just been waiting for you.” I go, “Where, all day, right here?” He goes, “Yeah.” I understood it, though. He got really stoned because I’d smoked him his first real good bit of weed.

When did he eventually leave? Or is he still standing there?

I drove him home that night, which was one of our regular things. He would come hang out, and then I’d take my dad’s car and drive him back to his mom’s house in Gardena. The next morning, he’d ride the bus right back to my house.

It was a good system.

Yeah, it worked for us.

In terms of systems—growing up, making music, smoking weed—was the vision to always create Cypress Hill or did you have other aspirations initially?

I was big into baseball and football—though I liked football more than baseball—and for a minute, I thought I was going to be able to play in the NFL. But I got into some trouble in high school and had to go to juvenile hall and talk to all of those people. They were like, “What do you want to do with your life?” I said, “I want to play in the NFL,” and they were like, “You know, you’re probably too small. At your height, you’ll never get there.” As a young kid, you pay attention to older people telling you shit like that, and it started to turn me into this little rebellious kid who thought people didn’t believe in what I wanted to be.

I said to hell with football, started ditching school and going to ditching parties. The only reason I tell you this is because later on in life, I’d see players like Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith—little dudes—whose line I would have fit in if someone would have believed in me. That’s why I let football go, because everybody kept telling me, “You’re never going to make it; you’re never going to make it.” As a 16, 17-year-old kid, you believe them. When a kid decides they want to do something, you’ve got to back them up.

So you took the energy of not being supported, channeled it into music, and things ended up working out in the end.

Yeah, I went to a ditching party around 11th grade, and there was this kid there named Porky who was known to be one of the baddest pop lockers you’d ever see in your life. He was from Compton or something, and he didn’t want to pop that day; he wanted to rap. At the time, the only rap I’d ever heard was from the East Coast. This was pre-Ice-T and all that shit, so I was like, “Wow, anybody can do that? I thought you had to be from New York.” It wasn’t too much longer before I talked my brother into rapping Run DMC songs together when they’d come out on the radio. That’s how we started our first little rap group, and one day, we were like, “Fuck it, let’s write our own shit.”

From then on, the ball kept moving, and we were all about [hip-hop] all day, every day. If we weren’t recording, we were going to see some of our favorite guys perform. If we weren’t doing that, we were out in front of my mom’s house trying to put together our own little show. [Hip-hop] was something that consumed us. We just did whatever we had to do to be in the scene.

Was there an initial experience or win that gave you the confidence that hip-hop could actually be a career?

We had gone to this rap battle, which we had done repeatedly in the past, and every time we showed up, some other guys produced by Dr. Dre or someone like that ended up winning—even though I thought we were the best. But we perform at this battle; Muggs goes up there, plugs in his SP-12 and plays the beat. When my verse came up, I thought it would be cool to perform my entire rap by jumping on the judges’ table. When I went to come down, the table cracked, and all of the judges’ drinks spilled on them. Whoever was there just loved that shit. We didn’t end up winning, but I left that gig thinking something [important] had happened. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was at the time, but I knew we had done something good that people liked.

Many years later, I figured out that what we had touched on that night was the element of surprise, the whole “not knowing what’s going to happen next.” We’d unintentionally learned that if we hit people when they’re not expecting it, it’s going to kill every time.

On the way home from that gig, my mother had paged me to ask how the gig went. I told her, “You know, I don’t know. I did some funky shit, but everybody loved it.” That was the moment where I felt like whenever the time comes, and we’re put up on that stage, we’re going to be ready. We’re going to be over-the-top ready. The danger element of Cypress Hill had manifested itself naturally, and it was one of those things that got people to lay onto us. 

If you came to see Cypress Hill, you might just catch me or B-Real landing on your ass in the middle of a song. People were like, “Whoa. We’ve never seen this in hip-hop.” The slight danger element we untapped that day, we just happened to keep with us for the rest of time.

Was the danger element influenced by cannabis, and did cannabis influence you creatively?

When I first started getting stoned, it was just that: Getting stoned and feeling trippy. Then, I got into Cheech and Chong movies—and their band—and subliminally was taken away by how creative those guys were. People always said, if you become a pothead, you’ll become a couch potato, but I saw Cheech and Chong, and they were over-the-top creative. So I was like, [this whole “couch potato” thing] has got to be bullshit.

When I first started rapping, I wasn’t stoned or anything, but eventually, weed became an everyday practice in my hangout and my creative process. It took on more of an importance than just, “Let’s blaze a doob and act goofy.” Smoking weed became—I wouldn’t say a source of creativity—but an enhancer of creativity. When we’re in the studio, and we’re blazing up, we’re on the scene, man. We’re Cypress Hill. Cannabis has always been an important part of us, to the point where one day Muggs told me he wanted me and B-Real to be the Cheech and Chong of hip-hop.

At the time, we didn’t have any gimmick. Run DMC was black-on-black with the hats—they had their own look; Public Enemy was like the Black Panthers; Beastie Boys were these wild dudes, and LL was the baddest—“I’m bad!” We were just good rappers; we didn’t have any gimmick or anything. So when Muggs told me that, it took me a little while to get used to the idea, but the more we went along with it, I was like, “I think Muggs is right; let’s run with it.” For that purpose, Cypress Hill will always be cannabis activists. We were those guys before we even knew we were those guys. That’s how important cannabis is to Cypress Hill history.

You could say figuring out your “gimmick” was really figuring out your brand.

In those days, if you didn’t have a gimmick, you weren’t going to hit that strongly. Those were the days when hip-hop was starting to blow wide open, and you had to have something for people to identify you by. We were the stoners.

With the 30th anniversary of your debut album approaching, how does it feel to still be the stoners 30 years later?

I can only say when I think about it all in hindsight, it’s been an incredible run, and we could never have done it without the support of our fans and dedicated followers. We always have to give them props, and I just feel incredibly blessed. I can’t even express that in words. I’ve been blessed to provide for my family through hip-hop. 

We know we’re fortunate, and with the support of people getting behind us, here we are 30 years later, and it’s been an incredible ride. I can only hope that all the musicians who read this interview or who hear about Cypress Hill get to go on that same trip that we went on and get to experience all the highs and the lows and everything else that came along with it.

To get to where we’re at now, we’re like the elder statesmen in hip-hop. People call us shit like “Triple OG.” But, if I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. You never know what’s going to happen until you stay the course.

Follow @sendog and @cypresshill and check out cypresshill.com for tickets and tour dates

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