Alaskan Thunderf*ck, We Hardly Knew Ye
My courageous struggle to stay high through the marijuana dark ages of the ‘80s and ‘90s. If you’re not listening to vinyl, you’re not listening, period.It’s vinyl or nothing for me. Literally. — Cannabis enthusiast, 1920s Part 1: The ‘80s Part II: The ‘90s Allan H. is a man of a certain age living in […]
Rare Cannabinoid Company Bet on the Future of Cannabinoids
The hemp boom moved fast. In the years following the 2018 Farm Bill, thousands of companies rushed into the market chasing the same wave. CBD was everywhere. Oils, gummies, topicals, drinks—if it could hold a label, someone was selling CBD in it. Most brands were focused on scale. Few were thinking about what came next. […]
Before Weed Learned To Fake Female Empowerment, Harlee Case Made It Real. Now She’s Giving It A Soundtrack.
Before New Constellations started turning heads with dreamy synth-pop and soft-focus heat, Harlee Case was already building a different kind of scene in Portland: femme, weird, welcoming, and very, very stoned. “Females first. In cannabis there are plenty of heady bros doing things, we wanted to create a space for women and one where they […]
New Rules, Old Truths, and the Road Ahead
Co-authored by Paulo Thiessen “Let my inspiration flow, in token rhyme suggesting rhythm.” —Grateful Dead Brazil entered 2026 not with a celebration, but with a reckoning. In the final week of January, the country approved a new regulatory framework for medicinal cannabis, and in doing so crossed a line it had spent decades carefully circling. […]
Meet The Blunt for People Who Think Most Blunts Are Weak
The new 2-gram Ice Packs Blunts are loaded with rosin, diamonds, hash, and a glass tip. More importantly, they come from a brand that usually does something rare in cannabis: it delivers. Rove has launched a new product, but the interesting part is not just what’s inside it. It’s the name on the box. The […]
I Followed a Secret Shopper Into Dispensaries. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to See.
Dispensaries and cannabis brands are increasingly borrowing a page from mainstream retail by using secret shoppers to evaluate the in-store experience. Secret shoppers enter a store like any other customer, make a purchase, and observe how staff perform, without employees knowing they’re being evaluated. Cannabis dispensaries are a bit different from other retail environments. Products […]
Get Lit, Get Fit: Runners High Chicago Is Building a 4/20 Tradition With Purpose
What started in 2022 as a “highdea” is now a weekly run club and wellness circle—one that’s making cannabis culture look a lot more like consistency than couch-lock. On The 606, the city’s elevated trail that cuts a clean line through the neighborhoods, the energy before a run usually sounds the same—footsteps, laughter, the soft […]
Why Jetty Extracts Didn’t Rush Expansion
For a decade, cannabis brands expanded like tech startups. They were fast and loud, maybe overestimated, perhaps a bit unsustainable. New states opened, investors flooded in, and expansion became the metric of legitimacy. Jetty Extracts didn’t follow that script. While many California operators rushed to plant flags across the country, Jetty stayed home. The brand […]
Think You Have the Best Homegrown in California? Here’s Your Chance to Prove It.
This article originally appeared on the High Adam newsletter. Subscribe here. For 2026, the California Cannabis Awards adds a new category for the backyard farmer. Here’s what you need to know. Are you a Golden State ganja green thumb with a knack for growing backyard bud? If so, the California Cannabis Awards is giving you […]
Hemp and the Long Game
I arrived in Tokyo in November for the Japanese International Hemp Expo (JIHE) 2025 with a familiar mix of jet lag, curiosity, and professional reflex. After decades working at the intersection of cannabis, law, and global markets, I’ve learned that the plant reveals more about a society than almost anything else. Where it’s embraced, feared, […]