Grassroots Marketing

Red Rodriguez , Director of Brand Partnerships at GRAV, and Artist Brian “Box” Brown Have Teamed Up to Rebrand Reefer Madness with limited edition Zine. Grassroots Marketing learns more about it.

GRAV, the renowned pipe company known for producing high-quality glass smoking pieces, has partnered with comic artist and author Brian “Box” Brown to create a zine that rebrands the concept of Reefer Madness. The project aims to challenge the stigmatization of cannabis use and promote a more informed and positive perspective on the plant.

The term Reefer Madness was popularized as a title for a 1936 propaganda film and had a resurgence in the 1970’s when drug policy reform became a popular topic. The film’s over-the- top portrayals and inaccuracies had a significant impact on public perception of cannabis. For decades, the Reefer Madness campaign was used to justify harsh drug laws and stigmatize marijuana users. As laughable as the film would be to current audiences, the campaign helped to create a culture of fear and misinformation around cannabis that continues to persist.

GRAV and Box Brown aim to draw attention to the current state of Reefer Madness. Although attitudes have begun to shift, the legacy of Reefer Madness still lingers. Many people still hold outdated and unfounded beliefs about the dangers of cannabis. These beliefs in turn influence policy, leading to a disproportionate number of people, particularly within historically disenfranchised groups, to face legal and social consequences for using it.

We discuss the Vibesbnb Black-Owned Cannabis-Friendly Rental App with Deontae Mack, a Black entrepreneur who founded Vibesbnb, a Black-owned online startup, where he lists cannabis-friendly rentals.

Mack explains: ":Cannabis has always been a niche community but no platform had ever considered itself a cannabis platform so I thought it was a good opportunity for growth if we focused on cannabis users and solving problems for the tourist community who consume and need to find accessible homes. I recruited my best friend and told him of my journey about how I think the world is opening up to cannabis hospitality like Colorado did in 2012 and we could build a killer company.

My instinct was right and our passion was then cemented as the State of Florida 2016 passed Amendment 2 which prescribed medical marijuana to patients I thought to myself “Where do you go to book a 420-friendly reservation? I didn't think of an answer and it was not Airbnb or Google. The only legal place you could consume according to the state law was inside a private residence.

Airbnb has no policy on cannabis and I noticed many Airbnb hosts have problems with cannabis users I thought creating a “Joint Community” standard could attract cannabis users to my listings and get numbers to profitable margins

• 420 friendly
• Tobacco outside
• Designated smoking areas
• Communication
• Unique culture

After seeing initial numbers of 90%+ occupancy during the first 3 months. I thought “wow, this could work”.

So I began my career as a Vibesbnb Entrepreneur Host from that moment on and would grow my short-term renting business to 6 figures over 3 years by investing in one property and then saving the extra seasonal money to invest in several additional properties.

Along the way, I met my investor who owned a non-profit organization called Empowering People Foundation. He found me at the end of those 3 years and was excited about my growth and work ethic toward helping others. He shared his personal experience that none of his friends used cannabis but he saw the market long-term beginning to shift and I was able to convince him to sponsor Vibesbnb."

We showcase PRETTYHIGH Casual and Haute. Simple and Edgy Cannabis Accessories  with Katy Reddy, CEO and Founder of PRETTYHIGH,

PRETTYHIGH is an online shop filled with repurposed vintage and antique smoking accessories, alongside her own creations, with a vintage feel.

“Since starting PRETTYHIGH I’ve learned two things my soul needs, to be of service to others, and this experience has fulfilled both,” she said. “It’s also been the most beautiful experience—literally and figuratively. Cannabis brings me back to a place of peace and connection to spirit, which, in turn, externalizes into the accessories I create.”

The stash includes her own creations from the Prettyhigh cache, including her own rolling papers, hand-written with “prettyhighdeas” on each packet.

All in polished brass, with Reddy adding, “My style leans to the glamorous age of the 1930s and 40s, with a street edge vibe.”

Pieces she’s designed include a brass rolling machine, a brass rolling tray; and a brass bangle charmed with a keyring, whistle and vintage cigarette holder. Also included is a golden one-hit-wonder in medical-grade titanium, with a compact black lucite dugout, aptly named, Doug. Just behind Doug is a rhinestone encrusted holder for the dugout.

A cut-glass pipe she designed is ready for gifting in a Prettyhigh black and gold vintage case, alongside a vintage cut glass ashtray.

“When I serve scotch or a fine wine it’s served using cut crystal, so I thought, why shouldn’t the flower be consumed with just as much elegance?” she said. 

Brandy Shapiro-Babin speaks with Robert Beasley, the chief executive officer of Fluent, a vertically integrated MSO in the regulated markets of Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas offering premium cannabis products and publicly traded as Cansortium Inc. ("Cansortium" or the "Company") (CSE: TIUM.U) (OTCQX: CNTMF).

Before officially joining in 2020, Robert served on Fluent’s board of directors as a consultant and played a key role in driving the revitalization of the company as one of Florida’s largest medical cannabis brands. As CEO, he drives Fluent’s strategic growth initiatives, providing deep cannabis law and business development expertise to the multistate operator.

As one of the leading consultants in the industry, Robert has participated in the design and construction of five cannabis cultivation and processing facilities in multiple emerging cannabis marketplaces across the U.S. Additionally, he has held several board roles at prominent cannabis companies, including Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, one of Florida's initial seven cannabis licensees; FLA Extractions, which operates a hemp cultivation facility, a hemp drying facility, and recreational cannabis cultivation and processing facility in Oregon; and Montana Apothecary, LLC (d/b/a Alternative Solutions), the leading cannabis grower in Washington D.C.

Custom Cones USA, renowned as B2B wholesale specialists with expertise across the pre-roll world and the widest array of products of their competitors, and we speak with Harrison Bard, Co-Founder, Custom Cones USA. They are in the midst of an exciting period of growth for the company. With pre-rolls taking a larger piece of the cannabis industry than ever before, and more states opening up medical and/or adult-use cannabis sales programs, Custom Cones USA is positioned to impact the overall cannabis marketplace like few other businesses can. The company offers a consultative approach to their partners and the best customer service in the pre-roll industry.

Founded in 2017 by Harrison Bard and Fredrik Rading, Custom Cones USA is a leading pre-roll resource in the cannabis industry. The team has a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of pre-roll manufacturing and the entire pre-roll sector of the cannabis space. From custom-branded pre-rolled cones and wholesale bulk cones, to completely customized pre-roll packaging projects and pre-roll machines, they offer expertise and solutions to companies big and small in all sectors of the pre-roll space. Custom Cones USA wants to help their customers operate with relative ease and ensure both the companies and their customers to have the highest quality smoking experience.

Our guest, David Charles, CEO and co founder of MOOD said of MOOD  “While we are a cannabis company, we operate with the precision and efficiency of a tech company, MOOD excels by providing best-in-class THC products, offering its customers value, convenience, the opportunity to discover new products, and personalization - often exceeding the experience at most brick-and-mortar dispensaries.

WE learn why MOOD is making the purchase of THC products more accessible through online sales. David Charles is a growth marketer, storyteller, and serial entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as the Co-Founder, CEO, and COO of MOOD, a surging e-commerce dispensary that produces legal, high-quality THC products tailored to set your mood.

Over the next few years, MOOD plans to expand its footprint into international markets while staying true to its brand pillars of making high-quality THC products accessible to the masses. MOOD’s most laudable qualities are the superior product satisfaction and brand loyalty they’ve garnered to date —the copious flow of positive customer reviews on their e-commerce site is proof of the young brand’s exciting potential and staying power. 

Robert Frey tells us about the opening of The House of Cannabis, the first-ever, permanent home celebrating “high culture” and its impact on music, art, fashion, social reform and cultivation. Ten mind-bending, immersive experiences created by artists and filmmakers, transport guests through the many dimensions of cannabis culture.

Robert Frey, who is a Co-Founder of the House of Cannabis said. “Whether you are a cannabis aficionado, have a recreational or medicinal relationship to the plant or are just canna curious, I think everyone will be amazed by the artistry and narrative behind the experiences. If you understand the cannabis community, you know it is about connectivity, creativity, and important issues affecting social reform. We wanted to create an elevated space that helps foster these community values.”

A 30,000 square foot historic cast iron building is home to this new destination at the iconic intersection of Howard and Broadway. The space also features a private lounge and ground level gathering space featuring community events, a café, corner store, live glassblowing and a curated assortment of cannabis inspired lifestyle products.

We talk about Having Cannabis As a Houseplant with Kat Betty, founder of home grow planting party event business Cannabis Houseplant. 

How many people walking into dispensaries have never been close to a live cannabis plant? Kat Betty, founder of event business Cannabis Houseplant, believes that now is the time in history to grow cannabis primarily for fun and education. That’s why she’s taking the cannabis plant out of the basement and putting her in the living room! 

After producing renowned flowers in the California Bay Area for a decade and learning countless approaches to growing cannabis, she has removed as many barriers as possible to make that joy easy and accessible for the home grower. 

Her signature Planting Parties bring professionals, parents, cannabis enthusiasts and patients together to find community, have fun, and get everything they need to grow one plant indoors or outdoors at home with just water. No tents, home alterations, or reliance on south-facing windows. For Kat Betty and Cannabis Houseplant, this is what activism looks like now.

We talk about Pest Management, Organic Pesticides and More For Cannabis and Hemp with Aaron Appleby, Owner of White Coat Laboratories.

Aaron recently Spoke on "Understanding Cannabis Ecology to Better Manipulate Secondary Metabolites and Pest Populations" at NoCo Hemp Expo 2023. 

Aaron has consulted the cannabis industry since 2017, after earning a B.S. in organic agriculture from Washington State University. He has since earned a M.S. from WSU specializing in organic pesticides and is currently pursuing a Ph.D at WSU again specializing in organic pesticides, with an added chapter of his dissertation focusing on the hemp russet mite and another on fiber hemp. Aaron was the first to grow Cannabis, both in a greenhouse and outside on the organic farm at Washington State University’s flagship campus (Pullman, Washington). In 2021, Aaron became a licensed certified crop advisor with all of his required field experience in Cannabis, a feat that he may have been the first to achieve.

 Recognizing the lack of research and dissemination of information from universities and extension agents to the cannabis industry, Aaron created White Coat Laboratories a Cannabis research and consulting business focused on solving industry wide problems at a farm scale. As a Certified Crop Adviser, Aaron is licensed to consult on all aspects of Cannabis production, but a special interest and talent of his is creating custom integrated pest management programs specific to each company’s site of production and cultural practices. Aaron utilizes conservation biocontrol tactics, to create habitats including native plants that are attractive to native beneficial arthropods and deter pest species in a push/pull approach to combating pests. Working with several cannabis producers, White Coat Laboratories is also studying plant volatiles (including several terpenes commonly associated with cannabis) and their involvement in plant defenses as well as arthropod attraction or deterrence.

 Scientific experimentation and data collection with appropriate analysis and application remain essential elements to all successful agricultural endeavors. By applying his understanding of chemical and ecological interactions occurring throughout the growth cycle of Cannabis sativa and knowing how these interactions contribute to specific selected characteristics of the plant, Aaron aims to bring the best available science to the cannabis industry. Aaron also believes that proper vocabulary and nomenclature around the C. sativa plant is important and something that everyone should rally around with proper training and the sharing of information to drive public perception and further normalize the plant.

We talk about Boveda's Two-way Humidity Control Solutions for Cannabis and Cigars with Shannon Klick, the VP of Global Sales at Boveda.

Boveda Inc., the global leader in two-way humidity control solutions for cannabis, cigars, musical instruments, and other items, is helping cannabis consumers maximize their flower purchases with its patented Original Terpene Shield™ sachets. Made in the USA with all-natural salts and purified water, the brand’s ready-to-use packets maintain the quality, consistency and freshness of moisture sensitive products for up to 6 months.

According to Shannon Klick, VP of Global Sales at the company, Boveda safeguards flower integrity from cure to consumption, protecting terpenes, character, flavor, potency, and aroma. “Nobody wants to smoke less than stellar cannabis. When overly dried, cannabis can lose the rich flavors, delicious aromas and effects that consumers have spent their hard-earned money on,” stated Klick.

Boveda has pioneered humidity control solutions for the past 25 years. Their innovative products, available in a variety of sizes for different quantities, extend the life of cannabis flower by keeping their flower purchases at the optimal storage environment, between 58-62% relative humidity (RH). Preferred relative humidity levels vary depending on personal preference, different regions and climates.