“There’s really good strawberries over in Hall A,” journalist Rachelle Gordon excitedly whispered as she showed me the pint container from Farming First.
I just got back from a week in Ventura where I attended a launch party for Budist, a c*nn*bis product review app that I write for, at Sunstone Winery in Solvang; and Hall of Flowers, a two-day conference and exhibition, where people and brands from all over California come to show off their products to buyers from dispensaries and to make connections.
Always a spectacle and the best industry show to date, Hall of Flowers delivered an experience to remember, per usual. Gelato set up a Ferris wheel and carnival-themed outdoor activation, there was a w**d bodega filled with Asian snacks, and an outdoor consumption lounge with plush seating and tables for people to sesh and gather between walking the booths and speaker sessions. For me, the most interesting products and brands were less flashy and the up-and-coming new brands tucked into corners and craft tables. Keep reading for my top picks.
Hot Take
My biggest takeaway from this year’s show: We don’t smoke the same. There are clearly two very different sides of this industry.
There’s a diverse community who are deeply connected to the plant and it shows in their earth-tone branding, compostable and recyclable packaging, and ingredient quality. There are significantly more solventless edibles now available. I wrote about the solventless trend in 2021 for MedMen’s EMBER when there were only a handful of edibles made with rosin and hash. In 2024, I’m seeing that most of the bigger brands have launched solventless lines of vapes and edibles including Kanha, Jetty, Kiva, Heavy Hitters, and even Cookies. YAY! I can’t tell you how happy this makes me to know that quality is improving across the board.
On the other side of the same w**d coin, I see bros hyped about fire w**d with trap shop branding that doesn’t speak to me as a consumer. Concerns about the industry losing its connection to whole plant c*nn*bis was a sentiment shared by more than a few people. I saw a lot of the same-same indoor grown flower, excessive packaging, candy-colored Elf-style disposable vapes, and sugar-laden edibles made with distillate. Don’t even get me started about the scantily clad booth babes that still persist. Although, to everyone’s credit there was significantly less of it this year. Progress! But then it went 10 steps backward.
A heated discussion is happening on LinkedIn questioning who thought it was a good idea to invite Chris Brown to be a speaker. Hall of Flowers’ response (to the man who spoke up, rather than the women who raised the issue) is disappointing but not surprising. I have so many thoughts about this, but that’s a post for another day.
To all the women who stopped me to admire my Rage Earrings or tell me how empowered they felt after the International Womxn’s Day event I co-hosted in early March, THANK YOU. I can feel how our raw, honest conversations about “Aging Shamelessly” and “Patriarchal Bullshit” are reverberating and igniting a camaraderie among us.
As I ended Day 1 of Hall of Flowers looking out over the ocean on a rickety Ferris wheel, I’m grateful to be surrounded by some of the brightest, most badass womxn and allies in this industry.
Vol. 33 // In this Issue:
Budist Launch Party at Sunstone Winery + C*nn*bis Club
Best Things I Saw at Hall of Flower Ventura
Taste Test: WTF is a Banana OG Terpene Infused Potato Chip?
Budist Launch Event at Sunstone Winery
Just 2-3 hours north of Los Angeles in Solvang is a brand new wine tasting and c*nn*bis social club experience at Sunstone Winery that is mind-blowingly beautiful and unbelievable that the two can co-exist together side-by-side.
Guests are free to roam and enjoy a glass of wine in the lower tasting room area of Sunstone Winery. Should you wander towards the stairs leading up and above to the cave terrace, a kind security staff member will ask you to finish or leave your glass of wine. There’s an invisible wall where alcohol and c*nn*bis cannot pass. Up on the terrace and above the tasting room, guests can sip Sunstone’s new c*nn*bis spritzer drink from the drink bar, or smoke while lounging on one of the comfy couches.
At the Budist launch party there was a dab bar, flower, joint rolling, and edibles tastings up on the cave terrace. Kiva set up a whimsical adult candy bar with an infused chocolate dipping fountain. Downstairs at the Tasting Room, there was wine tasting, wood-fired pizza, and terpene gelato. Chef Katherine Knowlton of Happy Chance made a gorgeous grazing board alongside her Fruit Bites and capsules to showcase the natural ingredients.
Go even further up the hill past the cave terrace and you’ll find the Villa, a private residence of the owners, an old-world architectural masterpiece built from limestone salvaged from French chateaus. Sitting in the shade of this ultra-luxurious estate, a few of us Budists had a quiet moment together before the event started. I tasted a solventless dab called Sex Wax (made in Humboldt by some elusive guy who got the flower from another friend who grows it). It smelled of funky rotten fruit, blue cheese, and onion jam in the most delicious way.
Living la dolce vita.
Trendspotting at Hall of Flowers
It’s the kind of show where you’re handed goodies left and right, and I’m still finding random loose nugs and joints tucked in pockets and bags. Walking the exhibit floor feels like supermarket sweeps or trick-or-treating with an extreme case of FOMO while getting side-tracked every few minutes by someone you know or a shiny object.
Here are my top picks and observations from this year’s Hall of Flowers Ventura 2024 show:
Eco-Conscious Vapes
Halara impressed me with its proactive recycling program and Pink Jesus collaboration with Sonoma Hills Farm. I got to sip on Pink Jesus vapor from a cup with a straw.
CCell is developing sustainable and eco-friendly options, including a biodegradable all-in-one vape from CCell called ECOSTAR.
Ispire is working on a vape made from hemp – heard from a credible source in passing conversation.
Functional Edibles & Beverages with Healthier Ingredients
Happy Chance Fruit Bites and capsules are the most innovative edible I noticed at the show. Made with Medjool dates, pumpkin seeds, and upcycled dehydrated fruit, I wish there were more healthy edible options like this rather than candy.
Big brands like Kiva, Kanha, and many others are tapping into functional edibles, that are rosin-forward with added THCV, CBN, CBG minor cannabinoids, and other natural ingredients to promote recovery, sex, sleep, energy, and productivity.
Zero sugar, flavorless ice cubes from It’s All About Choices. I’m also intrigued by their new infused pixie sticks called Space Spice.
The iced tea and lemonade from Almora infused with Live Resin tastes really good.
I usually skip the Cookies, but their collaboration with Erykah Badu with its beautiful blue and white vine pattern design caught my eye. I wish I snagged a sample of the Strawberries n’ Creme solventless rosin-infused gummies.
Flower
Sol Spirit Farm debuted its new fully compostable packaging. I’m so impressed by the farmers Judi and Walter for living their values and showing how being eco-conscious with compliant packaging is 100% possible.
The Bohemian Chemist for growing heirloom varietals and specializing in sun-grown flower with heirloom varietals and rare cannabinoids with their Spiritus Mundi line. “Special shoutout for having the only Big Sur Holy W**d on the market, arguably Cali’s first heirloom cultivar,” said Caleb Chen, the Highest Critic.
Stone Road consistently has incredible products and it was so good to see them. Owners Lex and Sabrina deserve an extra shoutout for being loud and vocal about how small brands are getting f***ed because they’re not being paid by dispensaries and distributors. Lex’s transparency in his “Payment Terms: Never” interview with
has helped countless others struggling with the same challenge.Cream of the Crop and CBX Heirbloom took best in show for me in terms of indoor-grown. Fragrant aromas and exciting genetics that smoke well and sell well at the dispensary I work at.
Not my jam, but my friends were all about Traditional and clamoring to get some of their fire flower so they deserve a shoutout.
There was also a funky Kimchi strain from AJ’s that piqued my curiousity.
Wellness
Emerald Bay Extracts RSO tablets are EXCEPTIONAL, especially the White CBG. High-dose tablets at 25mg each, they selling out faster than we can restock at Cornerstone Wellness.
The Now Melt line from Autumn Brands is heavenly! Designed by women for women, it’s an approachable luxurious line of clean wellness products including intimacy serum, body butter, gummies, and bath crystals.
The Ginger Lime lotion from High Desert Pure is one of my favorite smells and I just want to slather it all over my body.
Accessories
Puffco’s new Ripple and Flourish. Always pushing the envelope of function and design, the newest product and colorway launch are stunning.
Bohemian Chemist’s Protopipe, a remake of a classic pipe, is a beautiful collaboration that celebrates smoking culture from another time.
Ongrok was the only brand with an edibles infusion device, while the heavy black design feels and looks a bit clunky compared to Levo and Ardent, I’m curious to follow this brand.
Revelry sells flower and prerolls that are very good, but the smell-proof stash bags and luggage are what caught my eye. Excellent gifts for stylish, outdoorsy stoners.
Best Booth Activations
Dabwoods’ creative team designed an Asian snack bodega and terpene-infused potato chips. I spotted this and beelined for the snacks, and ended up chatting with the designer to find out why are there so many Asian snacks that was seemingly off-brand for them. Before this experience, I honestly didn’t care for Dabwoods based on their branding, product, and overall lack of knowledge. From their creative booth activation that drew me in for a conversation, I learned that the founder/owner is AAPI, and upon further investigation learned that Dabwoods is a woman and minority-owned company.
Equity Trade Network Legacy Market was tucked in the farthest corner of the consumption lawn. This collection of social equity brands wins my award for best of show in community teamwork. Stepping into their booth felt like a family gathering strong with the spirit of collaboration over competition. There was cannabutter drizzled popcorn, cookies, sun-grown flower, and some of my favorite brands represented including Queen Mary, Clarified, Next Level, and Dolo. Because of collaboration, they were able to include over 10 brands that have ever been to the event.
Gelato went all out with a carnival-themed activation and was the official afterparty sponsor. This brand visually stands out with its bubblegum pink brand of candy dessert-inspired products. There was a tunnel of smoke bubbles that led to a hot box tent and Ferris wheel. They have a new edible product that’s chocolate-dipped waffle cone tips.
Life is Not Grape wins for providing us all with puppy therapy. Yes, there were puppies at the booth that got everyone’s attention, however, I didn’t actually pay attention to the brand and have no idea what they do. While adorable, the brand connection was missing. If this was for a brand like VetCBD, I could totally see how this would be an un-FUR-getable activation. Still… PUPPIES!
Taste Test: WTF is a Banana OG Terpene Infused Potato Chip?
This is one of the custom-made chips that Dabwoods created for their Hall of Flowers booth activation. I know, you have questions…
Banana OG: a popular c*nn*bis strain that smells and tastes like overripe bananas.
Terpene-Infused: Like essential oils, terpenes are the natural aromas and flavors of c*nn*bis.
Are the chips infused? No. They are not infused with c*nn*bis and will not get you high.
Are they chips made with banana? No. They are regular salted potato chips with banana flavor.
Can I buy them? No. They’re not available for resale or purchase.
You may have noticed that I’m covering the word c*nn*bis and other terms for the plant. The reason why is that censorship of w**d is very real in the U.S. because there’s still no federal legalization. Monetization platforms, banking systems, and other required federal entities for doing business do not allow for it. So the third-party platforms that provide services are shutting down accounts related to “gardening” regardless of context to protect themselves laws they’re required to follow. No wonder there are so many different terms for Mary Jane.
Imagine everything you’ve worked for just gone in a moment because some AI bot determines it so. This is just a precaution until the federal government comes to its senses.
XOXO, Christina W.
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