Read Time: 3:30 Mins.
For adults of a certain age, community-focused cannabis events can be part education, part social, and hopefully, part fun. If there’s a certain cool factor to the event, then it’s not to be missed. Why not hang with mature adults, talk about cannabis, and learn directly from people in the business while responsibly sampling their cannabis products?
On a recent Saturday night, people came out for the Blazing Blues Bash held at the WorkBar in Culver City, California. A coffee bar by day, it turned into a private party venue where people consumed cannabis and talked about it. The event’s hostess, Michelle Patton, is the founder of Mary Jane Soirees who produces select cannabis events every two to three months. She’s an Austin, Texas, native where great food, unique experiences, and entertainment are the norm. “A well thought-out event can be a one of a kind experience when you include cannabis and I want to share that experience with others. This event was to uplift our souls in an immersive evening of blues music paired with our favorite blue strains.”
Despite the rain coming down in buckets, it was standing room only. Blues artist Sista Jean belted out some classic blues accompanied by an excellent guitarist, Zachary Ross. Sista Jean has shared the stage and studio with legends such as Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, and Celine Dion, and it showed. She and Zachary ended their set with a resounding cover of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, which was perfect as these events help fight the negative cannabis stigma and normalize it in a social setting.
Older Adults Learning About Cannabis
To my surprise, there were many gray-haired adults in the packed crowd of 50-60 people. Kim Ortega told me “This is my first event and I wanted to learn. My daughter, Dr. Cheyenne Bryant, invited me. I have back pain and without cannabis, I’m in so much pain. It helps my mind and my body. This is a blues crowd, relaxed, friendly, and Sista Jean brought the soul.” I also spoke with Harry M. who said “I’ve used cannabis to help with anxiety. These kinds of events are great because people can get educated. People need to decide their place in life and how cannabis may fit in. Circumstances dictate your relationship with cannabis, and the more you know the better.” I ran into a friend of mine, Jeff Thompson, from Hippo Premium Packaging, who said “Back in the day, you had to step softly when talking about and using cannabis. These kinds of events bring it out into the world.”
Cannabis Brands and Education. All Strain and No Pain.
Marty Clein, founder, and farmer of Martyjuana, educated us about two Blue strains during the Soiree; Blue LSD and Supreme Blue Dream that are indica-dominant cultivars. An outdoor farmer, Marty is proudly an old school, a seasonal farmer who creates an artisanal cannabis crop. He refers to it as biodynamic cannabis farming and farms during the full moon. True to his philosophy, his trademark is “Planted By the Moon with Sun, Soil, and Soul.” Marty told me that he loves these smaller, more intimate events because “educated consumers are my customers. I speak with more and more people age 40 to 60, and I love giving people information about my style of farming, and why it’s important.”
Dean Leamy, from Rovebrand, had a unique perspective on the event. “I spent time in the beer industry, and there is a distinct cultural difference in events. Sponsored beer parties are all about drinking a lot of beer. Cannabis events are more about education, and for people age 50 plus, they want to learn more about it.” Jasen Perri, the founder of Gangster Gourmet, said he started his edible line to help medicate people without the stigma of smoking. “These events make cannabis more socially acceptable. I’ve helped get people off of taking opiates for pain, and I get to talk to people in person at these types of events.” Kristin Siemion, VP of Marketing for MixMasters, summed it up really well. “These events create awareness. You can educate a lot of people in a short amount of time. You can craft a relationship with people and really talk about how important flavor is in our cannabis vapes.” Their product Blue Fire contains hints of Blue Dream, which originates from Blueberry Indica with Haze (sativa) and key dominate terpenes of Fire OG.
EpicVape, Plant Buddies (grow your own!), Vapexhale, and Functional China were also on hand spreading the word one person at a time. I truly enjoy these events as there is always something new to learn about cannabis, products, and the people in our community.
Have you attended a cannabis community event? Share your experience with us on our social channels. We’d love to hear about it.
Philip Rebentisch is a writer and the Content Editor for Three Wells.
