The world’s cannabis freedom movement is changing. Groups always change as they grow. Whether subculture or activism, group dynamics mean nothing stays the same. There are always disagreements within any progressive movement about what their goals are, how they should act, and whose ideas or opinions they should accept. As those movements grow, so do the disagreements.
Editor’s Note: This recap of the first photo shoot for Twelve High Chicks — which became “The Smoke Diaries” in Volume 1 — was originally published on November 12, 2014. Layout and phrasing have been updated for our current format.
When asked to write for Twelve High Chicks I had an idea of what I was getting into. But once I reached the location of the first photo shoot the experience became much more real. I’ve always been curious of what a photo shoot would be like, photography being an interest of mine, and here was my chance to see firsthand.
Lately there’s been murmurs about how progressive activism is cannibalizing itself. Complaints about “callout culture” and building one’s caché by tearing down others. So I’m writing an article on communities and how they change as they grow or their focus shifts. I wanted to look at what cannabis activism and the cannabis community can expect now and as we get closer to legalization.
But while I was writing, we received this weird little email.
Cannaflage Designs do not disappear into the background. The first thought I had while viewing their lookbook was how vivid each garment is. I didn’t see the cannabis leaves in the fabric right away, but my eyes were drawn directly to the clothes. And the happy part of my brain flickered brighter when I did notice the patterns: lively fractals.
I smoked my first joint in Grade 9 with my best friend. I have never again laughed as hard as I did that night. But I also felt a calm that I remember quite well, that I still feel every time I smoke.
That calmness helped with many things. And when stoned, my mind wasn’t hung up on the words “you’re not a real girl, and you’re a failure for not being a real girl.” Instead, I composed songs, stories, and poems. I connected with my friends. Finally, I relaxed … and I started shopping in the boy’s section.
Twelve High Chicks thanks guest contributors Talya Hart and Bert Easterbrook for their coverage of the 2017 Cannabis Hemp Conference and Expo.
This year, we as a family unit had the opportunity to attend the third annual Cannabis Hemp Conference and Expo, held at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It was a big change in pace for us from the Global Marijuana March, which we have attended in years past.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published on July 31st, 2015 by CannaCure420. We share it now as a reminder of what community and culture-focused cannabis events should be. The 10th annual Great Canadian Glass Gathering (GCGG 2017) happens July 7-9th, 2017.
Friends kept asking if I’d be attending this year’s Great Canadian Glass Gathering (GCGG 2015). But I didn’t make my decision until two days before, when I bought a cheap tent and air mattress at Canadian Tire and immediately started packing.
The first ever Cannabis Life Conference opened on May 13, 2017 in Toronto, ON. The inaugural event took place at a venue called the Evergreen Brick Works, located about 35 minutes outside of the downtown core via public transit.
My companion on this excursion was the wonderful Amy Anonymous. We didn’t know exactly where we were going and the grey clouds in the sky threatened rain. So we used an Uber on the Saturday afternoon to check out the conference and expo.
The first Global Marijuana March was started by Dana Beal in New York, USA in 1998. It raised awareness both of the harms of prohibition throughout the world and how it should end. It has now grown to over 900 worldwide participating cities — as a festival in some places — and is celebrated by millions.
But not everyone lives in large cities. Sometimes your town doesn’t have a GMM. Sometimes you live in a place that isn’t pro-pot. What do you do then? Start your own community GMMs. I did … twice!
“If the only green at your cannabis conference or event is dollar bills, it ain’t no cannabis event.” Chris Bennett, Cannabis Historian.
I always think of 4/20 as the beginning of the “High Holidays” in the cannabis industry. It usually marks the beginning of cannabis protests, cannabis festivals, cannabis cups, cannabis fundraisers, cannabis boat cruises, and of course cannabis conferences. 2017 has proven to the busiest year yet with conferences and events planned all across Canada this summer. And it started in Toronto with the O’Cannabiz Conference and Expo, April 21st to the 23rd.
Did you know the stoner-classic, Dave Chappelle film Half Baked was directed by a woman? Her name is Tamra Davis.
As an avid stoner, film buff, and feminist I’m ashamed to say I didn’t. Luckily, a local organization set me right.
In early April I entered a contest run by my favourite local Toronto bakery. The amazing Glory Hole Doughnuts, owned and operated by bad-ass baker Ashley Jacot De Boinod, was raffling off tickets on Instagram to “MUFF‘n’PUFF”, a theatre screening of Half Baked presented by The MUFF Society.
After taking a few days to digest the Liberals new Cannabis Act — all 131 pages of it — and then taking several more days to get over my initial anger and disbelief, it became pretty clear to me what happened. Justin Trudeau and some of his buddies were sitting around one night enjoying some wine, or perhaps some reefer, and someone joked “Why don’t we run the cannabis market?” And everyone laughed, but then the idea of just how to do it took hold.