From the long history rooted in systemic oppression to the fight for equality, the cannabis industry and LGBTQ community have a lot in common. Both have been discriminated against and had to fight for social and legal acceptance. While Pride month has passed, it’s still important to celebrate LGBTQ cannabis brands. Let’s explore the shared history and list LGBTQ+ cannabis brands you should support all year long.
Cannabis and Queerness: A Shared History of Discrimination
From the War on Drugs in the early seventies, to the AIDS epidemic of the eighties, misinformation and public scrutiny have created insurmountable barriers for people in both the cannabis and queer community. In fact, due to this shared discrimination the two eventually intersected after the AIDS epidemic and the rest is history.
During the AIDS crisis, cannabis became a widely popular medicine to deal with the often painful and deadly symptoms of the virus. Due to its post War on Drugs criminalization, it also became another excuse for law enforcement to harass members of the LGBTQ community. Terrance Allen of Cannabis Pride recalls a time during the seventies when the police raided the San Francisco apartment he shared with his partner, who would succumb to AIDS just three months later, and accused them of being in “Dennis Peron’s gay pot maphia”. Peron is a popular activist and known to be the father of compassionate cannabis legislation, which decriminalized and made accessible legal pot for those with qualifying conditions, of which AIDS still tops the list. The roots of cannabis legalization lay with the LGBTQ+ community.
LGBTQ Cannabis Brands to Support
Now that we have reviewed the depth and breadth of the shared connection between cannabis and the queer community, let’s explore some of our favorite LGBTQ cannabis brands! Be sure to show them some love during your next dispensary trip, your next vacation, or whenever just because!
Stone Road
Founded in 2016 by Lex Corwin, Stone Road is a queer-owned cannabis brand based out of Los Angleles, Calif. Stone Road has one of the most beautifully curated Instagram pages that regularly features LGBTQ+ faces enjoying their joints and makes “the most beautiful joints in the world.”
Kush Queen
Kush Queen is a THC and CBD brand specializing in cannabis flower, lubricants and bath bombs started by Olivia Alexander in 2015. Olivia is not only a proud member of the LGBTQ community, but Kush Queen has also raised more than $40K for LGBTQ organizations. A CEO and an advocate — we like it.
CANN
Founded by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, CANN is a delicious low-dose cannabis-infused “social tonic” that has gained the attention of consumers and even celebrities like Chelsea Handler, Rebel Wilson and Gwyeneth Paltrow. These “all buzz and no booze” tonics are fast-acting and made with natural ingredients.
Puff Dao
Puff Dao may still be in the beta phase, but they’re definitely creating a buzz within the LGBTQ cannabis community. Co-founded by Ashlee Belzo, a proudly queer cannabis industry veteran, Puff Dao is a community-built cannabis brand that gives everyday consumers the opportunity to be apart of and have governance in creating a cannabis company.
Sonder
Founded by partners Faun Chapin and M. Paradise, Sonder connects people through creativity, curiosity and exceptional cannabis products. Sonder is also an LGBTQ cannabis brand that prides itself on community and connection and sources all their product from a family farm in Mendocino, Calif.
Calibueno
Calibueno is a cannabis brand and online dispensary that provides quality, affordable cannabis to adults throughout the Bay Area. As a Latinx social equity brand, Calibueno’s mission is to establish an ecosystem of people, plants, brands and businesses that spreads wellness and fosters a diverse cannabis industry.
CommCann Inc.
CommCann is a house of Massachusetts cannabis brands with a proudly queer majority owner, Ellen Rosenfield. More than the brands, CommCann also owns multiple dispensaries and a cultivation facility. This family-owned LGBTQ cannabis brand knows how to keep it in the family!
LGBTQ Cannabis Event Brands
Altered Plates
Altered Plates is a queer-owned creative culinary collective, offering high hospitality services. Bringing together cannabis, food and beverages, the team at Altered Plates can provide an elevated experience for any gathering.
Copper House
Copper House is a queer and BIPOC-owned bud and breakfast and event venue founded by Cara and Jess Jackson. Hosting events ranging from outdoor movie screenings to a This is Jane Project community event, Copper House’s mission is rooted in activism and equity.
LGBTQ Cannabis Lifestyle
Sundae School
Sundae School is a LGBTQ cannabis lifestyle and smoke wear brand. Founded in Seoul and raised in California, Sundae School makes high-quality, small batch items that consumers love!
Boveda creates and manufactures the renowned CVault, the world’s smartest cannabis curing and storage container, as well as the new EVault, upgraded 316 pharma-grade steel for secure and sanitary storage of plant extracts like cannabis oil, distillate, isolate, kief, etc.
No doubt there are LGBTQ+ brands in your area. Next time you’re picking up some buds, try an LGBTQ strain. Then store it in a CVault when you get home to make it last. Support our LGBTQ friends and keep your cannabis fresh.
