In this episode, hosts Diana and JR review their current favorite products through their ongoing icebreaker segment, such as the Healing Rose Uplift oil and Terp Sap. The discussion then shifts to California's Bill AB-223 and its implications for CBD access, especially for children, emphasizing the ongoing struggles families face to maintain access to beneficial treatments. And then, for our Media Member Moment Danielle Guercio joins Diana to talk about the past and present of cannabis media. The two also share their personal journeys in breaking into cannabis journalism, addressing the ethical challenges and the importance of community support. They delve into the creative aspects of cannabis media, the rise of cannabis-infused beverages, and the need for greater investment and visibility for diverse voices in the industry.
In this episode, hosts Diana and JR review their current favorite products through their ongoing icebreaker segment, such as the Healing Rose Uplift oil and Terp Sap. The discussion then shifts to California's Bill AB-223 and its implications for CBD access, especially for children, emphasizing the ongoing struggles families face to maintain access to beneficial treatments. *
And then, for our Media Member Moment Danielle Guercio joins Diana to talk about the past and present of cannabis media. The two also share their personal journeys in breaking into cannabis journalism, addressing the ethical challenges and the importance of community support. They delve into the creative aspects of cannabis media, the rise of cannabis-infused beverages, and the need for greater investment and visibility for diverse voices in the industry.
In between segments and after the episode, there is a sample of Danielle's recent mix.
Important links:
The Healing Rose (use code Highness for 15% off)
*This episode was meant to come out before the bill went up for a vote, and it did not pass this time.
00:16 - Speaker 1
Welcome to your Highness Podcast. I'm your host, diana, and I'm your co-host, jr. How are you doing today, jr? Doing awesome. Thank you for asking.
00:25 - Speaker 2
I know we haven't seenhost JR. How are you?
00:26 - Speaker 1
doing today, JR Doing awesome. Thank you for asking. I know we haven't seen each other yet.
00:29 - Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:32 - Speaker 1
So we're going to start this episode, as we start every episode, with our fave pot, fave not pot. And, as usual, I'm going to start. Oh, I should probably tell people what that is before we begin.
00:44 - Speaker 3
Yes.
00:44 - Speaker 2
Because, you might be new to the show, yeah.
00:47 - Speaker 1
So we have a segment that we do every episode and it's our Icebreaker segment, where we talk about our favorite cannabis-related item at the moment and our favorite non-cannabis-related items. So if you have listened to this podcast before, you most certainly have heard us talk about the healing rose, because it is one of our favorites I think we even talked about it yeah, I know I can't help myself.
01:11
It just, it's a, it's a very. We talk about the brand a lot because they just consistently produce great products and it's also, uh, run by one of my favorite people in cannabis laura biener, there you go so anyway.
01:28
Um, this is a tincture called uplift, the healing rose. Uplift, well, it's an oil. I should say it's not a tincture. Um, it's cbg, thcv and cbd, so it's a two-1-1, 2-1-1-1, 2-1-1. So JR can talk about it a lot more logically than I can, but even though I have the information stored in my brain somewhere, I'm not that great at talking about the cannabinoids at length in an encyclopedic way like you can. But I know that THCV can give you a little bit of energy. I've written about it before. I should be able to talk about it.
02:13 - Speaker 2
Yeah, it's also a.
02:14 - Speaker 1
But that's why I write about a lot of these things as we talk on our podcast, but you know what I mean. Why don't you tell people why CBG is awesome though? Because I never really can figure that one out.
02:26 - Speaker 2
You're looking at the three of them combined Right? Yeah, Because with CBD, a lot of the times that can give you much more of like a relaxed kind of a down feeling. A lot of people help use it to go. Cbg and THCV can actually help heighten that energy and bring you back up so that you don't feel so intensely stuck with the CBD. Also, CBG is great for tumors and not great for tumors. It's not like tumors are like yay, it's actually the opposite. Tumors are like oh no.
03:05 - Speaker 1
Yeah, it's not like tumors are going to thrive.
03:07 - Speaker 2
It's not like a pro-tumor cannabinoid, but the three of them together really work well, you know, with helping to alleviate stiffness and pain and also helping to alleviate like lethargy and stuff like that.
03:23 - Speaker 1
And neurodegenerative.
03:24 - Speaker 2
They are neurodegenerative, they are nerds yeah, very much so also they remember something, something also a mild, uh, appetite suppressant, with the thcv as well, uh not for me.
03:36 - Speaker 1
I don't know why, but for me it doesn't do that. I actually have the opposite effect and I've actually talked to a few people that have the same thing and it makes me really hungry at first, but a lot of things that are supposed to suppress my appetite are that way, so it could just be.
03:49 - Speaker 2
Well, I mean, whenever you're dealing with anything that's earth medicine. It's not specifically designed to create a certain effect, it's natural. So it really operates differently in everyone's body. Good point. Yeah, so it's really. That's why it's very much a trial and error situation whenever getting into any form of plant medicine or earth medicine right now.
04:11 - Speaker 1
Sorry to cut you off but definitely, uh, always.
04:19 - Speaker 2
It's not a a wide stroke. You know it's not going to do the same exact thing for every single person because it wasn't synthesized to act that way. It's still very natural coming from the earth. So it's going to react differently in everyone's body depending on their metabolism, how they react to it. It's much like with edibles, with cannabis, where some people don't even have the enzymes to be able to get any effect from edibles at all. So whenever you're trying out any form of plant medicine or earth medicine, you can listen to what other people say and use that as a jumping off point, but you can never expect to have the same exact sensation as someone else has.
05:00 - Speaker 1
Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.
05:02 - Speaker 2
Couldn't agree more you said it better.
05:04 - Speaker 1
That's why I let you take the mic on that one, even though it was my fave pot, as per usual. I mean, I can decipher it into an article better than I can verbally, but I was right there with you.
05:20 - Speaker 2
You're right there. We were on the same page.
05:24 - Speaker 1
So what's your fave pot right now?
05:25 - Speaker 2
My fave pot is actually a class of product. I guess you could say it's Terp Sap.
05:32 - Speaker 1
Oh.
05:32 - Speaker 2
Yes.
05:34 - Speaker 1
Also one of my faves right.
05:35 - Speaker 2
I love it. It's something that you can both consume as an edible, but you could also dab it as well. People use it as a very strong medicinal effect but, unlike things like RSO, it's a lot easier to consume. You know, with RSO it can be very tacky to the mouth. You kind of have to find a way to coat it around like bread or something like that when you're eating it so that it doesn't stick to the roof of your mouth. It's also incredibly strong.
06:04
So someone like me who has a little bit of a lower tolerance, you know it can absolutely wipe me out. Where Terp Sap, it's a little bit lighter. It's not as heavy, a little bit more flavorful. You can really taste those cannabinoids and those terpenes and I feel that it all around gives a much better effect than things like RSO. The reason I bring this up is because right now we're starting to see that products disappear. Very few companies are actually still producing it anymore. So if you live in a state that had TerpSAP and you're noticing that TerpSAP has changed and is not necessarily TerpSap anymore or it's just slowly going away, make your voice heard. Tell these companies that this is a product that does a lot of good.
06:54 - Speaker 1
Some of them are being mislabeled too. I've seen that on the Cannabis Nurses Instagram.
07:01 - Speaker 2
Some of them are.
07:02 - Speaker 1
People are buying. What is it?
07:04 - Speaker 2
Cartridges, cartridge refills, thinking that it's TerpSap and it's yeah. So also that's another thing Make sure you know what you're buying. If you are looking to buy TerpSap and you're going to pick it up from the dispensary before you're actually purchasing it and take it home, make sure that you're actually purchasing TerpSap and not CO2-extracted vape cartridge refills.
07:29 - Speaker 1
So yeah, yeah, good point.
07:33 - Speaker 2
That's my favorite pot is TerpSap.
07:35 - Speaker 1
I wouldn't have thought about that honestly. It would have been mislabeled in that way until she pointed it out.
07:41 - Speaker 2
Well, it's not the package itself isn't mislabeled, but it's still running off of it's. It's just a an error that you see sometimes. Um, with the integration between online menus who are often done through third parties, and the actual product itself. It pulls off of a skew number and if that skew number was originally terpsap and it got changed to a CO2 refillable vape cartridge, sometimes on the online menu it's still going to populate as TerpSAP. So it's not necessarily a nefarious situation.
08:12 - Speaker 1
It's a glitch Nefarious, I say it is.
08:17 - Speaker 2
I'm just going to You're going to say it's nefarious, yep.
08:19 - Speaker 1
Just joking.
08:22 - Speaker 2
Well, it's not Okay. It's not necessarily the farriest, it's just. It's a glitch that hasn't fully been corrected, at least in the state of Maryland. I'm not sure about what state you're watching from and if you've had similar things happen, but it's not nefarious, it is a glitch, but it is something that you want to make sure you're fully aware of before you purchase the product and take it home. Make sure you're fully aware of it before you purchase the product and take it home and then try to, especially if you're going to try to eat it because it's not fully activated, when it's a CO2 vape cartridge refill. So you're basically just eating a bunch of not great tasting oil that's not going to have any effect because it hasn't actually been activated.
09:01 - Speaker 1
So yeah, Wow, I just I was listening to you totally, but you know, my neuro-sportsy brain has to do something while I'm listening, which is why I'm always adjusting myself and messing around. Apologies for that if you're watching, um, but I just realized that this is topical too. You can use it topically. How cool that. I love when it's like both things that is yeah, no.
09:27 - Speaker 2
Yeah, if you love it, you love it.
09:29 - Speaker 1
That's a really cool scientific thing there. You know, like to make them we're going to it right now. Yeah, I was supposed to shake it first, whoops, anyway, all right, so my fave, not pot. So I have problems with directions, as you know. As I said, neurospicy, I have a hard time with things that have to be exact measurements, exact timing, things like that, which is why I used to only cook and not bake. But now I've started baking and that's not my favorite pot. I'm getting there, so anyway.
10:18 - Speaker 2
It's a journey.
10:18 - Speaker 1
It's a journey. I have been a fan of kombucha for a very long time, but I've always thought it was too much of a thing to do. You know, it's like that's just too much for me to handle. I cannot. It's too much. But we're both trying to do things that we're afraid of failing, which is also challenging. So I said, all right, I'm going to start on this journey and so far it's been pretty fantastic and I've made like maybe a dozen batches now, maybe less, but it's a lot of work and it's a lot of patience, which you know I don't have.
11:00 - Speaker 2
You do not. It's a virtue, but you do not have it Wow.
11:04 - Speaker 1
Rude, that sounds pretty neurotypical JR.
11:09 - Speaker 4
Anyway, I'm just joking.
11:12 - Speaker 1
But I'm actually going to be tracking my progress, even though I didn't start exactly at the beginning on our sub stack. We'll have sporadic updates about it and if you have any experience with the booch brewing process, definitely reach out, because there are so many different opinions out there. That's part of the reason why it's so difficult, because there's like a lot, a lot of differing opinions. You know, yeah, it's a lot of trial and error. So, yeah, I'm really feeling that right now. What about you? What's your fave? Not pot, uh, mine is.
11:49 - Speaker 2
Yet again, much like you, something that uh can be found on our substack.
11:55 - Speaker 1
Uh, it's our new herb garden that we start you're just going to go with that I'm just gonna go with it all right. Is that the new way we're pronouncing herbs? I have been hearing that a lot.
12:07 - Speaker 2
I've been hearing it a lot through editing the podcast.
12:10 - Speaker 1
Right, I was going to say on our other podcast, Getting Personal with Plan Medicine, shout out if you haven't heard of it. Yeah, oh, I forgot to add really quickly. Sorry to cut off your fave. Not pot again. That's all right, but my hands are blue because of last night, because I wanted to make my nails look nice, but I just didn't have time and I was putting blueberries in bottles and so they're still stained from that. Okay, so back to your, not pot, back to mine.
12:40 - Speaker 2
All right, so start growing herbs. I got a hydroponic system to grow the herbs and we've been documenting the progress of them through our substack. And probably the biggest aspect of it with me with growing these herbs is, yeah, we're growing things that are healing and we're using some of the things for the kombucha, like the sage and stuff like that will eventually be utilized in our kombuchas Rosemary, rosemary. Also, at the moment, we're growing echinacea, butterfly tea, catnip, butterfly pea yeah, oh yeah, butterfly pea, mugwort, wormwood, a lot of really good lemon balm, a lot of really good ones. But the biggest aspect of it has been the healing nature it's actually just had on me.
13:29
You know, this world can be a very bonkers place. A lot of destructive energy is happening right now and, as someone that has been super focused on the happenings of the world since a little bit before 2016, it starts to wear on you after a while and then you find yourself getting angry a lot and all the time. So having something in which you're just nurturing something and watching life bloom in front of you uh on a slow scale has been very therapeutic for me. Uh, it's allowed me to really kind of slow down, kind of make my world a little bit smaller at times and all in all it's an amazing experience that I recommend anybody that is having difficulties with regulating how much they're bringing in from the outside world to find something that kind of slows you down a little bit, kind of makes your world a little bit smaller and allows you to appreciate life itself. So that's why my non-pot is my herb garden, which you can check out the progress on on our Substack, the Herb Chronicles.
14:45 - Speaker 1
What Substack? What did I say? Sounds like you're saying Substack.
14:50 - Speaker 2
Okay.
14:50 - Speaker 1
Sorry, I just want to make sure people know it's Substack oh.
14:54 - Speaker 2
Substack. Yes, it's the Herb Chronicles and it's a lot of fun. It's also helped reinvigorate my creative side, so have fun with it.
15:06 - Speaker 1
You are very creative and I enjoy reading what you write Well thank you. And also I agree with you. That's why I like the kombucha and growing all the things that we're growing. We're not growing cannabis yet, but that's next stage. Anyway, speaking of that, now we're going to get into our discussion topic, so hopefully, by the time this comes out, my article or essay I should say that I wrote for fairly popular publication will be live.
15:42
But just in case it isn't, I recently wrote about our experience giving our son CBD and it took me a really long time to get to that point because there are a lot of things that are changing in the law and the funny and the laws.
16:01
you know I should should say legislation is constantly changing in this industry and people who aren't in the industry, completely immersed in it. The conversations I have with those people tend to be like well, what's the big deal? It's practically legal everywhere. Cannabis is practically federally legal. Why should it matter if you give your kids CBD? It's an over-the-counter thing. You can get it at the grocery store, you can get it everywhere. Well, the reason is is because, like I said, things are constantly changing, and perfect example of that is happening in California right now. Um is a bill that is up for a vote in August. Like I said, this will be coming out right before the vote takes place.
16:54
But, here Should we say the right bill yeah.
16:57 - Speaker 2
Put it up here for us to look over All right.
17:02 - Speaker 1
So it's Bill AB-223. And you have to make sure you look up hemp after that, because it takes you to a different appropriations committee. Anyway, on August 16, a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing will determine if the bill, which will impact 5.4 million Californians who use natural CBD, including families, veterans, seniors and many more. So basically, this came about because of the Delta 8.
17:38 - Speaker 2
I'm going to say issue because there are a lot of really strong opinions about hemp-derived so, basically, when you have Delta 8 and Delta 9 were kind of a workaround for states that were unable to legalize cannabis. So what they were able to do with the legalization of hemp through the Farm Bill is they were able to make it so that they could then produce Delta 8 and Delta 9 from hemp derived products, giving people the same therapeutic benefits that they would get from the THC of cannabis, and doing so, it created a market of unregulated psychoactive products through Delta 8 and Delta 9, things that you could easily purchase at a head shop or a gas station. So a lot of people became very concerned with that because it was unregulated. You weren't always sure exactly what you were getting and you are going to get more of a therapeutic effect from cannabis and they felt like it was taking away from the cannabis market. On the flip side of that, you also have the necessity of things like this for states that did not actually have any kind of program in place, even on a medicinal level, when it came to cannabis.
19:00
So you have to think of an accessibility situation where a lot of families were unable not just families, but people were unable to get products that could help them on a medicinal level because they didn't have a cannabis program. So they're able to purchase hemp derived Delta 8 and Delta 9. That, and a lot of cannabis companies as well, are trying to champion this bill because it is going to help eradicate the delta 8 and delta 9. But in doing so it's it's basically eliminating a lot of the aspects of the farm bill where it's going to make hemp derived cbd itself, uh, almost illegal and definitely illegal for the use of minors. So a lot of families that, if this rolls out, not just in California but then starts to spread, families aren't going to be able to give CBD to their children, which has been a massive healing factor when it comes to things like seizures and other ailments. So they're basically pulling away that autonomy that families have to be able to treat each other with hemp-derived CBD, all in the name of eliminating the worrisome of Delta-8 and Delta-9.
20:19 - Speaker 1
It's just so, I don't even want to say ironic. It's sad that when we started this podcast over seven years ago, the main issue was that people were having to go across state lines, relocate their entire families for cannabis, for their child, for THC products. So we finally made progress. You know, after all of these years, after all of these fights and the people who are still fighting for this bill not to pass are the ones who were championing, you know, safe access to cannabis products for these children who need it. Um, and yet to just constantly have to be like, put in these situations where your whole livelihood is destroyed.
21:09
But put that aside, because lives are at risk here you know, um, I mean, it's just, it's really heartbreaking because these people have been doing work for so long, so much work, because the mother of Charlotte from Charlotte's Web is one of the people who are really fighting against this bill passing. And if you don't know that story, I encourage you to look it up. But that's what we give our child, charlotte's Web CBD oil, and it's like you wouldn't think that at this point we would be here saying like you have to move for CBD.
21:52 - Speaker 2
Yeah, and it just shows you that the fight is never going to stop being a fight. A big thing that we started hearing a lot, and we've even done episodes about it, is the assumption that just because it may be legal, that you're not going to have difficulties when it comes to things like Child Protective Services, a lot of people being very cavalier in saying, just tell CPS to bugger off if they get in your way, and this just shows that, when it comes to the health and safety of your children, you are always going to have to constantly fight, that you cannot rely on the legal status of anything in a state, because A that legal status isn't protected on a federal level and it fully depends on who is sitting in office and B not to cut you off, but family law is entirely different than that type of law right Like drug policy and family law are completely different things.
22:58
Yeah, and then you also have the fact that those rights can be removed. You know, in the state of the world that we're at now, where we are seeing a constant removal of rights left and right, we cannot get too comfortable with the assumption of rights, especially when it's not a federally mandated right. So what we're seeing here in California is important because it's showcasing that the fight is still ongoing and, as there are, I think it's just one state now that has made hemp-derived CBD illegal. Was it Idaho or Iowa? I think it was Idaho. I think it was Idaho this can continue to spread. You know we've seen the spreading of the removal of rights from state to state happen like a brush fire already when it comes to certain rights, especially the rights of the female body and the reproductive system. So when we start seeing signs that rights can, yes, yes when you start seeing yeah, when you
24:20
start seeing those rights removed. You need to get away, Okay, and right now I'm just going to pull something up. We don't have the ability to pause here, I know, but don't worry, I've said what I was going to say. Oh, you've said what you were going to say.
24:37 - Speaker 1
I've said what I was going to say yes, I mean just to echo what you said. There is a lot of misunderstanding out there about what is actually safe, what is actually accessible, what is actually legal, and a lot of that is because our attention spans are so short nowadays and we have to make everything in these bite-sized, you know, nuggets that we can take with us. But it and and I think for some people it's like it's just enough that we are even talking about it moving to schedule three. You know, some people think like that's, that's good enough, that's that's, that's almost as good as just being completely legal. You know, I've heard people say things like in Maryland, oh well, it's decriminalized anyway and you're not going to like what's the worst that could happen. You know.
25:31 - Speaker 2
Yeah.
25:32 - Speaker 1
And it's like well, find out what that worst is. Easier said than done, because there is a lot of misinformation out there and there are a lot of hot takes about Delta 8, delta 9, all of the hemp-derived. What's the word Hemp-derived?
25:54 - Speaker 2
Cannabinoids products.
25:56 - Speaker 1
Cannabinoids. Am I saying it right, cannabinoids?
25:59 - Speaker 2
I've heard it said so many different ways. It's like different terpenes are pronounced differently depending on who you're talking to.
26:05 - Speaker 1
Yeah.
26:05 - Speaker 2
I don't think we've really had anything.
26:08 - Speaker 1
Well, circling back to the story about charlotte's web, I just want to make sure that I'm correctly um attributing her mother page, fiji um, and she works with the coalition for access. Now, and, um, it's really important to find out about these stories and pay attention to what's going on, because, even if you don't think that you have any place in your life right now for CBD or cannabis, there are a lot of people out there that do in your life. I can guarantee you that, and just wanting their safety and having the best possible experience, I think should be enough to pay attention a little bit more to what's going on, and I think that's pretty much all I have to say about it.
26:58 - Speaker 2
Yeah, that's really it. You need to continue to make your voices heard, continue to call your legislators and continue to be active. I said earlier with my favorite, napot, that I had to pull myself back a little bit because I was getting so angry all the time at things that were happening, and this is a reminder of sometimes that anger is needed, because without the anger you lose that need to fight, and this is something that needs to be fought for. You know, we're looking at the, the health and the well-being of of our children and the autonomy of being able to help them heal on things that have a record of showing such healing properties, and to have that removed just for capitalistic reasons is heartbreaking. So do not stop using your voice and do not stop using your actions to continue to fight what is best for the industry, for yourself, for your family and for those that you love. You know you have more power than you know and sometimes we have to allow the anger to allow us to remind us of what's important.
28:36 - Speaker 1
As the Anger Spot book says from our sense collection.
28:39 - Speaker 2
That's right. Sometimes anger is needed.
28:42 - Speaker 1
Yeah, sometimes a little bit of anger and it's difficult to manage that.
28:48 - Speaker 2
Yeah, manage the anger. I'm not telling you to go wild.
28:53 - Speaker 1
It can be difficult, though I was shouting literally off the rooftops back in the early days of 2016 and I was told several times you are angry, you are very angry and I'm like, yeah, who isn't right now? The therapist was like me. I'm not angry and I'm like, yeah, who isn't right now? Um, therapist was like me. I'm not angry yeah, and I'm like, okay, well, maybe maybe you're not my therapist.
29:16 - Speaker 2
Yeah, exactly like are you paying?
29:18 - Speaker 1
attention to what's going on or who I am as a person. Anyway, that's not this episode anyway, um, but yeah, I mean this.
29:31
This episode was a little dark, but that's the problem with just reveling too much into the joys of cannabis. Right, because we want to, sure, why not? We love the plant, we love the, the abilities the plant has in so many different levels and we think it intersects with our lives in so many different ways, and that is something we're extremely passionate about. But we also are passionate about calling out these issues, and we've dealt with our own. You know situations with this CBD. You know, and we've talked about it before. But we've had our brush with CPS and that is why I'm terrified about this essay coming out or even writing it.
30:14
But I knew I had to do it. Right, and this is not like me tooting my own horn or like whatever, but this is just like this. Really took me a while to come to this point where I was like I have to. How am I really being an advocate or an activist? I mean activist, I'm not out there in the streets. I feel like, you know, there's different levels of activism anyway. Um, my point is, I was thinking well, what can I do to contribute to this conversation? You know, because I've interviewed so many people over the years, who have had their custody interrupted, their jobs lost. You know, lives were shattered over the use of CBD.
31:00
And people still will question me like, like, really, really, though, cbd. So I was like maybe I need to be a little bit more public about the fact that I use it with my son and why that's so scary. So I did that and we're going to continue this conversation. And we're also continuing it in a different way on our Getting Personal Plant Medicine podcast, because a lot of this misinformation exists because we don't have new ways of talking about it with children, you know yeah and and because of these things keep happening this is happening and the thing is we need to celebrate things.
31:46 - Speaker 2
We're celebrating, you know, we're not trying to take the joy out, but we can't allow those celebrations to stifle the continuous fight to still ahead. And one of the best things about the getting personal with plant medicine is it's both, you know, it's allowing that celebration and it's also allowing the education needed to make the decisions for yourself and for your family. So definitely continue to follow up also with our Getting Personal with Plant Medicine podcast.
32:20 - Speaker 1
Absolutely yeah, and don't forget to check out our your Highness Media sub stack and if you like this tote bag, we'll send you one, if you give us a review and let us know. All supplies last. Yeah right, because we're not always alerted to the fact that we get the reviews. So if you put in a review out there beyond just hitting stars like we're not talking about ratings we're talking about a review, we'll send you one of these filled with some nice samples.
32:49
Anyway, yeah, and like our son says, like and subscribe. Talking about a review, we'll send you one of these filled with some nice samples.
32:51 - Speaker 2
But anyway, yeah, and like our son says like and subscribe.
32:57 - Speaker 1
But he only says it when we're not recording, which is kind of the issue.
33:04 - Speaker 2
Yeah and it's primarily just mimicking his blippy videos.
33:07 - Speaker 1
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34:37
Don't you say and now we're here with Danielle Guertzschow, who is a journalist in the cannabis space, and she's going to talk about how that is like in a minute. How are you doing today?
35:26 - Danielle (Guest)
I'm doing pretty good. Got some cicadas in the background doing a little suburban vibe today. Hope everyone likes that. I love it. No, people won't be able. Some cicadas in the background doing a little suburban vibe today. Hope everyone likes that. I love it.
35:33 - Speaker 1
No, people won't be able to see you in this one, but I can see you and I'm loving everything I'm seeing. You set up a vibe, Okay. So let's begin with how you got into cannabis journalism. I know you've been a writer for a long time, but what got you into that?
35:51 - Danielle (Guest)
Well, like you, I was also doing hair and that was a bit of a. I came from a fashion background and I was just, you know, a city girl. I was bartending, doing hair, trying to make a fashion line, like very, very early 2010s, trying to make my way in New York City, and I was working as a cocktail waitress at this kind of fancy place. And we had a launch party for a media company and because it was women's media, I was like, oh, cute, I started reading it and I was like, oh, like I totally see myself like writing something for this. I don't know what it is, it was just a vibe, I felt it.
36:31
I had some training in school, so it wasn't just like.
36:33 - Speaker 2
I was like oh, I can be a writer.
36:34 - Danielle (Guest)
I felt like I had some writing skills to speak of. I was like, how am I going to break into this? Like social media wasn't quite what it was today, you know, it was like very much the early beauty blogger era, like very before YouTube, and so I was also selling weed for extra money back then because, you know, city girl like I said I had to.
36:55
I literally had to, and so I was like kind of an early edibles chef. I was just I mean, can you tell I have ADD? I had like six jobs.
37:04
And so what happened was I was like kind of reading up on the one editor and she seemed like into cannabis and she seemed really cool and shout out to Annie, she is a very cool person, she's got her own brand, uh, today in the beauty space. And I was like why don't I like just show up to this meet and greet that they're doing and just give them some of the stuff that I make? Um, give her the weed stuff, obviously, and like, give the other people the non-weed stuff because I don't know them. But I literally just I kind of had the gift of gab a little bit.
37:34
Hence here we are chatting and I just rolled up to this event and like passed out my little chapsticks and gave her this weed chapstick. And I told her I was like I've been pitching you, like I don't know if you just saw my email, but I sent you this really cute idea that I think would be a really good fit. But here's's this weed chapstick, see you later. Like I didn't like hover, I didn't like I was just like all right, and um, she emailed me the next day and you know we didn't end up writing about the weed chapstick, even though she really wanted to.
37:59
She really was trying to kind of like push, push the envelope, push the boundaries, um, because back then this was not normal, this was not everywhere, it wasn't available, like I was like doing something that a small handful of people there were definitely others like me, but not a lot of people were doing this stuff and so, uh, even though we tried to get a few cannabis stories and I wrote them, they got killed by legal. So technically it would be a cannabis journalist the whole time. But started out doing beauty and then just kind of really wanted to talk about cannabis in the mainstream but there was just not not happening. Like when I tell you the money, tears, time, energy, probably making my editors like hate my guts because I was just pushing this normalization agenda, um, for now I'm guess now it's officially 10 years this year Um, and so eventually I did just kind of have to start reaching out to you know our own people and and getting more in the cannabis space.
38:51
And so eventually I did just kind of have to start reaching out to you know our own people and getting more in the cannabis space, and I started doing food recipes and beauty recipes and then eventually taking it a little bit more seriously in that getting into this space of what makes our industry tick, how it's working. And you know, 10 years later, here I am today, still a freelancer, but I have some like really exciting clips under my belt and I love what we. I love what we've done and how far we've come. But yeah, it all started with some weed chapstick 10 years ago at Babeland in Soho.
39:25 - Speaker 1
I love that, I love that so much and I, even when I was taking that mental journey with you, is thinking back about how. We've had discussions of how journalism was back then and, um, I'm sure you remember XO, jane, because we've discussed it before, because I was thinking about how beauty magnet question.
39:42 - Danielle (Guest)
I was just gonna say I just didn't want to like add to their lore too much.
39:47 - Speaker 1
But that is who it was no add to it because, honestly, I tried so hard as well and I wound up like being like fine, I'll just write an article about cutting my own bangs, and that was more popular, yeah you know, I know trying to write about CBD and hair this morning yeah, I was reflecting on that this morning where there's this response to the negativity.
40:09 - Danielle (Guest)
It's more more like you drop a spicy thought and people are lining up to read it and engage with it, but you know you write about something educational or inspiring and they're like scroll down to the recipe please, yes, exactly.
40:27 - Speaker 1
And that's so terrible because, like I think I know I get like that too. I mean, you kind of get like that when you consume so much media. But just thinking back, like how much XO Jane posted back then and like how you can call it cringe worthy, whatever you want to call it, it was basically like whatever we can do, yeah, deeply cringe.
40:49 - Danielle (Guest)
Deep cringe and I participated Same. Yeah, deeply cringe and I participated same.
40:53 - Speaker 1
Hey, hey, we all have to do what we have to do to get our break yeah, the 50 was grocery money back then yeah but then they wouldn't let us write about, you know, smoking weed while we're doing any of these disgusting, gross things like god forbid.
41:06 - Danielle (Guest)
Thank god I didn't write about anything too personally disgusting even though I was like deep in the beauty stuff. But I do feel a little bit of I guess anger is really the only word for it that there was that censorship happening even back then, because, you know, I don't know, did you have any awareness around the archive deletion? Oh yeah, like that to me was the sorry gotta use the f word here but the fucking frosting on the shitty ass cake.
41:38
Yeah, was after all that time the day? It was literally the day christine blainsey ford was testifying, the day that I opened up to see some article?
41:48 - Speaker 2
I had written and it was just gone.
41:49 - Danielle (Guest)
And then I looked and they were gone, gone, gone. Dozens of articles gone, other people's articles gone, articles about abortion, articles about birth control, articles about tampons and all the gross cringy shit that they said. But it was just gone. They just Meredith, Meredith Corp just deleted our work, Like I don't know if it was that day, it probably was like quietly a few weeks before, and it's happened on other things too.
42:13 - Speaker 1
Other Meredith properties I've had a lot of other ones just disappear and you sign contracts that make it so that you can't keep a whole copy of it on your own records, right, Like they'll find.
42:24 - Danielle (Guest)
I mean, I just have my draft Right, your draft Screenshot.
42:27 - Speaker 1
Exactly. And what are you going to do? Be like oh, here's my draft, and show that as proof that it was published.
42:34 - Danielle (Guest)
Yes, I guess the actionable tip here for other writers or especially PR people and stuff is like is download those PDFs of those files when the articles come out, because also these things get edited, they get changed.
42:46 - Speaker 1
Sometimes they have people come in five, 10 years later and clean up an article and like rework it, and so you really want to save your work not to cut you off, but because you talked about that and I know you have experience with a certain publication that I do in cannabis media, let's talk about how that happens, because a certain publication in cannabis media did that and they updated, quote, unquote all of my articles, removed my name from them and put a different one of their.
43:15 - Speaker 3
It says like staff.
43:17 - Speaker 1
I'm gonna say it's civilized staff. Yeah, that's what it says now my god, yeah, so let's let's talk about. Let's talk about how cannabis media differs from mainstream media. Now, we're talking about something that they do have in common, but cannabis media, I feel, is a little bit more egregious in this way. Yeah, because these publications go under so quickly sometimes, or they just change ownership.
43:45 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, I think that it's kind of like the exogene, the vice era, the bustle era, the fast what do you call it? Not fast company, what was the other F1 that was so bad? Very personal essay, anywho, it's that era changed our media kind of even more into a cult of personality era. Like we already had some of that going on with the, the columnists, you know, the maggie havermans, the, the maureen dowds, the andrew sullivans, like they there was already some of that going on and a lot of those people then would be like on air commentary, like it was very much like a media circle and it was like polished and professional, even though it was like mainstream and kind of crappy. But the, the J XO Jane era, really like launched that beauty blogger, that influencer, that social media host era.
44:44
And you know there's a lot of pros to it in that it opened doors that we needed to just fucking blow off anyway. But a lot of that same thing that happened was this misinformation also was able to enter. It's not like like the doors were open, but just kind of to each other, because men still don't watch our content, men are not shown our content, for example. So it's like we kind of were able to come together more, but we also were not. And now, algorithmically, we know we're not shared with everyone else, so, if anything, it just made us. A lot of people have had these combos insulate, each other insulate into our little silos Cannabis got more insulated, beauty got more insulated, and media, the cult of personality, means that your credibility rests on your personal brand versus your work, you know like how pretty you are, how young you are, how thin you are, and they're not going off of the news cycle.
45:40 - Speaker 1
It seems almost right Like there are, but I'm saying like in cannabis. It's like more, like you said to me at least, the media, not all of it, but it's more about the aesthetic, the brand.
45:52 - Danielle (Guest)
Well, so yeah, the the roll down there is that all of these want to be media moguls, all these people that own these media properties and cannabis. They think that if they just push and push and push, they're going to be Jane Pratt. If they push and push and push, they're going to be seen as this, like figurehead, and and that's not just in media. That's, I think, as a journalist, I'm saying my biggest issue with the cannabis industry is a lot of people are just trying to like hold on for dear life until this tide is over, so that they're like last people standing and seen as these, like authority figures. And I'm like nobody wants to take anyone's expertise or passion or pursuits or creativity or star power or whatever it is, away from them, but we don't need to create the same hierarchies that exist outside of cannabis in cannabis, and a lot of people don't realize that by recreating the systems of power.
46:43
That's exactly what we're doing, like that cult of personality and that celebrity factor like that is negative for cannabis media, it's negative for getting good flower, it's negative. It's like just not getting us where we need to be. It hasn't helped us. It's and it certainly hasn't helped us writers, like you know civilized, for example, like they're riding around on private jets with chelsea handler. Oh, it was a favor. I heard like somebody told me, like oh, it was just a free, a freebie, it wasn't like they paid for it. I'm like so you want to post a picture in a pj and not?
47:16
pay your bills you're getting here but like, so it's just like this attachment to star power and power, power, power, power and power systems and capitalism and nobody's like a lot of us more like maybe radical individuals, like we are not saying, like sure, we want, we want to criticize it, but we're not like trying to like cancel these people. We just want them to behave in an ethical, fair manner and then go about your star power business. Yeah, whatever, make yourself a celebrity, I don't care, but you can't. I can't be like hungry because you didn't pay me.
47:51
And you're like doing this Like, that's literally like basic.
47:56 - Speaker 1
I feel like there's an entitlement.
47:57 - Speaker 2
It's so ludicrous, right.
47:58 - Speaker 1
Like, like I at least. I mean, when I go to interview someone, if it's an assignment or something, it's like of course you want to interview me, you know. Yeah, of course I'm in cannabis, why wouldn't you? And it's like well, can we talk about the other issues instead of like, just the low, you know the easy thing to say oh well, people shouldn't be in prison. Oh yeah, right, of course.
48:22 - Danielle (Guest)
Well, that's exactly what the distillation of all of this is is, of course, people have to act with a degree of self-interest, but to have been in cannabis this whole time was to act against your self interest and and and.
48:34
For many people, that self-interest, lack of self-interest landed them in prison. And so for a lot of us, like by, I think, trying to just really stick to my values, like as best as I can and there's going to be slip ups there have been, there, will be there, you know, we're all human Um, but sticking to my values as best as possible. And one of those values is, like the plant needs to have access. It's, you know, like sure there should be a beautiful, delicious $80 eighth of the finest whatever, but not if there's not also widely available affordable medical products for people who need it, especially from different age groups, from different you know, financial means. Like we can't just be like this is a money making thing, like of course people should make money, sure, because that's the system we live in. But if you ignore the initial values of this plant and of the people who fought for it, like you're just going to hit that wall eventually of not lining up with the values.
49:32 - Speaker 1
Absolutely. And is there anything else that you think kind of differs with cannabis media from mainstream? Because I kind of took you in one direction and I know you might have others.
49:42 - Danielle (Guest)
Well, there's also, I think we were talking about maybe, like you know, that that is the one hand, the lack of professionalism that comes from being this outcast, not allowed, we don't have the space, and that's where corruption comes into play. It's just like how dancing was illegal in New York City for so many years. So all the dance clubs, especially the queer ones, especially the ones for folks of color, like those, were owned by the mafia or different various criminal gangs, because they were the ones willing to say, okay, you can dance here, but this is our place. Games, because they were the ones willing to say, okay, you can dance here, but this is our place, you know. And that it's like, because cannabis is still so, um, demonized and criminalized and and the prohibition and the stigma is so strong in the mainstream media even to this day, um, that that's why I think we see this, um, lack of accountability in cannabis media and this willingness to just ignore the values because there's no investment, there's no space, there's no, you know, like it really kind of is baffling to me that these national publications don't have a cannabis. You know some of them now do have a cannabis journalist, but maybe they're just justice focused or policy focused and like sure, that's important stuff, but that's that's also 10, 15 years behind. You know, some of them now do have a cannabis journalist, but maybe they're just justice focused or policy focused and like sure, that's important stuff, but that's that's also 10, 15 years behind. So now, why isn't there a culture journalist, you know, covering the culture of it? Because it's like that would be seen as too accepting, I think.
51:04
And they're just not ready for that.
51:07 - Speaker 1
Even when I've had doctors say this is a thing in an article for a mainstream publication about just CBD even they'll say things like that's a little too. We're afraid to put that out there because it's not proven.
51:22 - Danielle (Guest)
Oh yeah, Same, you know legal.
51:25 - Speaker 1
Yeah, but it's a legal doctor who's showing you proof?
51:32 - Danielle (Guest)
He has proof. I wrote an article about CBD skincare for a, let's just say, a teen teenage focus publication and they pulled the article because they were worried about recommending CBD to teenagers in any form or capacity.
51:44 - Speaker 2
And.
51:45 - Danielle (Guest)
I was like cool, even though it's on the Target shelf Like right, seriously. I know people can't see what I just did, but I just put my hand under my chin and flicked it mad times.
51:57 - Speaker 1
So what are some of the other challenges you've had? Writing for cannabis media outlets.
52:04 - Danielle (Guest)
I mean, like we said, that lack, that lack of professionalism and not getting paid, that's really a big one, because we deserve to have steady careers, we deserve to be able to start covering things outside of the negative, the drama.
52:21
We deserve to start being able to cover the positive and the deep and the reflective and the research, research.
52:32
And we're just really not able to go there because our, you know, the industry is so dominated by these small, um, monopolies, let's just call them, and you know, because of that, it's like there's just a complete lack of investment, um, in what exists outside of those margins and those boundaries.
52:48
And so I would really love to see, just like a sorry, it was a huge bug Um, I would really just love to see a investment in these smaller everyday stories, um, about cannabis use and cannabis culture. And you know, instead of seeing everything just become so necessity, focused, like it's like when, it's like how, when you're making a recipe, if you have the mise en place, you have everything set up and you, you know you taste it how it should be tasted and you kind of you make it quote, unquote, the right way first, but then, once you learn, you're riffing on it and stuff like that, and I feel like right now, everyone is so focused on being the authority that they're just being very rigid about everything and being very um, they're not willing to like, look outside of their brand language, really, and that's terrifying, because that is not how media works.
53:42
We, as writers, are not supposed to be keeping in mind some, some brands, like brand principles, when we're writing, uh, editorial stories, let's say a lot of us freelance and marketing, and that's completely different but I mean the amount of times we get approached to like change something, because it's like one silly word, um, that is like so crucial to their marketing, but to us is like that's not it.
54:05 - Speaker 1
That's not what we're here for, yeah, that's not so.
54:08 - Danielle (Guest)
we have this really unfortunate um over relance right now on, like PR and us are like very reliant on each other in a way that is like not really good right now, because you know, like I, there's a lot of really amazing people doing amazing work in PR and cannabis and they've been fighting for this, like fighting for this, and you can see it in the brands they work with and you can see it in the choices they make. And then there's other times where you're like you just know that you're not going to get anyone to comment on your story because it's not in, it's not like completely aligned with this brands, like whatever, and like that's so annoying because it's just completely like you're not a celebrity.
54:53 - Speaker 1
I know and I think, like more to your point, I've had even situations where I've interviewed someone for a piece and it's a really informative, thoughtful piece, but because, like you said, it doesn't fit the person who I interviewed's aesthetic, their, their, whatever, their, their brand assets, they won't share it anywhere, so it gets like no light. Oh, that's yeah.
55:17
No, shine, that's annoying, yeah, but now let's switch to something nice, because we're not going to just complain the whole time, because you write about a lot of really cool things and you mentioned recipes a few times. I know you've written some really cool recipe pieces and accessibility is a big issue on this show and I know you just recently wrote something really cool about that. So what are some of your favorite articles and experiences that you've had?
55:44 - Danielle (Guest)
This is definitely much more fun than talking about people's private jets. I really love writing about food and cannabis, even though it's not something I'm like. I'm not a daily edible doser, let's say, but like I think as cannabis becomes more, like in California. Sure I was doing that, cause it was just more there. Whereas in New York it's you're counting those gummies.
56:06
So I really love to write about, like how cannabis and food interact as a home chef not just as a professional, you know, because that's, I think, where a lot of that medicating happens is at home and so it was really fun over the years to put together cocktail recipes and one of just the most delicious non-alcoholic drinks I don't know it's very New York, but the egg cream, but it doesn't have eggs in it. It's just the most delicious non-alcoholic drinks.
56:33 - Speaker 1
I don't know it's very New York, but it's egg cream, but it doesn't have eggs in it, it's just the name, and I just always wondered about that.
56:36 - Danielle (Guest)
I'm like what is that? So it's really just like very old fashioned. It's kind of like a creamy seltzer, and when I worked at this you know fabulous cocktail bar, I had all these ingredients available at my fingertips all the time. So I was always messing around and making secret weed infused pina coladas sorry guys.
56:56
and one drink I used to make was this coconut egg cream and I wrote a recipe about it and if it still exists it's on the fresh toast and essentially you are just mixing together like a little bit of cannabis infused oils and vanilla extract and a coconut milk or cream with a little bit of orange juice, and once you shake those together and you get a little bit of air in there, you put some ice, pour it over, and then you really want to top it with like a long pour of seltzer and it makes this amazing foam that just kind of creeps up out of the glass like like a souffle, and it's so delicious, so refreshing, and it kind of just tastes like a vanilla cream school pop, but in liquid form, and then you get that little hint of whatever terpenes from the flower you're using and I just wish that that was like a regular experience.
57:43 - Speaker 1
That would be so cool. Oh, I love that, I know.
57:45 - Danielle (Guest)
I'm like orange julius.
57:47
I'm right there with you yes, so you can totally look that up and make it at home and honestly, it's like you can make it with alcohol, if you wanted to, or not, or make it with no weed. But I just really love refreshing beverages and so I'm really glad that I've been getting to write more in the beverage space, and recently I wrote an amazing piece for Full Pour about if you can get cannabis to roar in a drink, like if that's a thing that can happen, and I had some amazing sources people like ben larson from virtosa. He's such an awesome person in the cannabis space to listen. He has his own podcast and he's just always educating.
58:23 - Speaker 1
Sorry, let me cut you off. I just I didn't. I missed what you said cannabis, what, what was it?
58:27 - Danielle (Guest)
Terroir like wine Terroir. I say it so funny, my accent comes through Terroir.
58:33
So, essentially it's will the finer qualities of a flower of any given strain like. Will that come through in a beverage? Is that a thing? Can it be a thing? And you know we really had some deep questions in there, because I really think that sure, a lot of us, especially medical users like myself, we love smoking weed and it's it's the most like, fast and expedient way to get medicated sometimes. But I really think that the beverage space is part of what will be the future and that's all thanks to technology.
59:04
I think maybe five years ago I wouldn't have felt this way, even though I was making all these crazy drinks myself, like I didn't maybe think that it was going to be part of the future of products in cannabis and and. But now I really think that you know, it's going to be one of the major ways where we see the next wave of normalization and mainstream of cannabis is in drinks. And the quote that I said in this article is like Gen Z is not going to want bottled mids and right now that's the majority of the market is just bottled, you know, random distillate just to use up the scraps. And I think that brands need to get serious about quality in the beverage space and flavor. Everyone's too busy covering up the taste of weed, but a lot of us love it, so I'm, I'm, I'm hoping for a future where I have an infused kombucha, so you know.
59:55
Oh, that's, that's gotta happen.
59:57 - Speaker 1
It has to.
59:58 - Danielle (Guest)
I feel like in California that exists.
59:59 - Speaker 1
Well, I make it myself, but I use things I get at the dispensary right now. So I want to create something. Well, I'm not creating a product line just for the record, I'm just saying what I wish would be out there.
01:00:11 - Speaker 2
Yeah.
01:00:12 - Speaker 1
I would like it to be out there in the world because it is a great combination. I love caffeine and THC together. Yeah, me too Waving my coffee and weed at the screen. So what do you wish? I'm sorry, no, go ahead.
01:00:39 - Danielle (Guest)
I was just going to say what do you wish more people understood about cannabis media, our careers going, you know? I mean that's that's kind of a huge shame, I think, to the industry and we're not the only ones, I think I I tend not to like look at myself as like the sole victim of these types of things and look at the wider system and like there's so many amazing talented writers out there, especially ones on the west coast, as these different magazines close their cannabis desks or minimize their cannabis coverage, there's so many incredible writers that have been really foundational to the cannabis media beat that are just not getting the work. We are not getting the work, and some of us are doing work on our own and then not getting investment into that, and so it's just creating this like huge gap in coverage that, like I said, gets filled with the cult of personality versus the you know the real information.
01:01:43 - Speaker 1
Right, like it's happening in California right now with the bill that's about to be up for a vote in August, and I just found out about this and how it can impact all of these children.
01:01:47 - Danielle (Guest)
I mean, like that should have been frontline news on a lot of these cannabis media publications and there are a lot of people trying to build this infrastructure now, I think, and some of them come from hard news background, and I do think, though, that I am just going to say it, because they're all really incredible and talented journalists, but they happen to be men and they get the. They get that excitement, they get that backing, they get that. You know, people listen to them with authority, whereas you know not like, oh, you just do it as a side hustle, or it's your hobby, you know I mean I do tend to position myself as a lot more opinionated and less neutral, so it's totally fair that I'm not going to be everyone's cup of tea.
01:02:36
But, that being said, if I did show up in a pantsuit and, you know, in full broadcaster drag, I still wouldn't be taken seriously, like let's be honest.
01:02:46 - Speaker 1
Broadcaster drag. We should just do that anyway. That would be so much fun.
01:02:50 - Danielle (Guest)
Coffee talk.
01:02:54 - Speaker 1
Sweat of weather.
01:02:55 - Danielle (Guest)
Coffee and weed. But I think that, yeah, that we cannabis media just needs more investment, and that isn't just money, it's eyeballs, it's sharing the stories it's talking about. You know, like when I craft a newsletter, I try to shout out my fellow content creators journalists like you really have to intentionally consume this media because it doesn't find you through the algorithms, with somebody if you think about them or post, throw it up on LinkedIn, because we need those eyeballs more than anything, because that those metrics, unfortunately, are the biggest metrics to investors, are the biggest metrics to your traffic, your algorithms, and so you can write the best story ever and it can have 500 views. And then that publication now is like you know, I loved that story, was amazing, but we got like no views on it, and that's happened a lot of times. You know I loved that story, it was amazing, but we got like no views on it, and that's happened a lot of times.
01:03:55 - Speaker 1
Only, for it to get really popular as the years go on. Now thinking about that high. What do you call it? The sober, the California sober story?
01:04:02
we covered like eight years ago and now people are all writing about it again and like I don't know about you. But I get a little bit like irritated when I see things like that, because you're like if it had been shared enough, if it had gotten a little bit of shine, then you could say like, oh yeah, yeah, I know about that, I've written about it. Can I write about it again? But when it's like on a publication that's buried in the search analytics and all this and even still in existence, you know, yeah, how do you show people that work? You know, yeah, yeah, you're just like how do you show people that work? You know. But I think that's also like my own issues, because I get like I get that mentality sometimes like I'm the only one that can write this story, even though I know I can't right, like I know that's not real.
01:04:46 - Danielle (Guest)
Well, I think that's the spark of being a reporter or a journalist or a writer in some ways, you feel compelled to tell a story, whether it's about you or about someone else, and I think that's really why we are here today and why we are still trying to do this is because we feel compelled to tell these stories about cannabis and now, much to a lot of their ire, it's going to be that we're telling stories about them instead of telling stories about, you know, the culture and the uh, all the products that are coming out and and the people behind them. Um, but I just also think that this over commercialization is an arc and it's it's. I don't know if it's reached a speak or not, because I am not a financial analyst, but I do see a downturn in the like that attempt to be so polished, and so this perfect brand, like we've already seen, brands try that and fail. So I just think that you know, embracing the a little bit of the cannabis chaos is is really like it's part of one of the values you know, and so I think that, um, you know, if brands and therefore if they just start actually advertising these publications instead of you know, like I'm not going to lie Some of these publications out there, they look bad, they got bad fonts, they got bad design and I might not want to stick my brand in there If I was this fancy LA person with this chic brand that everyone loves.
01:06:10
But you know what? You're still our people. Corny font people are still our people. Cool font people are still our people, like we're all in this together kind of. So I just really wish I could see a little bit of this too cool for school. There's always been a cool and a cringe side to cannabis, but the cool and the cringe need to come together a little bit, because we're all drowning whether you're cool or you're cringe and just have, like you know, and it's hard because everyone pans media right now.
01:06:41 - Speaker 1
It's even more difficult to make the case that we need to run things like, like it used to be. I don't know, that's not even the right wording, I don't even know how to put it anymore Because, like, on the one hand, I want to disrupt the systems that are in place that keep us from, you know, being published. On the other hand, like you said, those, the flight, the flight gates open, and then it's like trying to stick out in that and when you've been doing it already, it's kind of I don't know. Oh, my God, sorry, okay here we go the incident, the incident, make sure I didn't.
01:07:17
Are we recording? Okay, all right, I think we're good too bad you weren't recording video. That'd be a tiktok for the ages right I'm never recording when fun things like that happen video at least, um anyway. So now that you're back and safe, hopefully, for the moment can you tell people how they can support you, what you have coming up, where they can find you?
01:07:42 - Danielle (Guest)
absolutely well. It's no secret that media is hard, haha, so I have been kind of branching out my content a bit outside of social media. So I do have a newsletter which is on Beehive. You can find it on my Instagram, which is realdanhell at realdanhell, and so on my IG, under the links, you can always find new playlists that I'm making because I am also a DJ, so I'm always making new playlists, new mixes am also a DJ, so I'm always making new playlists, new mixes. The newsletter comes out about once a month and I really actually recommend following it, if not for my rants or my writing. You know, maybe I'm not your cup of tea, but I put so many events into this newsletter so you will find events in a lot of major cities, hopefully starting to oversee soon. So I'm really trying to also give this community aspect of, like you said, sharing people's events, sharing people's projects outside of my own, because you know that's how we find each other, that's how we all get ahead. There's a little bit of reviews in there, so that's DGAFBEEHIIVcom.
01:08:48 - Speaker 1
We'll put the links in the notes for you.
01:08:50 - Danielle (Guest)
Yeah, and if you're in New York city, definitely follow Cause. I'm going to be starting up a rooftop party soon which is going to be a lot of like fun. You know, dance, music, Italian food type of vibes, Very taking it back to the nineties.
01:09:06 - Speaker 1
I wish I could come. You're so cool. Well, thank you. I think, you're pretty cool too.
01:09:17 - Danielle (Guest)
I think we are doing cool things, both of us and I just want to say I'm so proud of everyone who's been, you know, really like sticking it out in the algorithm sense, you know, on social media.
01:09:29
Like I don't know, this is like totally an aside, but you know, we really have been starved of the eyeballs on Instagram, like all of us cannabis content creators, the famous ones, the little ones, the bong people, the you know hikers, just everybody, the people who smoke in their car and give inspirational speeches like they have snatched those eyeballs from us and it's really stressful and I just want to say keep going, maybe not on Instagram, but just keep going, like with your content. Like don't give up because they can't they have not been able to stop us. Like, look at where we got. And so we're just going to keep going and keep bringing this message to people until it is normal and it is free to express, because I think that that censorship has really tainted the past like five, six years of culture in a way that we're going to be seeing the consequences of for the next 20 years probably.
01:10:24 - Speaker 1
Absolutely, I agree. Well, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. Well, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. This podcast has been a product of your Highness Media. Each episode is written, produced and edited by your Highness Media.
01:11:07 - Speaker 4
Thank you. We ain't got generational wealth. It's only a year that I've had these millions. My whip could have been in a Tokyo drift car. It's fast and furious. I went from the Toyota Yaris to the Urus. They had their chance but blew it. Now this gal want me in her uterus. Fuck it, I'm rich, let's do it.
01:11:21 - Speaker 3
Take a look at these diamonds wrong, as her life is squinting. Can't just stare. We're bathed through thick and thin. She already fixed, so I'm halfway there. Brown and bad Could have changed my mind. I was halfway there, 100 meters. I just put 9 gallon of Sprint on 100 eaters.
01:11:38 - Speaker 4
It won't fit in one SUV. Sos, somebody rescue me. I got too many, too many many. All I got. They could lost me the next two weeks, all right.
01:12:04 - Speaker 3
That's them that I dress through, please, all right, but all them years of doing the crackin' Sprint up two gal in a van, it's hard. Two men in my land heard one of my feet Gave him PD and he went for centre. Whatever she bags.
01:12:15 - Speaker 4
Outside my head and my hands. I told her my name is Sens. She said no. The one on your back said Trinica, your boyfriend ran from that diamond test Cause they weren't legitimate. She Turkish, sip, ya, but her car's Brazilian. I want her. I broke. What's her failure? I'm cheap. Still hit a chip like Yo. Can I borrow your Netflix? She a feminist. She think I'm sexist, just to my words. I think she dyslexic. Give me my space. I'm intergalactic. Before I give you my Insta password, I'll give you the pin to my amit. Alright, this ain't stainless steel, it's platinum Dinner table. I got manners T-shirt top, thank you. I never went uni. I've been on a campfire selling cocaine cascudas. It's bold that the drumsticks beat. There's something going deep. They ain't playing excuses.
01:13:13 - Speaker 3
Take a look at these diamonds. Wrong as her life is squinting, can't you stare? Went bay through thick and thin. She already fixed. So I'm halfway there. Brown, like battle could've changed my mind. I was halfway there, 100 metres. I just put 9 gallon a sprint, 100 eaters.
01:13:29 - Speaker 4
It won't fit in one SUV. Sos, somebody rescue me. I've got too many. I've got too many. If they lost me, then that's too. I'm party all the time. Girl, I seen you in clubs Just hanging out and dancing. You give your number to every man. You see, I'm party all the time. I'm party all the time. I'm party all the time. I'm party all the time. I'm party all Just hanging out and dancing.
01:13:51 - Speaker 3
You give your number to every man you see. You never come home at night Because you're out romancing.
01:14:05 - Speaker 4
I wish you'd bring some of your love home to me. But my girl wants to party all the time. Party all the time, party all the time. My girl wants to party all the time. Party all the time. My girl wants to party all the time. Party all the time, party all the time.