The Hash

In our season finale, David meets up with the enigmatic founder and CEO of Puffco, Roger Volodarsky, for an intimate conversation about the role psychedelics have played in shaping his iconic vaporizers, as well as his outlook on life.

No matter where you live in America, the marginalization of people - based on their appearance, age, beliefs - persists, and distorts the way we treat one another. Virgie Tovar, the author of “You Have the Right to Remain Fat,” is seeking to change that. Virgie travels all over the country speaking about body image and the effects of weight based discrimination, as well as providing online and in-person mentoring. Virgie also happens to be a fan of what she calls “Ye Oldie cannabis.” In this episode we’re going to learn about how the history of fat activism curiously parallels the cannabis industry, hear some of Virgie’s wild experiences with cannabis and discover how it influences both her work and her identity. “What weed does is it allows me to kind of like settle into my body and as a fat person who has been taught to feel disembodied, it's a powerful experience," she says. For more information about Virgie’s work, including her online course Lose Hate Not Weight Babecamp, her Camp Thunder Thighs retreat and her upcoming book Flawless: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color, check out https://www.virgietovar.com/

Last week, Leafly's David Downs and Bruce Barcott released a groundbreaking research paper that looks at the data around three huge myths about cannabis legalization: that it contributes to more crime and more teen use, and that it kills property values. But is that what the data actually says? Listen in as David and Max chat about the process behind their research paper, the details of the team's findings and what we can all do to enact change in counties that have banned legalization.

Few people realize that the war on marijuana involves more than just arrests and jail time. Often, it breaks up families. Coming on the heels of Mothers Day, this episode of the Hash looks at situations in which moms aren’t free to use cannabis. Both in New York City and throughout the US, pregnant moms often get tested for cannabis without their permission; young mothers can lose their newborns to agencies like NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services, or in divorce courts over safe use of marijuana. We caught up with WNYC public radio reporter Yasmeen Khan, who has been investigating the staggering rates at which children are separated from their parents in NYC because of cannabis use and other circumstances, to hear more about the women affected by this draconian policy.

We’re 18 months into legal weed sales in California and sales are popping! More than 600 licensed stores, 150 delivery services, and 1,500 farms are in operation; the state made $600M in tax revenue last year, and is on the way to raking in a cool billion dollars a year in taxes. And we’ve just got started. But things are also turbulent. The market is shuddering. Heavy, heavy regulations and taxes bear down on cannabis for the first time. It’s causing anguish among suppliers. Nowadays, the farm license paperwork alone runs 44 pages, with fees that top out at $44,000 per year. So we sat down with California’s number one regulator, Lori Ajax, chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control to chat about what consumers and industry can expect this year. Ajax, and BCC spokesperson, Alex Traverso, dished to me on-stage at the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco this January. Listen along for the latest on Golden State cannabis testing, child-proofing, legal delivery, and new stores. - David Downs

Although cannabis legislation is now being proposed across the country at a steady clip, it can be easy to forget that the first calls for legalization from elected officials came nearly half a century ago, from Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Frank proposed the country’s first legalization bill in 1972, and is among the true godfathers of cannabis reform. Frank left office in 2013; earlier this year, he entered the cannabis industry himself, through a partnership with a Massachusetts wholesale company called Greentown Beantown. Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with Frank in New York City to learn more about his long history with cannabis reform, the parallels he sees between marriage equality and cannabis, the current state of national political affairs and much more.

As cannabis becomes legal across the country, the vast majority of Americans - over 80% - still haven’t been inside a licensed cannabis store. Maybe that even includes you! That’s OK - cannabis stores are still a pretty new thing in these United States. But that doesn’t mean your first dispensary visit to be an intimidating or stressful experience. Just ask Dennis Norris II, co-host of the delightful - and delightfully raunchy - podcast Food 4 Thot. We first met Dennis this February in Portland, while we were in town for the Listen Up podcast Festival. Dennis, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns “they and their," told me that they haven’t had many positive experiences with cannabis, and have hardly ever set foot in a dispensary. We ended up taking Dennis to Serra, a beautiful dispensary in the heart of downtown Portland, to follow them through their first real dispensary experience. Listen in as Dennis learns about a handful of various cannabis products, including Serra’s new line of gumdrops, before eventually settling on the perfect product for them.

Since forming nearly two decades ago, the musical group Animal Collective has managed the remarkable feat of keeping the psychedelic pop of the 1960s fresh and relevant to a new generation of music lovers. Over the course of ten studio albums, the group, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, has explored both trippy disorienting soundscapes and gorgeous pop songwriting in equal measure. Last week we met up with the group’s co-frontman Dave Portner — who performs as Avey Tare — to hear about the role of cannabis in his songwriting; beyond being great music to listen to high, we discovered that cannabis is truly baked into his songs’ DNA. Portner is currently on the road behind a new solo album, Cows on Hourglass Pond. Featuring sweet melodies alongside dreamy spaced out arrangements, the record highlights everything that fans have come to love from his work. Listen in as Portner walks us through his history with cannabis, including the music that he first heard high, as well his favorite strains and the specific roles that cannabis plays in his songwriting.

Although the iconic and irreverent director Harmony Korine - the creative force behind "Spring Breakers," "Kids," "Gummo" and more - has long included pot in his films, it’s taken him over two decades to make a straight-up toner comedy. Last week saw the release of "The Beach Bum," starring Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Zac Efron and Jonah Hill. The film follows the wild shenanigans of Moon Dog, a crass and hedonistic stoner poet who, because of some unforeseen circumstances, is forced to either write and publish a book of his work, or go broke (or worse). Yet there’s more to Moon Dog than meets the eye, and his love of cannabis provides a key to understanding his deeper character. We caught up with Korine ahead of the film’s premiere to chat about his own relationship with cannabis, what Moon Dog has to teach America in 2019, the logistical challenges of filming with Snoop Dogg and more.

Ask any musician — touring sucks. You don’t get enough sleep, you eat terribly, and injuries can afflict body and mind. Musicians often self-medicate with herb gifted from fans. But thanks to legalization — precise topicals and tinctures augment the mystery grass. Over the course of a decade and ten full-length albums, the Bay Area trio Beats Antique have honed their blend of pop, electro funk and wide-ranging global influences into a singular stew of party-starting exuberance. Traveling the world over and over again—David Satori and “Sidecar Tommy” Cappel have learned a few things. Backstage before their tour-closing show at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, the band detailed the cannabis products that healed them, including Fairwinds’ Deep Sleep Tincture and Green Earth Medicinals’ Muscle Spray.

Max sits down with Ev'Yan Whitney, sexuality doula and host of the "Sexually Liberated Woman" podcast, to chat about the role cannabis can play in sexual empowerment and liberation. This episode of the Hash was recorded live at the Commune in Portland, Oregon, as part of the Listen Up Festival.

The Hash's David Downs sits down with Broccoli Magazine founder Anja Charbonneau - live at the 2019 Listen Up Festival in Portland, Oregon - to chat cannabis and women's reproductive health, how to cover problematic weed brands, Broccoli's epic 2019 and more.

Famed cannabis journalist - and current head of the Grasslands creative agency - Ricardo Baca sits down with the Hash's David Downs to chat about the music that has influenced his love of cannabis in this new episode of The Hash, now on Leafly.com!

The iconic underground hip-hop star Open Mike Eagle sits down with The Hash's Max Savage Levenson to talk about his favorite edible for writing rhymes, his early days of pot paranoia, why he thinks Top 40 rappers are underrated and more.

Portland musician Adam Trachsel, of the indie rock trio Mimicking Birds, survived a battle with brain cancer in his early thirties. His road to recovery has been long and arduous, but CBD played a big role in helping him find stability and health. Listen in as Trachsel shares his story with the Hash's Max Savage Levenson.