Boston absolutely blew us away! Coming straight from Hall of Flowers, RMR made its way out to the East Coast on the 23rd to get a look at what #Grassachusetts is all about. Needless to say, it’s ultimately clear that the masterminds behind Massachusetts dispensaries and brands want their state industry to shine. Boston Cannabis Week became a meeting ground for industry moguls and stoners alike, showing off a bright community.
Located within Underground at Ink Block, an urban recreational park beneath Interstate 93, BCW committed a full week to panelists, industry experts, and stoner culture. The week kicked off on Monday with athlete awareness and featured speakers like Gary Payton and Paul Pierce. The next day was a fashion showcase, followed by a slew of panels discussing community on Wednesday. Boston Cannabis Week also showed recognition of social equity and justice on Thursday with talks on relevant policies.
After touching down, we met up with some local brands and perused Bostonian cuisine. BCW had already been going on for a couple days by the time we arrived, but there’s no doubt that the energy of the event remained right up until Freddie Gibb’s last song on Saturday. Between the jams and joints, it was hard to not just drop everything and take it easy with the crowd, too. Nonetheless, we persevered through the haze to give you an idea what next year’s Boston Cannabis Week will look like, too.
The Weedmaps Block Party at Boston Cannabis Week
The first day RMR attended at Boston Cannabis Week was the Weedmaps Block Party. This night was like a pre-game for the main concert on the following night. Most of the exhibitors had already set up their tents alongside delicious food carts. RMR was able to quickly get around and meet everyone before the music started for the night.
When there’s weed there’s a way; that’s what our staff learned Friday night. Massachusetts legalized recreational sale of cannabis in 2016, and ever since then, dispensaries and brands are continuously climbing to greater heights. What’s particular about weed regulation in Mass is that companies have a limit on the number of dispensaries they may open (three). Certain restrictions like this lead many groups to collaborating more fluidly, but it also makes it more important to conduct business with respect and professionalism.
These virtues evolved in practice as we met several brands at Boston Cannabis Week. In fact, not only were the people we met courteous and friendly, but unafraid to express their love for weed and cannabis culture too.
Weedmaps and Other Brands at Boston Cannabis Week
Some folks at BCW came to Massachusetts from the West Coast, in fact. Shout-outs to Devin and Sean from Weedmaps, as well as Holly from Berkshire Roots, for accommodating us and getting us introduced to more people.
Alongside those two brands were Apotho Therapeutics, Green Gold Group, Garden Remedies, Redi, Rolling Releaf, Mello, and Legal Greens. Every tent had swag for days… seriously. Garden Remedies had a couple hundred rolling trays they handed out to everyone they could. Trulieve had the biggest showcase and distributed bags of their own branding.
The live music on this day was very enjoyable, but clearly focused on a more mellow vibe compared to the next day. DJ Largechild led the way with some killer hip-hop, and there’s no doubt that the Christman Collective smashed it out of the park. The five-piece blended funk, soul, R&B, and other impressions into their own jams and grooves. We were honored to get a taste of local musicianship by way of their performance, as well as that of Super Smash Broz. The hip-hop project, also from the area, tore up the stage with impressive flows.
The Weedmaps Block Party was a great chance to mingle and learn about the area’s dispensaries. As mentioned before though, the excitement didn’t end that night.
Freddie Gibbs and Mick Jenkins Took Boston Cannabis Week to Hip-Hop Heaven
Coming back to the scene at BCW on Saturday, we noticed several more exhibitor tents set up. Western Front, the host of the Mixer event on Thursday, came out to rep their roots. Meanwhile, Coast Cannabis was handing out uninfused samples of their renowned chocolate and gummies. Spark FM, a local radio station, was another group that came out to support the cannabis community.
While the Block Party had much more opportunity for industry members to interact, the BCW Xperience Event brought consumers and fans out in the hundreds. This is no doubt attributed to the music that same night, accompanied on stage by non-stop weed-themed visuals.
It was a beautiful stage setup, really. We have a lot of respect for the opening acts, Jazzmyn Red, Guru Senaal, Termanology, and Skyzoo, as well. Lyrical genius was a constant theme through every performance. From Jazzmyn Red’s melodic potential to Skyzoo’s intricate rhyme schemes, the passion was omnipresent.
The Headliners
Darkness had since crept in when Mick Jenkins took the stage. An established RMR favorite, Mick made it his mission to spread some love at Boston Cannabis Week. Good vibes and soothing tracks took a bigger theme compared to “hype” songs. As it turned out, that department was left for Freddie.
Freddie Gibbs is considered by many to be one of the best MCs on the scene right now. Every single track the Indiana-born rapper bestowed upon the crowd was followed by plaza-wide smokes. In between songs he was either gassing up the spot, or spotting some gas for himself. Later on he even got Termanology back on the stage for some collabs.
Overall, the Boston Cannabis Week experience is an unforgettable and virtuous one. Members of the industry and run-of-the-mill Ents would equally find much utility in a trip out to BCW events. Between networking, education, and straight good vibes, one would be sorely disappointed to miss out on the 2022 installment.
All photos taken by Respect My Region
Learn more about Boston Cannabis Week
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook
Dispensaries and brands at Boston Cannabis Week
Green Gold Group | Weedmaps | Apotho Therapeutics | Trulieve MA | Coast Cannabis | Rolling Releaf | Western Front | Redi | Legal Greens | Berkshire Roots | Garden Remedies | Mello | Apothca
Connect with artists from BCW
Freddie Gibbs | Mick Jenkins | Skyzoo | Termanology | Jazzmyn Red | Super Smash Broz | The Christman Collective | DJ Largechild
More Cannabis and Music Content
RESPECT MY REGION, HOUSE OF CULTIVAR, AND FOUNTAINHEAD SEEDS LAUNCH “7 DAYS A WEEK”
9 RAPPERS FROM DETROIT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS YEAR
BERNER, CEO OF COOKIES INTERVIEW: THE MAN BEHIND THE BIGGEST WEED BRAND IN THE WORLD
BIDEN PARDONS THOUSANDS FOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA, CALLS FOR REVIEW OF CANNABIS SCHEDULING
7 TIPS FOR MARKETING CANNABIS AND CBD ON TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM
MOORE KISMET OPENS UP ABOUT THEIR SECRET DOUBLE LIFE AS AN EDM SUPERSTAR
