Sunstone Winery and Sunstone Cannabis Official
Written By Kellie Frederick
Driving up the gravel path to Sunstone Winery, the sound of the city drops away. The most prevalent sound in the air is bird song. There's peace and quiet, a natural beauty enhanced by the rows of grapevines sleeping, waiting to come to life just as spring is about to emerge. The entire estate is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
Sunstone and Budist: Wine, Cannabis, and Community
Written By June Blankin
The Fat Nugs Team was fortunate to spend a few days at Sunstone getting to know the staff and meet many locals of Santa Barbara and the surrounding area. I was enchanted by the spirit of community for the people, wine, and cannabis industry. They support each other in creating a world-class destination of locally grown and locally produced products that are second to none. Teddy and Djamila have something very special with Sunstone with plans for more wine and cannabis events and cannabis-only events in the future.
Something Stinks in Humboldt County, and It’s Not the Weed Farms
Written By Shelley Peebles
They have pooled their own resources and hired attorneys of their own. Recently, a judge ruled against them in their decision to allow Measure A to be put to a vote. Regardless of how misleading the initiative is, the judge ruled for it to go before the voters to decide the fate of Humboldt’s legal cannabis farms.
Ego Clash and the Hash Culture
Written By Shelley Peebles
Ego Clash was being held in Hopland, California, about 2 hours from where I was staying. As I was walking to another event, someone mentioned that they were letting women into Ego Clash for free, so I decided I needed to go. This was something I’ve wanted to attend for the last year!
I took a screenshot of the address and mapped it out on my phone. A few people in my group said they wanted to check it out too so we started devising a plan.
Organic Revolution: A Conversation with NubsFarms on Regenerative Farming and the Future of Cultivation
Written By Alex Popoff
Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Trenton & Dave from NubsFarms, a company on a mission to make future generations healthy by preventing the sickness and diseases that plague our world. Through organic and healthy agriculture farming practices, they aim to shift traditional cultivation methods to cleaner, organic, and healthier growing practices.
“We feel like part of a family, and the majority of our products come from Northern California. We're problem solvers, and we're here to make things simple for farmers.”
The Emerald Cup ‘Small Farms Initiative…’
Written by Marcel Menard
The Emerald Cup’s Harvest Ball is a yearly beacon for the cannabis community. It’s an event where all can gather and passionately celebrate the work of their fellow farmer. This year, the Emerald Cup Harvest Ball has partnered once again with California craft farms to give them an opportunity to participate as vendors in their world famous marketplace and consumption lounges. The Small Farms Initiative program provides craft farms the chance to be seen and celebrated by the diehard seasoned attendees and newly cannacurious crowds looking for the latest farm fresh flower, genetics, or wellness products.
The Traveling Cannabis Writer We All Wish We Could Be
Veronica Castillo is the Traveling Cannabis Writer We All Wish We Could Be! A new destination every day, with new connections, new scenery, and new ways to support the culture of Cannabis by exploring everything from farms to dispensaries, to technology companies and educational opportunities. All done with a fat blunt and heady high full of inspiration and motivation to share the world of Cannabis with anyone and everyone possible.
Editor’s Sample Hot Box: 420 Edition
Written By Melanie Rizzo & Lindsey Gunter
One of the many perks of being editors here at FNM is that we regularly receive samples. Samples, you say? Yes, LOTS of them. From candles, to prerolls, edibles, and flower, these samples provide us with first-hand knowledge of the latest products on the market, and by staying on top of the trends, we can share the scoop with our readers.
By receiving samples in a myriad of ways, we possess a lens into the product landscape, and as a publication, we are the voices here to spread the word!
But as you know, we at FNM are pretty discerning when it comes to what we smoke and what we support. So, for this 420 guide, we welcome you to the first of our Editor’s Sample Hotbox. An on-going series where we’ll gush about our favorite inhalable, edible and accessory products!
From Red to Pink - Part VIII: Hot Pink mess
Written By Lindsey Gunter
Listen up people: You can be a big, bad whatever, but if you put two types of weed in the bag, you’re doing bad business. Period. It’s unacceptable. I could not believe the blatant illegality of this, outside of the poor planning and product development. Such shamefully low regard for the consumer. There is only one C.O.A. for good reason, and besides, people have eyes and can clearly see a difference.
'Red would never have done something like that' I remembered thinking to myself. What a shame it felt like at times, everyone from the teams I worked with running dispensaries were scattered all over the place by now, and couldn't likely come in to see what all that I learned from them could make.
For some, after the amount of drama that had so far unfolded, they were starting to feel embarrassed about even being associated with the place. I wondered what my own late business owning mother would say about Pink as I watched ownership and the owner's assistant show family around the dispensary around holiday time.
From Red to Pink - Part VII: Pink & Red Flags
Written By Lindsey Gunter
Unsurprisingly, there were a few hurdles up front. Aren’t there always? Namely, construction ran behind and, oh yeah, a pandemic was beginning to unfold, followed by one of the greatest movements for civil rights in recent U.S. history. Then there was the racism - yes, I used that word, and it won’t be the last time I mention it, either.
We still set a goal for a soft opening to culminate into a hard opening day celebration on 4/20/2020. And once I got my team together operationally, the store seemed closer to opening than ever. But it also seemed more and more clear that no one would be having a 4/20/2020.
It is my sincere hope April 20th someday becomes a nationally recognized holiday for the USA, marking cannabis’ debutante moment of acceptance, to at least make up for this sacred moment, snatched away by fate.
From Red to Pink - Part VI: The Pink Era Begins
Written By Lindsey Gunter
My layoff date approached, red jackets began to appear in thrift store windows around town (ouch), and I found myself sitting in a dark, shabby room covered in concrete dust - clearly the only habitable place in the general sea of construction going on inside. I was interviewing for a new dispensary’s ownership that got my resume from The Blacklist. “Gold” someone had called it. We knew some of the same people, shared some brand-building opinions and a desire for an open, feminine, inclusive ideal for the dispensary. I shook hands and agreed to an hourly rate until opening, upon which time a salary for myself and the people I brought into other key positions would go into effect. I walked out and just about danced all the way home.
Do you ever wish you could just go back in time, not to prevent anything from happening necessarily, but to warn yourself? I probably would’ve just tapped myself on the shoulder and simply said, “Don’t dance yet.”
But alas, as I danced down the street, “Finally,” I thought, “this is my chance to put a real dent in the binary!”
The Seven Cannabis Factions - Part I
Written By Trent Hancock & Shayney Norick
If you look closely enough at the groups with interest in the future of cannabis, they can be broken down into seven factions. They all have a different vision, and none of them are going anywhere. Instead of the situation boiling over politically, the best course of action is for all factions to negotiate a future that is best for everyone. Each cannabis faction’s concerns need to be addressed via amendments written to update current state cannabis laws.
The Stigmatization of Cannabis Is Still Alive and Well in California
Written By Dan Wittmers
Consuming cannabis is so far outside their definition of personal preference that maternity patients are forced to sign a physical document before delivery demanding they “do not trust anyone who is using marijuana to care for [their] child.”
This extremist document was presented to us as an agreement that “just states you won’t bring cannabis in the hospital or use it while you’re on-site.” It should be noted that they did not take the time to discuss with us the effects of drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, or taking opioids while breastfeeding, nor did they present to us any similar documentation regarding those drugs and their potential effects on parenting an infant. Likewise, when they prescribed my wife fentanyl for her discomfort because it wasn’t yet time for an epidural, there was no discussion about its potential effects on the baby still in her womb.