The Grand View Research states that the legal cannabis industry is worth more than $9 billion. It is expected to expand further, providing alternative types of care, relief, and new jobs along the way.

The AIDS pandemic disproportionately affected the LGBT community, particularly during its peak in the 1980s. HIV/AIDS is a devastating disease for which no medical treatments exist. However, cannabis was effective in providing relief. 

Cannabis, in addition to its numerous medical benefits, may alleviate headaches and nausea and reduce "wasting syndrome," a depletion of tissue and muscle mass. The Washington Post posted an article about medical cannabis use in 1990: "Some people with AIDS have a motto: Die high."

Furthermore, transgender children are targeted in multiple states, Florida has banned the word "gay" from schools, and bodily autonomy rights are being threatened nationwide. Over 200 bills limiting the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans have been introduced this year. 

Several major corporations that funded the politicians behind these proposals are now preparing to spend the forthcoming month pandering hardly to the LGBTQ+ community. So, in anticipation of a month of corporate rainbow-washing, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of our favourite homegrown queer-owned cannabis businesses. 

Stone Road

Source: Mary Magazine

Stone Road, founded in 2016 by CEO Lex Corwin, is a cannabis farm dedicated to making a difference through ethical growing practices, an employee-owned structure, and its signature product: breathtakingly beautiful joints. 

Stone Road, named after the location where Corwin first began growing cannabis, is a company founded on fair wages, diverse hiring, and a people-over-profit model for cannabis. As a result, one can feel better about smoking cannabis than just high.

Sway Blunts

Source: Sway Blunts

Sway Blunts should be your new favorite indulgence if you're a low-dose smoker who still enjoys an ultra-rich exhale. These cigars are hand-rolled with sticky, fragrant hemp cannabis that contains no more than 3% THC and are available in minis, traditional wraps, or cured-and-layered Thai sticks. 

Sway is a simple brand to support because it incorporates wellness and recreational goals. It was founded by Melody Wright and is led by partner Sonia Fay Wright. Bonus: When smoked, the weight, density, and heady perfume of these blunts give them an almost ritualistic, ceremonial vibe.

Altered Plates

Source: Altered Plates

If Pride celebrations show anything, it is that community and the experience of emerging together are central to the joy found in the LGBTQ+ community. Altered Plates is a "creative culinary collective that draws together cannabis, food, beverage, and good old-fashioned hospitality," according to queer co-founder Rachel Burkons and her brother Chef Holden Jagger.

Cann

Source: TechCrunch

Infused beverages have become one of my favorite ways to consume cannabis as the world of edibles expands in new and inventive ways! Do you want to try? Cann, take a sip! 

Cann, a queer-founded company, has been a leader in the infused-beverage space since its inception in 2018, quickly amassing a devoted fan base who enjoy the way Cann drinks leave them feeling bubbly and sociable without the dreaded next-day hangover.

Brownie Mary

Source: Atlas Obscura

Brownie Mary was a medical cannabis activist who popularized brownies as edibles by baking cannabis into the chocolate delights and delivering them to hospitalized AIDS patients. Her "grandma" demeanor played a huge role in the public's perception of her and the national outrage over her three arrests.

Peak Extracts

Source: Green Entrepreneur

Peak Extracts was one of the state's first infused chocolate manufacturers, but it also produces one of the most efficient cannabis salves on the market. The expertise of founders Katie Stem and Kate Black is evident in its confections and topicals. 

Stem, a Chinese medicine practitioner, based her salve on an old recipe for treating blunt-force trauma, and Black is the neighborhood chocophile. Peak is another company that expertly balances therapy and recreation with strain-specific chocolates that can meet the needs of medical patients and low-maintenance, snacky stoners.

Empower BodyCare

Source: Beauty Independent

Empower BodyCare, founded by Trista Okel, sells cannabis-infused skin nursing products that are both functional and luxurious. This collection, which includes soaking salts, oils, and lotions, can be used by the entire family, not just adult potheads. 

Pro tip: The roll-on oil applicator is ideal for on-the-go medicating because it fits in back pockets and fanny packs and absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue.

Calibueno

Source: Calibueno

Claudia Mercado founded Calibueno, a Latinx and queer-owned wholesale business in California. The brand prioritizes quality and ethics over profits, charging reasonable prices for unique, ethical cannabis products sourced from local micro-businesses. 

Calibueno has always been about staying true to Oakland, opening a shop just blocks from where Mercado grew up. Calibueno's strength comes from its community's dedication and enthusiastic support.

Sundae School

Source: Dieline

What exactly is a cannabis brand? What would a cannabis lifestyle brand look like? Can a cannabis brand provide a high that goes beyond THC or CBD? Sundae School, a queer-founded and operated brand, can provide exciting answers to all of these questions.

Sundae School, born in Seoul and raised in California, draws rich inspiration from Korea's flavors, art, and style, creating unique products that stand out in the cannabis sea of sameness.

Oracle Wellness

Source: Oracle Wellness

Oracle Wellness, led by former WW cover model Megon Dee, creates therapeutic tinctures, salves, and hemp-herb blends from a culinary standpoint. Dee, who began her cannabis career as a chef, uses her culinary skills to create products valued for their balanced, thoughtful flavour profiles and efficacy. 

That combination has resulted in a cult following for her flagship tincture. In addition, Dee's line is completed with cannabis accessories such as candles, joint clips, oil spritzers, and herb bundles.

Sonder

Source: Dieline

Sonder is a queer and female-owned cannabis company that realises cannabis dreams through innovative formats, pristine oil cartridges, and cannabis quality you can rely on. Sonder's products are made with pesticide-free, sun-grown cannabis grown by second-generation cannabis farmers in Mendocino County. 

On Northern California's coast (often referred to as the "Emerald Triangle"), Mendocino County has long been a cannabis legend for consistently producing some of the finest cannabis in America.

Green Box

Source: pdxgreenbox

Green Box is a cannabis shipping company, online dispensary, and subscription box line that serves the greater Portland area. Green Box, founded by Adrian Wayman, the industry's next multihyphenate, is a one-stop digital shop for the weekly reup and the occasional extravagant gift box. 

Expect to find your favorite products from your local dispensary, the newest drops, and top-rated accessories. In addition, customers looking for subscriptions or gift boxes can personalize their purchases.

Drew Martin Co.

Source: Clio Cannabis Awards

Drew Martin Co. is a queer-owned cannabis brand pioneered the market with the first low-dose, botanical blend pre-rolls. Drew Martin Co.'s products contain only hand-trimmed, whole bud cannabis is grown in the sun on a small queer, women-owned farm in Mendocino County, with a focus on cannabis that is high in terpenes and low in anxiety-related effects. 

The high-quality flower is then combined with smokable botanical ingredients to create globally-inspired flavour and mind-expanding joints suitable for any level of cannabis smoker.

Sava

Source: The Drawing Room

Sava provides cannabis consumers with more ways to support ethical and diverse brands while promoting LGBTQ+ visibility in the industry, a cause close to Brooks' heart. 

Sava collaborates with several AAPI- and BIPOC-owned cannabis brands (including Polti, Mad Lilly, Mellows, The Congo Club, and Moon Made Farms, to name a few) to bring diverse voices in cannabis to the forefront. They are committing to carrying at least 50% women-owned brands and at least 20% BIPOC brands.

Article by Ananya Bhattacharjee, Beverage Trade Network

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