In the ancient days of smoking cannabis, before hydroponics and hybrid strains became popular, you could be pretty sure that a few hits would give you a safe, relaxing high. In the 70s, people didn't live in fear of what would happen if a stranger passed their joint at a Santana concert, for example. Because most of the buds on the street were pretty tame. But today, between the ambitious minds of artisanal growers and the power of medical cannabis, the unknown of cannabis is essentially a game of roulette, with one puff taking you from sleeping on the couch to a 12-hour ghost. It can land anywhere, up to the point of leaving the body. For years, dispensaries have been in fierce competition for the strongest strains, but a new generation of producers is actually aiming for the opposite. We're trying to level the playing field by giving dads a surefire way to start work without the worry and worry they used to have. It goes too far.
Ben Starmer and Joshua Cutts are not fathers. “We're dads at heart,” Katz says with a laugh. “And we will act more like fathers in our modest old age,” Starmer added. But that didn't stop them from launching Dad Grass, an LA-based company that sells organic CBD joints and flower (unrolled hemp nugs) that legally contain less than 0.3 percent THC. Ta. It may seem counterintuitive, but there are actually many smokers who enjoy the act of sparking, but fear the possibility of spiraling into psychedelic paranoia. “We never thought of this as being just for dads or just for men,” Katz points out. In fact, as Starmer later said, their customers are more female than male. “For us, it was about the nostalgic memories of finding our dad's stash and getting a little peel,” Katz says, adding that Dad Grass was meant to reminisce about simpler days when smoking weed. I explained that there was.
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However, the nostalgia for the brand Dad Grass has more to do with the experience of discovering an old man's love for sweet leaves than just the quality of the leaves he was smoking. “It's nostalgia for a certain era of cannabis,” Starmer said, adding that cannabis was once much less potent than it is now. “My father once told me that he used to smoke when he was a kid, but eventually the grass became too tough on him.” Well, whether you want to be sure to experience the mellow flame of yore. For example, you'll need to sift through THC-spiked strains at a dispensary (if it's legal) or find a knowledgeable and opinionated friend. Good stuff. “When Joshua and I met, you could go to a dispensary, talk to a bud manager who is an expert, and walk out of the dispensary with some sort of confidence that you got the right cannabis. Today's “When you eat cannabis, you get really high,” Starmer says. Dad Grass was born out of a mutual desire for a more accessible, less intense high.
You may be wondering what to expect from a Dad Grass joint, especially if you are a past or current marijuana user. I quit cannabis six months ago, but when I first tried a Dud Grass joint, it filled me with all the fun and ritualistic aspects of sitting in a rocking chair and giving me that lazy day feeling of smoking a J. I really went back to. I opened the windows and enjoyed a few cold beers after work, praying my neighbors couldn't smell anything. For some reason, I found myself wanting to listen to Can't Buy a Thrill while feeling bloated. Now, as someone who smokes Dudgrass on a somewhat regular basis, I find that after about half a joint I can get the right kind of light, smiley, not-too-fading sensation that I get a few hours after hitting the bubbler. Ta.
“Everyone's body is different,” Katz points out. “I experience joints differently than Ben, and I experience joints differently than my mother.” He says the baseline for most people is when they've had a glass of good wine. It seems to have the same mellow and chilled feeling. For new customers, we recommend a “slow, slow” approach. As anyone who consumes cannabis (or most anything else) knows, you can always do a little more, but you can never go back. “I love to share with my girlfriends when I'm cooking,” Katz says. “Maybe if you've had a really bad day, I'll take you to the dome by yourself.”
Starmer and Katz met more than a decade ago while working at Levi's and bonded over their love of cannabis and desire for more reliable products. They originally wanted to start a business selling high-quality, low-THC cannabis, but after the FDA passed the 2018 Farm Bill and removed hemp from the “marijuana” category, they decided to has been changed. Additionally, CBD-rich hemp plants with less than 0.3 percent THC (the psychoactive compound found in cannabis) have been given the green light for widespread use (very intentionally ).
The following year, Starmer and Katz were beginning to research products for their new business, so they decided to cover their bases by investigating hemp. “I got some samples and was pretty skeptical about hemp,” Starmer said. “Hemp was something I knitted in high school. It looked like weed and smelled like weed. When you lit it, it smoked like weed. They used to smoke weed. I noticed that although it does make you feel high and relieves some of the anxiety, it doesn't give you the overwhelming stress or paranoia that can hit some people after smoking cannabis. We pivoted the company overnight and a few months later, just before the pandemic hit, we launched our first prototype for Dad Grass. It was also a very good time to launch,” Katz recalls. “The first month we distributed more joints than we sold. We recruited people who were laid off or furloughed.”
The duo has gone to great lengths to ensure that everything is done carefully and consciously, from cultivation to the final product. “We really leave the growth to the experts,” Starmer explains. “What we've done is really focus on regenerative, living soil farmers and growers who are giving back to the land as much as they're taking from it,” Dad Glass said. , we partner with biodynamic farms run by like-minded people. That way, the founding duo knows they can develop a great product when they take over the process. “We hand-select the flowers and then do everything else,” Katz says. “We do design, marketing, and book production. We started in our living room with a rented rolling machine, but it evolved into a more sophisticated operation.” After all, for the Grass dad, , the philosophy is simple. “We have to love it, and our friends have to love it too,” Katz comments. “You're dealing with organic matter. Things evolve over time. If you think about it, that's a pretty big responsibility.”
When Dad Grass launched, the brand focused on pre-roll joint packs containing 5.7 grams or 10.7 grams of CBD joint, priced at $35 and $70, respectively. For those who want something a little more substantial, Dad Grass offers 1 gram joints for $10 each. Reminiscent of the experience of finding your father's dirty shoebox, the store also sells cheerful, discreetly hidden packs that resemble Hanukkah candles, sardines, cassettes, and more.
If you like rolling your own joints and spliffs, Dad Grass recently introduced boxed flowers in quarter-ounce ($48) and half-ounce ($88) sizes. Both come with rolling paper and a 2-way humidity control pack. (The website says a 1/4-ounce box is equal to two five-packs of pre-rolled 0.7-gram joints, or seven classic 1-gram joints.) For Mother's Day , introduced Mum Grass, a heavier version of the hemp joint. In CBG, it is the “mother” cannabinoid that is said to provide a more attentive (but smoother) sound. And for those lucky enough to never have to roll a joint on a Chipotle receipt or a page from A Tale of Alabama, Dad Grass even has a fairly affordable $10 rolling machine to help get the job done. Provide. Dad Grass partners with designers like Mark McNairy and brands like Free & Easy and Sqirl to sell collaborative merchandise, from long-sleeve T-shirts to butterbox-inspired stashes.
Having mastered the CBD joint and created a stable of flower that they can sell, Starmer and Katz are already looking to the future, continuing to refine their current projects, including Dad Beans, a CBD and coffee bean collaboration with Yes Plz I plan to do so. New partnerships and product types. “The great thing about cannabis is that it goes well with so many different things,” Katz mused. “And definitely in addition to smokable and drinkable products. I think you'll probably see us considering our version for some of the other product categories that include CBD.”
For them, fatherhood is not about masculinity or authority. It's the opposite: a laid-back, La-Z-Boy, bathrobe-drinking, beer-drinking lifestyle that everyone can aspire to. It transcends age, with the brand's customers ranging from early 20s to 80s, and pervades everything from what they smoke and wear to the music they listen to. When asked about his favorite dad rock band, Starmer doesn't hesitate. “I'm in the factory right now, so I can't see the giant 1981 Grateful Dead tour poster that's always behind me,” he says with a laugh. “I don't know if that qualifies as 'dad rock' or if it's just the best rock ever made.” And, as we well know, the Dead and Papa Weed (or papa grass) is the perfect combination.
When it comes to the potential of CBD, Dad Grass has pioneered a familiar yet innovative way of talking. Starmer and Katz's wide customer base includes people who used to smoke cannabis but have tapered off, people who already love CBD and want to continue, and people who have never tried either. Masu. Founders clearly fall into the first category. But do they still spark a full THC joint? “Yes,” says Katz. “Whatever, Dad.” Some things never change.
Dad Grass is available for purchase on the Dad Grass website and can be shipped anywhere in the United States. Alternatively, you can purchase it at your local “dealer”.
All content featured in this story is independently selected by loyal VICE editors. This article was originally published in March 2021.
