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CULTURE

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NUGS FAT

#89 #94

magazine

uplift the people, uplift the plant

HOTBOX joel pearson

cannabis culture welcomes us all

a conversation of two opposing truths

kristen mcfarland

b is m e di

maple nectar #2 - rosin - photo by derrall peach

CELEBRATE WOMEN pioneers in cannabis

Weekly Digital Magazine designed by Erin Cullison and Dustin Hoxworth

march

Weekly zine vol. 94

all faces of cannabis photos are done by derrall peach

Pg. 3: the women who built cannabis: ten pioneers who refused to wait for permission by dustin hoxworth

Pg. 10: aconversation of two opposing truths by kyea mofire

Pg. 16: bud backstories - charlotte's web by ali lopez

Pg. 24: hotbox with joel pearson by dustin hoxworth

Pg. 32: hotbox with kristen mcfarland by dustin hoxworth

celebrate women

maple nectar #2 photo by derrall peach

the women who built cannabis: ten pioneers who refused to wait for permission For most of the last century, the story of cannabis has been told through a distorted lens. Prohibition, propaganda, and decades of criminalization buried the truth about the plant and the people who believed in it. But behind the headlines, behind the arrests, behind the slow grind of legalization, there have always been women doing the real work. They were feeding sick patients when the government refused to acknowledge cannabis as medicine. They were building the scientific foundation that proved cannabinoids interact with the human body. They were opening the first dispensaries, forming patient collectives, pushing clinical research forward, and inventing the very tools that define modern hash culture. In many cases, they were doing it while facing stigma that was even harsher than what their male counterparts experienced. This is not a comprehensive list. It could never be. But these ten women represent something essential in cannabis history: courage, compassion, and an unwillingness to let ignorance define the future of the plant. Brownie Mary If you want to understand the moral backbone of the modern medical cannabis movement, start with Brownie Mary. Mary Jane Rathbun was a waitress in San Francisco who began baking cannabis brownies for friends in the late 1970s. By the time the AIDS epidemic devastated the city in the 1980s, she was baking thousands of brownies and delivering them directly to patients suffering from nausea, wasting syndrome, and unimaginable pain.

photo by national hemp service

Dr. Sue Sisley Conducting legitimate cannabis research in the United States has historically required equal parts medical expertise and stubborn defiance. Dr. Sue Sisley has both. For years she fought institutional resistance to study cannabis as a treatment for PTSD in military veterans. Despite funding battles, political interference, and bureaucratic obstacles, she helped launch some of the first FDA-approved cannabis clinical trials in decades. Her work represents something crucial: the bridge between patient stories and rigorous scientific evidence. Without researchers willing to fight that battle, cannabis medicine would still be stuck in the realm of anecdote.

She was arrested multiple times. The police knew her name. The courts knew her face. But the public knew something else: she was helping people when the system refused to. Her work helped push forward the momentum that eventually led to California’s groundbreaking medical cannabis law in 1996. Brownie Mary didn’t just bake brownies. She baked the early foundation of compassion in cannabis policy. photo from wikipedia 3

Dr. Allyn Howlett Science eventually catches up to truth. But someone has to do the work first. In the late 1980s, Dr. Allyn Howlett helped identify the CB1 receptor in the human brain, proving that cannabinoids interact with a specific biological system in our bodies. This discovery was a turning point. It helped establish the scientific legitimacy of the endocannabinoid system, one of the most important regulatory networks in human physiology. Pain, appetite, mood, memory, inflammation, immune response. The ECS touches all of it. Before that discovery, cannabis was treated as a curiosity or a threat. Afterward, it became impossible for serious science to ignore. photo by wake forest school of health

pioneers Debby Goldsberry The early medical cannabis era in California wasn’t polished. It wasn’t corporate. It was built by people who believed patients deserved dignity. Debby Goldsberry was one of those people. She helped establish the Berkeley Patients Group, one of the first legally recognized medical cannabis dispensaries in the United States. But her work extended far beyond a single storefront. Goldsberry has spent decades advocating for patient rights, drug policy reform, and responsible cannabis access. She represents the activist backbone of the movement: the people who built infrastructure long before venture capital showed up.

photo from nbc news

Mila Jansen Modern solventless culture owes a massive debt to Mila Jansen. Often called the Hash Queen, she invented the Pollinator machine, which revolutionized dry-sift hash production and helped make high-quality hash more accessible around the world. Long before the modern rosin revolution, Mila was pushing the boundaries of traditional hash making. Her innovations continue to influence the craft side of cannabis today.

photo from cnn

Pebbles Trippet Before medical cannabis laws existed, patients were forced to fight for the right to survive. Pebbles Trippet was one of the fiercest fighters. A medical cannabis patient herself, she became a central figure in the movement that helped pass California’s Proposition 215, the first medical cannabis law in the United States. Her legal battles and public advocacy helped humanize the issue at a time when cannabis patients were often treated like criminals. She didn’t just advocate for policy change. She demanded dignity for patients.

photo from cnn

Charlotte Figi Sometimes a single story can change the global conversation. Charlotte Figi suffered from a severe form of epilepsy that caused hundreds of seizures per week. Traditional medications failed. But a CBD-rich cannabis extract dramatically reduced her seizures. Her story helped introduce millions of people to the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids and sparked worldwide interest in CBD medicine. The strain developed to help her became known as Charlotte’s Web, and the ripple effects of her story reshaped public perception of cannabis almost overnight. photo from cnn

Valerie Corral Compassion has always been at the heart of the cannabis movement. Valerie Corral helped prove what that looks like in practice. She co-founded the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in Santa Cruz, one of the earliest patient collectives in the United States. The organization provided cannabis to seriously ill patients who could not grow or obtain it themselves. It was about care, dignity, and community. The model WAMM pioneered would influence patient collectives and dispensaries across the country.

photo from indybay

Dr. Bonni Goldstein Few medical conversations are more emotionally charged than the treatment of sick children. Dr. Bonni Goldstein has spent years working with pediatric patients using cannabinoid therapies, particularly in cases of severe epilepsy and neurological disorders. Her work has helped families navigate the complicated intersection of cannabis, medicine, and modern clinical care. In a field that often lacks reliable guidance, she has become one of the most trusted physicians helping translate cannabinoid science into real-world treatment.

photo from behind the sheild podcast

Wanda James Legalization didn’t magically erase the damage of the War on Drugs. Entire communities were devastated by prohibition. Wanda James has never let the industry forget that. She became the first Black woman to own a legal cannabis dispensary in the United States with Simply Pure in Colorado. But more importantly, she has been a relentless advocate for social equity, policy reform, and accountability within the cannabis industry. Her message is simple and powerful: legalization without justice is incomplete. photo from board of regents

women’s history month Cannabis history has often been told through a narrow lens. But the reality is much bigger. Women have been scientists, caregivers, entrepreneurs, inventors, activists, and cultural leaders in cannabis for decades. They helped build the medical movement. They helped legitimize the science. They helped create the modern industry. And they did it while navigating stigma that often tried to silence them. The truth is simple. Cannabis culture was never built by one type of person. It was built by a community. And women have always been at the center of that story. As the industry continues to evolve, remembering the people who carried the movement through prohibition isn’t just history. It’s respect. And respect is something this plant has always been about.

greenlight zoda photo by paola tello

southern herb co. oz kush cake photo by baleigh stephens

southern herb co. rebel og rosin photo by baleigh stephens

eat your weed photo by poala tello

EUROPE’S CANNABIS LAND GRAB: THE 30 COMPANIES LEADING EU MARKET EXPANSION IN 2026

Germany-Centric Market Leaders Sanity Group (MCO) The darling German operator with brand and distribution footprint through medical markets and pilot programs is now central to the consolidation narrative and inbound North American capital interest. Sanity just announced it is being acquired by Organigram for 250 million Euros. The consolidation race is in full swing. 420 Pharma (Wholesale Medical Supplier) A long-standing German and Australian medical player with deep market connectivity, exactly the type of platform that benefits as Germany professionalizes imports, distribution, and product differentiation. DEMECAN (German Wholesale Supplier) This German domestic cultivator has serious capacity, which is strategically important in a market still heavily reliant on imports. DEMECAN has publicly highlighted production expansion and regulatory milestones under Germany’s evolving framework, proving its critics wrong. SYNBIOTIC SE (Germany Hemp & Medical Cannabis) A pan-European “seed-to-shelf ” group spanning medical cannabis and hemp. Their disclosures and market positioning reflect an active expansion strategy across relevant European growth markets. Their Weeco division is one of the top wholesale providers in the German market. Cantourage (Germany) Positioned as a key conduit between international cultivation hubs and Europe’s rapidly expanding patient base, Berlin-based Cantourage has built one of the most dynamic import and product development platforms in the EU medical cannabis sector. The company brings products into regulated EU markets through its “Fast Track Access” model.

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