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Last month, a fun and smoky awards show celebrated the inroads that local cannabis businesses have made. Hosted at the Stl Canna Lounge in St. Peters, the inaugural Canna Kulture Awards was not only a gathering of marijuana enthusiasts celebrating their plant of choice but also a recognition of “little companies working for medical clients,” says event planner Aisha Taylor. “It was time they got the same recognition as more corporate businesses.”
Taylor’s own Royal Highnezz Cannabis Care & Grow Consulting consults on grows and helps troubleshoot growing issues. She describes herself as a “plant girl,” adding that the cannabis industry is not immune to issues of sexism. “Coming into this industry as a female grower was a thing,” says Taylor. “I had to show the guys that I got this, that they know they can trust and respect my work, and vice-versa.” She’s proud of her work on the medical side, helping seniors, nurses, and military veterans with PTSD.
Taylor’s awards show co-host was Zachery Post of Elite Home Growers Academy, whose wide-ranging educational efforts for all things cannabis have made him a sort of Johnny Appleseed of the plant. He’s a cultivator, breeder, consultant, and longtime advocate for cannabis’ medical properties. Post says the awards served to “show the community and the culture of noncommercial brands that they’re not overlooked. Not having the capital does not mean you don’t have the skillset.”
Making connections in the community and using cannabis to address a variety of problems is the stock-in-trade for Brennan England, founder of the St. Louis Cannabis Club and The Cola Lounge (2834 Cherokee), the first consumption lounge in Missouri. The lounge hosts karaoke night, Dungeons & Dragons play, stand-up comedy, yoga and sound bath sessions, and more. There’s also monthly “Grow N Tell” cultivator meet-ups, as well as the mobile Bud Bar, which England brings to cannabis-friendly events to keep the party moving.
But England’s work embraces a deeper mode of community, too. He is also the state director for Minorities for Medical Marijuana Missouri. He’s involved local restaurants in collaborations to address food insecurity in the community, worked with the city to create a “Cannabis Tourism Day,” and is planning a directory of local cannabis-friendly businesses that he calls the “Puff Puff Passport.” By organizing people in so many configurations for both social fun and social justice, he has earned much gratitude—and received one of the awards’ neon-green trophies.
Another award winner was David Tucker of the Dungeon of Dank, who picked up no fewer than three trophies—for branding, cultivation, and best strain (his cleverly named “Control Alt Delete”). The latter is an indica that leafly.com describes as “seriously iced out, with dark green leaves underneath topped with orange hairs.” Tucker is a “legacy cultivator”; his dad, mom and uncle were all medical cultivators, too. His company’s headquarters is in Troy, Missouri, where he’s also the co-owner of the Monster Munchies food truck.
Other awards given out at the ceremony included best cannabis educator, concentrate, smoke shop, smoke lounge, podcast, glassblower, grow store, edible maker, and even blunt roller.
“To get together in one space and celebrate each other was one of the goals,” Taylor says, “and it turned out to be awesome.”
”}]] Hosted at the Stl Canna Lounge in St. Peters, the awards show celebrated the inroads that local cannabis businesses have made. Read More
