Superbowl Touchdown Philosophy

This week we have seen some major wins as well as major losses.  First and foremost, the New England Patriots won the Superbowl this year.  Tom Brady won his SIXTH Superbowl in his career with the Patriots.

But that’s just one of few touchdowns scored this week.  CBD products have been stocked in shelves all across Massachusetts these days.  Smoke shops, gas stations, and even porn shops are carrying CBD-infused items for its customers.  Legalized recreational cannabis sparked the PR miracle of shifting the CBD market across different businesses.  With more dispensaries opening up this year, there will be much more CBD products to go around.

It wasn’t all a win here at MakeSandcastlesNotWar this week.  John Barnaby replaced Tom in Midsomer Murders, which didn’t make for a good mix at all.  Tom was calm, intelligent, and dealt with real facts to conjure up the real story of the murders.  With Tom Barnaby gone, the flow is now completely different from its previous seasons.  No matter what the case may be, Tom Barnaby remains to me as the best detective in the show.

There was also a major loss for restaurants and its patrons alike.  Full-service dining is expected to increase further this year.  Restaurant prices alike rose to .5% since December, the biggest gain since March 2011.  It may be a small percentage increase, but it makes for a BIG financial PR nightmare for future.  Many Americans may be thinking twice about eating out with their friends and family.

When it comes to public relations, not everyone can be a winner.  Some will be the Patriots while others will be the LA Rams.  Every PR miracle and nightmare flows among the stream of buzz around the nation.  There is no such thing as bad publicity because even bad publicity will gets pushed into the mainstream media.  Its times like this where you can have both things happening in one week.  CBD products may be flying off of more shelves, but restaurant prices will be increasing this coming year.

But that’s just the way life is sometimes.  There are always wins and losses just like there are always PR nightmares and miracles.  One thing has to give over the other.  What used to be so convenient is now becoming less convenient due to financial burdens and vice-versa.

In the end, there were many winners and losers this week here at MakeSandcastlesNotWar.  The New England Patriots ring in another Superbowl win, yet the world still goes on.  Who knows what other wins and losses will happen in the future?

We will just have to watch the web of PR miracles and nightmares streaming around the world every day.

 

Advertisements

CBD at your Convenience

Back in 2016, CBD-infused products were still a novelty item around Massachusetts.  They were usually found in specialty vaporizer or smoke shops around Boston.  I was just getting into using CBD oil at the time and could only find it at the Hempest on Newbury Street.  The vote to legalize cannabis was becoming widely popular at the time.

That was just three years ago.  Flash-forward to today and now CBD-infused products can be found very easily.  Businesses such as medical dispensaries, smoke/vaporizer shops, tobacco shacks, and even gas stations are carrying some items that contain some form of CBD (for the record, I managed to find CBD-infused oils at the Sunoco on the Lynnway!).  In fact, CBD is so popular that you can even find it in porn shops.

Imagine that – a world where you can get porn AND CBD-infused edibles all at the same shop.  Who knew that the ever-growing cannabis culture would also mean that CBD is now reaching businesses that sell porn?  You can get all of your favorite toys in one trip.

All joking aside, one thing is for certain – CBD is trending HIGHER than ever (pun intended).  With the growing popularity of recreational cannabis here in Massachusetts, CBD is gaining more positive buzz around the area.  Many specialty businesses are utilizing CBD products one way or another.  Holistic medicine practitioners are marketing CBD as one of their key ingredients in their service.  CBD vape pens are sold in convenient stores near the tobacco products.

What we have is CBD slowly blending in with other convenient items.  Rather than being a rare novelty product that has hard to reach, CBD-infused products are now reaching more shelves than ever.  The political PR miracle of recreational cannabis in Massachusetts is also helping out the CBD market as well.  With more dispensaries (both medicinal & recreational) opening up this year, the CBD market will continue to flourish here in Massachusetts.

After only just three years since recreational cannabis use became legal in Massachusetts, the CBD market itself spread like wildfire.  THC-infused cannabis products have restrictions as to where they can be sold, but there’s looser procedures when it comes to CBD (being that its non-psychoactive).  Legalizing cannabis helped the spread of THC, but it also further progressed the CBD market as well.

At this rate, it won’t be long before CBD products can be found at your nearest Target or Walmart.

Joe Montana’s 4/20 Touchdown

The Patriots have been the talk of the town this week after beating the Kansas City Chiefs and moving onto the Superbowl.  It was a real nail-biter in the end when the game went into overtime.  After a few minutes in, the Patriots scored their last touchdown and won the game at 37-31.  Only five more days until they face off against the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta.  It all goes down this Sunday to see who will be the 53^rd Superbowl champion.

While Brady and Gronkowski are set to play in this year’s Superbowl, other former Superbowl champions have been busy with their own business ventures.  One of those infamous Superbowl champions is shifting his careers from football games to the cannabis game.

Former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Joe Montana is investing into a cannabis company in California.  He is investing millions of dollars into a company called Caliva, a cannabis dispensary in San Jose.  Caliva plans to utilize the funding for a farm, delivery service, distribution center, and even a delivery service.  This is Montana’s second major investment into the cannabis industry after investing in cannabis media company Herb back in 2017.  His main purpose for the large investment to provide relief to people and even make in impact in the country’s growing opioid epidemic.

Montana is the latest and one of the most prominent, professional athletes to publicly endorse cannabis use.  He is one of many NFL stars investing into the cannabis industry after many years of his football career.

Joe Montana entering the cannabis game is a PR miracle for both the cannabis industry and sports industry as well.  He was an amazing athlete when playing for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1980s.  Even when he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 90s, Montana still remained a prominent figure in the NFL.  San Francisco really had an incredible football team during that time.

Decades later and Joe Montana is still making an impact in California with his latest venture into Caliva.  Even though he will remain retired, Montana’s brand still lives on off the football field.  He is one of many NFL players breaking the stigma about cannabis use in sports.

Kudos to Joe Montana for joining many other NFL players in his new adventure in the weed market.  No matter what new business venture he lands on, many San Francisco 49ers fans still remember the glory days of Joe Montana winning the Superbowl during the mid-80s.

His jersey may be retired, but Joe Montana’s legacy will live on as he gets his gear ready for his new game with the cannabis industry.

MA Cannabis Culture Identity Crisis

With the legalization of cannabis in Massachusetts comes many cannabis-themed establishments in the area.  Hydroponics stores, dispensaries, and smoke shops are a few of many specialty businesses that cater to the cannabis industry.  These types of specialty business funnel in BILLIONS of dollars into the growing cannabis industry here in Massachusetts.  What’s also interesting to note is that every type of business, whether it be directly or indirectly, caters to the cannabis culture as well.

Cannabis has involved into this trending subculture all across the major cities, especially within Boston.  While Boston doesn’t have any recreational dispensaries operating yet (which is coming MUCH later this year!), there are still legal shops opening north of the city.  Those are the businesses where ALL types of audiences are welcome, not just medical cannabis card users.  It’s no secret that recreational cannabis shops will be the hot new trend this year.

But there’s also another interesting business trend happening here in Massachusetts.  Bigger businesses from out of state are moving in on Massachusetts and acquiring companies all around the state.  These businesses are coming from states such as Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon, and others.  The latest acquisition recently came from a company in Georgia.  Not only are they coming from legal states, but they are even from non-legal states as well.

What we have is a reverse ‘Gold Rush’ scenario where companies are heading out east to claim their share of the treasure.  Cities like Boston and Portland are booming faster than ever thanks to the flourishing cannabis industry.  Those HIGH rent costs in Boston are due to the cloud of cannabis smoke sweeping around the city.  Massachusetts was one of the first states of the New England region to legalize cannabis, which caused its popularity as a brand to skyrocket even further.

In an intriguing turn of events, Massachusetts businesses aren’t establishing their own specialty cannabis operations.  Not only does these hurt businesses statewide, but it also dampens the cannabis culture as well.  As other businesses from various states swoop into the Bay State, Massachusetts may lose its own cannabis culture in the process.

Every state created their own unique culture different from the rest.  California’s culture is significantly different from Massachusetts in many ways.  They may have legal recreational shops, but their traditions and culture were shaped completely different in history.  The last thing we need is for Massachusetts to develop a identity crisis simply because local citizens were kept out of their own.

In the end, there certainly is a lot of excitement happening here in Massachusetts.  Businesses, especially those outside of the state, are raking in on the ‘Green Rush’ happening in the New England region.  If things don’t work itself out, Massachusetts may not establish their own unique cannabis culture that differs from Colorado or Michigan.  Who knows, we could see a cannabis culture made up from professionals in Missouri.

Let’s work to shape our Massachusetts cannabis culture with local citizens running Massachusetts-based businesses in the near future.

Cheech & Chong’s JOINT Oscars Venture

It has been weeks after Kevin Hart was booted from hosting the Academy Awards this year.  After his troubling stint with using gay slurs on social media, Kevin Hart resigned his position as host for show.  Ever since then, Hollywood has had a tough time finding their new replacement.

Multiple celebrities were up for discussion these past few weeks.  There was even talk that cast members of The Avengers would fill in as hosts.  But the best choice comes from the infamous comedic stoner duo Cheech and Chong (Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin).

Cheech and Chong recently announced a plan that would say, ‘light up’ the Oscars this year.  Chong shared a short clip of him and Cheech Marin offering their services to be this year’s host for the Oscars.  Users took to Twitter with the best pot puns imaginable.  It certainly would bring much HIGHER quality to the 91^st Academy Awards.

This is a great publicity stunt that took a tragic PR nightmare and recycled it into a humorous joke.  The award shows have gone ‘Up in Smoke’ these past few years, so Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin could be the hosts we needed in life.  With cannabis legalization looming around the nation, it wouldn’t hurt to have two infamous stoners host this year.  Better yet, it would push the legal agenda even further!

Since we can’t find any trending stars to help host this year’s Academy Awards, Cheech and Chong could be our best bet.  They have already flipped a PR nightmare into a series of pot puns all around Twitter.  Since they generated positive buzz around social media, they would certainly keep the show ‘lit’ for the year.

With that, here’s to hoping Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin become the fill-in for the 91^st Academy Awards.  It’ s definitely HIGH time to make this happen.