In celebration of Black History Month, Kush Queen is sharing our current obsessions spearheaded by inspirational Black female entrepreneurs.

You may see articles circulating that say women of color are starting more businesses faster than any other demographic. But don't be fooled by the boasting headlines. Yes, the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report does confirm Black women-owned businesses represented the highest growth rate of any other group between 2014 and 2019; however, these go-getters face a unique array of challenges to get there. Often referred to as "survival entrepreneurs" because of high unemployment rates and vast gender and racial pay gaps, the study shares women of minorities are more likely to have a "sidepreneurship" out of necessity. The venture capital space comes with even more scrutiny. Business Insider confirms “before 2021, only 93 Black female founders had raised $1 million or more in venture capital”.  For those hard-working women who need a moment to relax, our THC gummies can help ease the stress and provide much-needed relaxation.

Model sits in a bathtub filled of Kush Queen bath bombs

At Kush Queen, we've experienced our journey as a women-owned business. It's because of your support and your support only that we exist in today's cannabis market. We know the struggles of being a small business in America, and the best thing we can do as a community is to continue supporting the businesses we want to see succeed. Our dollars truly are our power.

 

With that in mind, we'd like to highlight some of Kush Queen's Favorite Black Women-Owned Businesses:


Sexologist Goody Howard

Goody Howard Sexologist

 

We had the pleasure of being on a panel discussion with Goody back in 2019, and she left an impression on the KQ team that we sill talk about today! From her workshops to 1:1 consultation, Goody is determined to normalize sex-positive conversations as a way to ease stigma and improve sexual responsibility.

Goody Howard is a world-renown sexologist, educator, and consultant. She has dedicated her life to “Empowering through sexual exploration, education, and awareness.” Pair your next self-care session with one of our relaxing CBD gummies while learning from Goody's amazing workshops.

Goody teaches sexual skill workshops, offers sex-positive professional development opportunities, and creates dope, sex-centered t-shirts! She layers her focus on pleasure and education with her energetic and engaging presentation style. 

 

Ariana Foote, Cannabis Content Creator & Podcast Host

Ariana Foote, Cannabis Content Creator

 

You might know of Ariana as @indicawife, @fruit.worship or the host of Chat About It podcast. Regardless of the channel, platform or topic - you can trust the Ariana keeps it 100% real with you whether is talking about dating, mental health, smoking, edibles or making the most drool worthy smoothie bowls. 

 

Ariana began creating content, giving her followers an unfiltered look into her life as she navigated her medical experience through bong rips, blunts and the occasional dab.

“The biggest part was me being very vulnerable with my followers,” she said. “Many people smoke for physical pain. But we’re all human beings and there’s a lot of emotional pain there, too.”

 Give her a follow and a listen!

 

KNC Beauty

KNC Beauty Founder Kristen Noel Crawley for Morgan Lane and Hypebae
Image Source: Hypebae

KNC Beauty makes our favorite eye masks of all time. You won't regret having these beauties in your bathroom. We love to use them before a big night out, while enjoying weed gummies, or while we're soaking in a Kush Queen bath bomb.. Founded by beauty and fashion influencer Kristen Noel Crowley, KNC Beauty also created the KNC School of Beauty to address the inequities in the beauty industry. 

Crowley has expressed in the past “as a Black female entrepreneur, it has always been extremely important to me to pay it forward and provide opportunities for emerging talent in our community. Having a skincare brand has always been a dream of mine and I’m excited to support other Black businesswomen who share similar goals and visions.”

 

 

Snocorner 

Ashley Monconduit stands outside SnoCorner, her New Orleans-style snoball shop across from Poly High School. Photo by Mike Guardabascio.

 

Image Source: Mike Guardabascio for Long Beach Post

Snocorner is a Long Beach-based storefront, specializing in New Orleans-style snowballs. As Louisiana natives, we can't get enough of this delicious local treat. Sure it looks like Hawaiian ice, but New Orleans-style snowballs are different. Trust us. 

Visit their storefront in Long Beach and taste this delicious southern treat for yourself. Interestingly enough Snocorner is a legacy Long Beach business, its current owner Ashley Monconduit is the third generation to own a business at this location!

 

 

Maya's Cookies

Maya Madsen, founder of Maya’s Cookies, a gourmet vegan cookie company in San Diego, holds a cookie at her bakery.
Image Source: K.C. Alfred for The San Diego Union-Tribune

Maya's Cookies is the number one Black-owned Gourmet Vegan cookie company in America. Founded by a vegan with a self-proclaimed sweet tooth, Maya Madsen launched Maya's Cookies after several unsuccessful searches for that soft, chewy, freshly-baked vegan cookie she badly desired. Madsen spent years crafting her award-winning recipes, including her "Chocolate Chip S'mores" and "Marble Fudge". 

You can visit their San Diego storefront or order online. Recently, Maya's Cookies released their Black History Collection, which was inspired by inspirational figures such as Chadwick Bosman, Michelle Obama, and Uncle Nearest.  

 


Moving Forward...

Taking a page from the crypto world, we encourage our readers to continue doing their own research before investing their powerful currency into companies that don't necessarily align with their moral values. Supporting minority-owned companies, more specifically Black women-owned businesses, remains a priority within Kush Queen's roadmap and company culture. As a society striving for change, we must develop more conscientious shopping habits if we really want to make a difference.

Follow these incredibly talented Boss Babes for more info!

 

 

The connection between cannabis and Juneteenth runs deeper than most brands are willing to admit, and that discomfort is exactly where this conversation needs to start. This piece gets into the real history behind that link, what corporate exploitation of the holiday actually looks like in practice, and how to tell the difference between a brand doing meaningful work and one that's just timing a promotion. If you've ever felt skeptical watching a cannabis company post a Juneteenth graphic, your instincts are worth trusting.

Why cannabis and Juneteenth belong in the same conversation

Juneteenth marks the end of legal enslavement in the United States — a moment of profound freedom and resilience that deserves genuine recognition, not a marketing moment. The connection between cannabis and Juneteenth isn't a convenient pairing someone dreamed up for June content calendars. The history runs deep, and it's impossible to talk about one without the other.

For decades, Black Americans have faced disproportionate arrest, prosecution, and incarceration under cannabis prohibition. Meanwhile, the legal cannabis industry grew into a multi-billion dollar market where Black ownership and leadership remain significantly underrepresented. That gap didn't happen by accident. It's the direct result of policies built on racial targeting, and that context doesn't disappear just because a brand slaps a red, black, and green color palette on a product drop.

When cannabis brands post a Juneteenth graphic or run a June sale without acknowledging any of that history, it's fair to feel a little skeptical. Borrowing the cultural weight of a freedom holiday to move product, with no real commitment to cannabis social equity or support for Black cannabis entrepreneurs, is exactly the kind of opportunistic messaging worth calling out.

This article gets into why that distinction matters, what Juneteenth cannabis activism actually looks like in practice, and how to tell the difference between a brand that genuinely understands the moment and one that's simply timing a promotion. If you want to start with who's been doing the real work, this roundup of Black cannabis trailblazers is a great place to begin.

What the War on Drugs did to Black communities

The War on Drugs didn't land equally. Despite research consistently showing that Black and white Americans use cannabis at similar rates, Black Americans are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession, according to ACLU data. That gap has held for decades, and its consequences go far beyond a single arrest.

By the numbers:
- Black Americans account for nearly 50% of cannabis possession arrests while making up about 13% of the U.S. population
- In some counties, the arrest disparity climbs as high as 10 to 1
- Federal cannabis convictions have historically carried mandatory minimums that added years, sometimes decades, to sentences

Those aren't abstract statistics. They represent jobs lost, housing applications denied, federal student aid revoked, and voting rights stripped away. For millions of people, one arrest became a permanent economic barrier, not a mistake someone moved past, but a wall that stayed up.

That enforcement history shapes the legal cannabis industry today, and it's central to understanding cannabis and Juneteenth meaning:

  • Black entrepreneurs face steeper barriers to entering the legal market, from limited access to capital to complex licensing requirements
  • The communities most harmed by prohibition often benefit least from legalization's economic opportunities
  • Cannabis social equity programs remain underfunded and uneven across states
  • Distrust of corporate equity messaging runs deep, especially when it arrives without accountability or follow-through
  • Juneteenth cannabis activism increasingly calls out the distance between brand symbolism and actual structural change

This is the backdrop that makes cannabis brands showing up on Juneteenth complicated. When a company profits from a plant that was used to criminalize Black communities for generations, the bar for meaningful engagement is genuinely high. Recognizing that tension isn't pessimism. It's just an honest starting point.

How corporate cannabis brands use Juneteenth marketing

As cannabis and Juneteenth have both moved into the mainstream, some corporate brands have started treating the holiday like any other item on the marketing calendar. The pattern is pretty recognizable by now: a themed drop, a heartfelt caption, maybe a small donation pledge, and then silence until next June. Visibility without accountability is still just marketing.

Performative tactics tend to look like this:
- Limited-edition Juneteenth product drops
- One-day social posts with no follow-through
- Holiday discount codes tied to the date
- Small, one-time donations announced publicly for the press value
- Temporary campaigns with no structural commitment behind them

Genuine support looks different:
- Year-round hiring from communities most impacted by the War on Drugs
- Active expungement advocacy and legal support funding
- Reinvestment in Black neighborhoods, not just Black aesthetics
- Equity ownership pathways for Black cannabis entrepreneurs
- Sustained, long-term partnerships with community organizations

Performative support shows up on June 19th. Real support shows up on June 20th, and every day after.

Juneteenth cannabis activism deserves to be a standard for accountability, not a seasonal campaign. The brands actually doing the work understand that honoring Black freedom movements means showing up consistently, not just when there is content to post. That kind of sustained commitment should not reset on July 1st. It is worth carrying into every month of the year, which is exactly what this piece on finding your path forward gets into.

What meaningful support looks like beyond a social post

Separating genuine commitment from a well-designed graphic takes some practice, but the signals are there once you know what to look for. Here's a practical framework for telling accountability apart from aesthetics.

  • Transparent sourcing and ethical production. Does the brand explain how its products are made, who benefits, and where the supply chain leads? Understanding how cannabis products are made is a reasonable starting point for seeing who actually holds power in that process.
  • Real reinvestment in Black communities. Look for specific dollar amounts, named partners, and ongoing programs. Vague promises to "give back" are easy to make and easier to forget.
  • Equitable hiring and ownership. Who runs the company? Who holds equity? Representation in leadership tells you more than representation in a campaign.
  • Year-round cannabis social equity advocacy. Brands doing real work support expungement efforts, licensing reform, and policy change in October the same way they do in June.
  • Amplifying Black cannabis entrepreneurs. The spotlight should shift toward community voices, not stay fixed on the brand doing the spotlighting.
  • Respecting what Juneteenth actually means. A discount code is not solidarity. The day deserves reflection and community, not a conversion funnel.

The standard: If the brand benefits more from the moment than the community does, that's a signal worth paying attention to.

Juneteenth cannabis activism is not a marketing category. It's a call to examine who has been harmed, who is being heard, and who is genuinely building something different. Hold brands to that standard, including the ones you already love.

Where Kush Queen fits into the conversation

Kush Queen isn't here to slap a Juneteenth graphic on a product page and call it advocacy. That's exactly the kind of move this article is pushing back on, so doing otherwise would be more than a little hypocritical.

What the brand does instead is try to show up consistently, and not just in June. That looks like talking openly about cannabis history and racial justice year-round, centering education over sales pressure, and being honest about where the industry still falls short on cannabis social equity. It also means not pretending that buying a bath bomb is a political act. Products can support a wellness routine in genuinely useful ways, but they're not a substitute for systemic change, and conflating the two helps no one.

Kush Queen was founded by a woman who built the brand from the ground up without corporate backing. That history matters here. There's a real understanding that cannabis and Juneteenth aren't just a content opportunity, and that the industry's complicated relationship with the communities most harmed by prohibition deserves honest acknowledgment rather than a seasonal marketing spin.

If you're looking for a cannabis brand that tries to engage with culture thoughtfully rather than opportunistically, Kush Queen is worth exploring. The goal is to earn trust over time, not ask for it upfront.


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At the start of my career in cannabis, long before I founded Kush Queen, I learned about the path to legalization in California and the shared history of the LGBTQIA+ community with cannabis.

From that moment on, I made it my mission to honor the Queer activists who came before us, the true OGs we can thank for providing us with safe access to this plant.

At Kush Queen, Pride is Honoring a Shared History

In the 1980s, Queer community leaders in San Fransisco ushered in the beginnings of legal cannabis as they worked to ease health and wellness struggles around the AIDS epidemic. Their real-life needs brought legitimacy to the medical cannabis conversation. Pictures of my Queer community heroes hang in my office; Cleve Jones, Dennis Peron, and Mary Jane Rathburn look over me as I run Kush Queen.

Brownie Mary, wearing one of her signature buttons. SCOTT SOMMERDORF / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE / POLARIS

 

Brownie Mary, wearing one of her signature buttons. SCOTT SOMMERDORF / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE / POLARIS

Also on my wall of heroes is Marsha P. Johnson, another great reminder of gay liberation and how we got here today. Her beautiful smile beams back at me as I write this. 

 

For those not familiar with her story, Johnson was a trans activist, self-identified drag queen, and a true survivor living in New York City. She was also one of the first protesters at the Stonewall riots in 1969. Many recall Johnson having thrown the first brick outside of the club, but the truth is no one really agrees on who or what started it (was it a brick? a bottle? or city cobblestone?). 

Marsha P. Johnson Poster by MICAH BAZANT

 

Marsha P. Johnson Poster by MICAH BAZANT

Nonetheless, everyone does agree that Johnson and fellow trans activist Sylvia Rivera played a massive part in the spontaneous protest against a police raid in those early morning hours. This act of social uprising is often viewed as the first Pride celebration, sparking a series of events that would change the LGBTQIA+ community forever. 

Pride is Revolutionary and Non-Conforming

Pride (as we know it today) is all about Queer celebration and love, but its roots are steeped in the journey of equal rights, visibility, and the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people. It was never about rainbow-tinted capitalism, fleeting social media icons, and albeit, even super fun parades. Pride is about Queer liberation. 

"Stonewall was, at its core, about people reclaiming their narratives from a society that told them they were sick or pitiful or didn’t even exist," writes Shane O’Neill, a journalist for the New York Times. 

A 1970 photo of Marsha P. Johnson handing out flyers in support of Gay Students at NYU is seen here courtesy of the New York Public Library's "1969: The Year of Gay Liberation" exhibit.  Diana Davies/NYPL/Handout via Reuters, FILE

 

A 1970 photo of Marsha P. Johnson handing out flyers in support of Gay Students at NYU is seen here courtesy of the New York Public Library's "1969: The Year of Gay Liberation" exhibit. Diana Davies/NYPL/Handout via Reuters, FILE

After Stonewall, a new generation of gay activists emerged and organized, creating resources like the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). These events and grassroots organizations focused on Queer individuals gaining access to equal rights as citizens while also helping the community find dignity, acceptance, and a sense of belonging within society. STAR, for example, provided housing and support to homeless LGBT youth and sex workers in New York City.

Pride is About Community and Peers Supporting Peers

For everyone at Kush Queen, Pride is about more than just a seasonal festivity, it’s about taking a stand, increasing visibility, and supporting our Queer communities all year round. 

This year Kush Queen is donating 20% of proceeds from our Pride Collection to The Social Impact Center, founded by beloved Queer cannabis hero Felicia Carbajal, as well as to the Trans Latina Coalition, a local Los Angeles community-led, and founded organization.

 

Kush Queen 2022 Pride Collection

Our Pride Collection for 2022 features a Delta 8 THC water-based and latex-safe infused lube and 1:1 Delta 8 THC and CBD Trans Flag-inspired bath bomb in honor of our trans brothers and sisters.

Kush Queen Pride Collection 2022

 


Queer Liberation is Still Needed

Currently, countless pieces of appalling legislation are moving through state governments as an attempt to target the rights of trans people, attack trans youth, and reverse decades-worth of progress. 

 

According to the advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were proposed in 2022 alone.

Sam Ames, the director of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project recently explained to CBS news "research has shown that as many as 85% of trans youth say that they are watching these debates over their identity play out,". Ames continues "the direct results of these bills when they pass are to take away things that we know are correlated with increased mental health and decreased suicide risk: sports team participation, seeing yourself represented in a classroom, being accepted by your parents and your healthcare professionals. These are all associated with significantly lower odds of attempting suicide." 


It feels like Queer liberation is more important than ever, especially with such blatantly coordinated attacks against people who identify as such. 

Pride is Personal

Inclusivity and visibility are part of Kush Queen’s DNA. From the all-gender restroom to the Queer individuals who appear in our content and work behind the scenes, Kush Queen's identity as a brand is unapologetically gay.

Kush Queen CEO Olivia Alexander protesting
Pride inspired Crystal Cult vape

 

As I get choked up thinking about my own experiences and identity, I can’t help but think about what a personal intimate experience celebrating Pride is for me. As a human, I self-identify not only as the CEO of this company but as a Queer woman surrounded by countless other Queer people in my life. People who are my family, friends, and frankly, my inspirations. I think of my parents raising a Queer son in South Louisiana and not once did anything but accept him for who he was. 

Since its inception, Kush Queen has celebrated Pride (year-round) and has raised well over $40,000 for Queer organizations, something I'm incredibly proud of.

Shop the 2022 Pride Collection and join our community for community support.

At Kush Queen, our hope for the cannabis industry is for those within it to be as diverse as the people who use this plant.

We started this company with infused bath bombs because we recognized how approachable this product is and how much a stigma breaker it could be. Destigmatizing cannabis, and the people who use it, has always been our mission as a brand.  That mission also extends to the innovative ways people enjoy cannabis today, like through our CBD gummies, Weed Gummies and THC gummies.

Model mesmerizes with Kush Queen's CBD bath bomb

Photo Courtesy of Kush Queen

In honor of Black History Month, we at Kush Queen are celebrating the incredible individuals working towards and advocating for real change in cannabis - more specifically, for a socially equitable space. With skyrocketing taxes and very little support, the disenfranchised communities (whose backs this industry was built on) are sadly getting left behind. The truth is the cannabis industry as a whole has a long, long way to go before becoming the equal playing field it needs to be. Thankfully, these inspiring and selfless Black entrepreneurs are working incessantly towards making social equity in cannabis a reality. 

 



Successful Reality Television Executive turned Cannabis Industry CEO


Whitney Beatty, CEO and founder of Josephine & Billie's.

Whitney Beatty - Founder, CEO Josephine & Billies and The Apothecarry


Whitney Beatty is a woman of many talents. After leaving her career in entertainment, she founded Apothecarry, a luxury accessories company for the modern-day smoker. Then, inspired by the golden days of Jazz and cannabis Teapads, Beatty opened Josephine & Billies, the first dispensary in the country designed by and for women of color. Beatty secured the first equity investment from The Parent Company (TPCO), California's largest vertically integrated omnichannel cannabis platform, where Jay Z is the Chief Visionary. 

Beatty currently sits on the board of Supernova Women, an organization working for equity in the legal cannabis space. 

On top of it all, she is an inspiring and hilarious mother sharing her life on social media. Beatty is a powerhouse in every sense of the word, and the cannabis industry is better with her in it. 

 



The #RapPriestess, also known as the West Coast Wave Goddess 


Blunt Blowing Mama - Lizzy Jeff smokes a cannabis joint

Lizzy Jeff - Founder, Zen and Kush


We have admired, followed, and enjoyed the work of Lizzy Jeff for years. 

A cannabis OG, rap priestess, medicine woman, and founder of Zen and Kush, Lizzy Jeff delivers plant medicine, spirituality, and community in one erotically delectable serving. Her unique events nationwide feature healing, sensuality, community-building, education, and wellness workshops. These events aren't called an after-dark experience for no reason; this is Ascension at its finest and most seductive. 

Our bath bombs are often made to her music as it's commonly on repeat at Kush Queen headquarters. We are constantly inspired by her passion for activism and her celebration of the divine feminine. 

Give Lizzy Jeff a follow for alternative ways to heal that embraces masculine and feminine energies while connecting you deeper to your spiritual roots. 

 




Startup Advisor, Accountability Keeper, and Co-Founder in Cannabis, Tech, and Wellness

Mary Pryor, Co-founder, Cannaclusive

Mary Pryor - Activist, Writer, Founder Cannaclusive


Mary Pryor is one of the most powerful women in the cannabis industry. Pryor is an activist, media expert, and the founder of Cannaclusive, a platform created to facilitate fair representation of minority cannabis consumers. 

If you haven’t heard of Pryor’s work with Cannaclusive, then this is your intro. Cannaclusive is currently working to solve the industry's biggest issues: diversity, equity, and part of its namesake - inclusion. Her work with the Accountability List, a living breathing document that holds cannabis companies accountable, is some of the most important work currently taking place in cannabis. 

Pryor has appeared in and contributed to countless publications like Refinery 29, New York Times, and Instyle; her piece on diversity in cannabis for SELF is one of our personal favorites. 

 



The Ivy Leaguer and Former Athlete turned Cannabis Maven 


Nadir Pearson - Co-founder Get Hybrid, Founder Student MMJ Alliance 


Nadir Pearson, a graduate of Brown University and founder of Student Marijuana Alliance for Research and Transparency, is one to watch in cannabis. A leader, advocate, and entrepreneur, he has worn many impressive hats in his young career. 

Inspired by sneakerhead culture, Pearson founded Get Hybrid, the cannabis industry’s first release date calendar where you can find new cannabis drops and product launches in one place. Pearson’s accomplishments have been featured in Forbes and Huff Post; he’s also a very talented writer himself. 

One thing we love about Pearson is that he thrives on creating educational cannabis content. He is certainly the future of the industry and we cannot wait to see what big things he does in the future. 

 



Award-winning Business Coach, Strategist, and Serial Entrepreneur

Glam University CEO Sabrina Peterson

Sabrina Peterson - CEO & Founder Pretty High Co and Glam University


Sabrina Peterson dedicated herself and her businesses to be a powerhouse for female empowerment- socially and financially. 

Peterson turned facing a 23-year indictment into Pretty High Co, making CBD and cannabis products. She is a mother and content creator who is always making us laugh while feeling inspired. Peterson is undoubtingly a champion for women and people of color in cannabis. 

Late last year, Peterson invited Kush Queen out to a weekend cannabis educational workshop for women and we left oozing with excitement for how she brings opportunities, shares education, and keeps things transparent about the industry. 

 

It takes great courage and tenacity to go against the cannabis corporate machine. Through the community these amazing advocates continue to build, these inspirational cannabis professionals are aiding in creating visibility, changing the stigma, and opening doors for more BIPOC individuals to come.

 

 

 

As we are celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I can’t help but sit and reflect on the life, words, and lessons of Dr. King.

This quote feels fitting of the moment…

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” - MLK, Jr.

In a world that can feel leaderless, where division seems easier than community, and threats to fundamental things like democracy and voting rights are real-life conversations, it’s easy to find despair and focus on what seems like endless challenges rather than finding our paths forward.

In these moments, Dr. King’s legacy is at the forefront of my mind.

Last year, we called on our community to honor with action and operate from love. Surely, the way we can honor Dr. King is action and we should always operate from love, but we can’t help but feel where we are. 

We want to hold space for truth: your truth and the truth of our community.

This MLK Jr. Day we would love to meet you where you are with encouragement to find your path forward.

We’re not here for toxic positivity or pretending everything is ok. Right now, things just aren't ok. TBH we're feeling tired, sad, and a little angsty. And even in that expression of truth, we can look to Dr. King for inspiration.

He was met with adversity, he was threatened, and he was constantly on the defensive. Yet, he always kept going and moving forward. 

As always, our community work starts with us which makes this year's MLK Day theme of "It Starts With Me: Shifting Priorities To Create The Beloved Community" so fitting. 

Join us in celebrating Dr. King’s legacy today and in your way, keep moving forward.

Dr. King Quote

So How Do We Keep Moving Forward...

Did you know that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday that is also a national service day? DOsomething.org shares, the who, how and why of MLK Day and ideas for celebrating through service. The next portion of this post was sourced from DoSomething.org.

 

Who was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is best known for his leadership during the American civil rights movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s (a wave of activism contesting racial segregation, discrimination, disenfranchisement, and injustice). From 1955 to 1968, Dr. King lead several efforts to eliminate Jim Crow laws and other forms of systemic racism that hindered the mobility of people of color in the US. From sit-ins to marches, Dr. King championed demonstrations that combined nonviolence with direct action.

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the 1963 March on Washington is one of his most celebrated. In it, Dr. King envisioned a world with equal justice for all people under the law. He went on to earn a Nobel Peace Prize and see the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Towards the end of his life, Dr. King’s advocacy emphasized the importance of economic justice in the fight for equality and racial liberation. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, where he was supporting Memphis sanitation workers in their strike for union recognition, better safety standards, and live-able wages.

 

How did MLK Day become a holiday?

Today, Dr. King’s contributions are pretty undeniable. We’re taught about Dr. King and the civil rights movement in school, and celebrating his legacy on MLK Day feels only natural. But this wasn’t always the case.

The creation of MLK Day was a hard-fought battle between Dr. King’s supporters and those who felt threatened by his advocacy. Calls for the holiday began shortly after Dr. King’s assassination in 1968, but it wasn’t until 1983 that Congress passed legislation making Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday. This was thanks in large part to the work of Coretta Scott King and the King Center and Rep. John Conyers and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Then came the battle for MLK Day to be recognized at the state level, which included a stand-off between the NFL and the state of Arizona over their refusal to adopt the holiday. Southern states showed the most resistance, and some even tried combining MLK Day with celebrations for Confederate leaders. In 2000, all 50 states officially adopted MLK Day -- 32 years after it was first proposed.

 

Why does it matter?

MLK Day matters because it recognizes Dr. King’s legacy of service while inspiring us to serve in our own ways. A lot of the things Dr. King advocated for during his lifetime (racial justice, economic equality, affordable housing, labor rights, etc.) are issues we’re still trying to move forward in 2022. The protests of recent summers, for example, followed in the footsteps of the civil rights movement and leaders like Dr. King. The fight for justice is ongoing, and we can use this day to reflect on the work that Dr. King started and take responsibility for the work we still have left to do.

 

How can I celebrate MLK Day?

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, and Americans are encouraged to spend this day volunteering to improve their communities.

 

Here are some ways you can participate:

1. Learn about and discuss Dr. King’s life and teachings. The King Institute's Liberation Curriculum is a great place to get started. Don't forget to include younger folx!

 

2. Do an act of community service. Any act of service can build community. Clean up your street, reach out to neighbors that have been isolated through the pandemic, or volunteer at your local shelter. 

 

3. Educate yourself on systemic barriers. Read about the racial wealth and income gap in the US and the 12 key federal policies that have contributed to it.

 

4. Protect existing civil rights. Consider donating to the Social Impact Center to help them promote community, educational equality, economic justice, and expand their mental health resources.

Community Care Above All Else

When times feel especially challenging, leaning into community, acts of service, and caring to make a change can keep us all finding our paths forward.  Pair these moments of reflection with a little self-care—perhaps a relaxing bath or weed gummies to ease stress and focus your mind on positive action.

Like Dr. King said, "faith is taking the step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Today, we celebrate and find hope in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

 

 

If I had a gram for every time some well-meaning person ecstatically approached me about the latest celebrity cannabis or CBD brand, I’d have pounds for days. In fact, I’d probably be Kush Queen’s supplier rather than a member of the team. 

Much of the media’s focus on cannabis has thankfully shifted away from the propaganda and PSAs of years past. Unfortunately it still misses the mark by elevating celebrity-backed companies and organizations whose marketing campaigns promote justice and advocacy, while their execution of those intentions demonstrates questionable tactics.

Kush Queen’s values have always centered around representation, inclusion, and justice.  As Black History Month comes to a close, we are holding space to acknowledge and uplift the Black leaders in cannabis who are creating real change, every day, in their communities and across the globe, while also celebrating the diverse ways people enjoy cannabis, from weed gummies to flower.

Which they’ve been doing all along.

Supernova Women, Bay Area, CA

Web: https://www.supernovawomen.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/supernovawomen/

Supernova Women

 

Founded by and created for women of color in the cannabis industry, Oakland-based nonprofit organization, Supernova Women has been fighting for social equity since 2015. Offering educational workshops on licensing, business development, and advocacy to women of color in cannabis, Supernova fosters important conversations through networking and events while taking action at the legislative level in the Bay Area and beyond. 

Their charitable project, Cannabis Equity Relief Fund, distributes grants and resources to cannabis businesses owned by women and people of color. 

The Hood Incubator, Oakland, CA

Web: https://www.hoodincubator.org/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/hoodincubator/

The Hood Incubator

Demanding a seat at the table and empowering Black community members to become cannabis industry stakeholders is The Hood Incubator’s love language. They launched the first ever cannabis business accelerator for people of color in Oakland, CA in 2016, resulting in 30+ Black-owned cannabis businesses to date--impressive AF. 

They are currently building the Cannabis Justice Policy Platform for a Spring 2021 launch. 

National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance (NDICA), Los Angeles, CA

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thendica18/ 

Web: https://www.thendica.org/ 

NDICA.ord

 

LA based nonprofit, NDICA, has been bridging the gap between the harms of the War on Drugs (WoD) and the new opportunities born in the era of legal cannabis. Hosting everything from educational workshops to expungement clinics, and vocational training to social equity programs, NDICA was the first cannabis organization to be awarded a grant funded by cannabis tax revenue from the state of California, and deservedly so. 

In partnership with LARRP (Los Angeles Regional Reentry Program, NDICA continues to pay it forward by funding grants for people exiting the carceral system.

National Expungement Week, National

IG: https://www.instagram.com/expungementweek/

Web: https://nationalexpungementweek.org/ 

National Expungment Week

 

What began in 2018 as a weeklong, multi-city effort to host expungement clinics providing free legal aid to formerly incarcerated individuals has grown into a national, year long resource for communities impacted by the WoD. While NEW is not a cannabis organization, it is aligned with and widely supported by cannabis brands and grassroots organizations, including Kush Queen and our community partners at The Social Impact Center. 

Get involved! Help NEW bring legal services to a community in need.

Social Equity Owners & Workers Association (SEOWA), Los Angeles, CA

IG: https://www.instagram.com/_seowa_/ 

Web: https://www.seowa.org/ 

SEOWA

 

Comprised of social equity applicants in the world’s largest, and most corrupt legal market, SEOWA was formed to address the systemic flaws in LA’s cannabis licensing process that disproportionately impacts Black cannabis industry stakeholders. While the organization is young, its members have been on the frontlines of the battle to secure licenses for years. 

Many applicants have been funneling resources into not-yet-approved-to-open businesses to meet the requirements for the highly coveted social equity licenses, only to discover that the game is rigged. Well, SEOWA sued, and the city opened up 100 more licenses last year. 

Conclusion

As you move through the rest of 2021, don’t forget that celebrating Black history should never be confined to a month. 

Take your activism farther this year. Channel your energy into supporting Black-led grassroots organizations. Donate funds if you have the means. Volunteer your time if you don’t. Do both if you can. 

Black history is being written NOW.


In Solidarity,


Team Kush Queen 

We first published this list in February 2021, and it has stayed one of the pieces we are proudest of. Five years on, the people in it are still worth your attention.

Cannabis is one plant among many that people have used to feel more like themselves. It sits inside a much older set of practices, most of which have nothing to do with us and were never ours to claim. Vodou, astrology, ancestral conjure work, affirmation, sound and music are all healing traditions with their own histories, many of them carried forward by Black practitioners through periods when doing so openly was dangerous.

These five weave spirituality, self care and empowerment into everything they do. We are not selling you anything in this piece. Go and find them.

Jessyka Winston of Haus of Hoodoo

JESSYKA WINSTON OF HAUS OF HOODOO

A Vodou priestess based in New Orleans, Louisiana, who owns an apothecary and botánica offering conjure fixed candles, ritual baths, oils and spiritual consultations.

What makes her work matter beyond the products is the teaching. Through video lessons and both virtual and physical spaces, she has built somewhere her community can learn the real history of Vodou and Hoodoo, and understand the impact those practices can have. Two traditions that have been caricatured relentlessly in American popular culture, taught properly by someone inside them.

What We Love MOST from Jessyka: Conjure Fixed Candles

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hausofhoodoo

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCbodFzqtzDbIe60MeAOp32g

Bernard Velasquez, @authenticberns

BERNARD VELASQUEZ OF @AUTHENTICBERNS

"I said to myself, Self! My self said, Sis?" If you have ever come across one of his short videos, you know the cadence before you know the name.

Bernard's gift is compression. In under sixty seconds he can shake genuine confidence loose in someone who logged on feeling like nothing, and then push further, amplifying their voice and their sense of what is actually in their highest good. Affirmation work gets dismissed as lightweight. Done at this level, on the days when someone needs it most, it is not.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/authenticberns

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMedRw42f/

Lizzy Jeff of Zen and Kush

LIZZY JEFF OF ZEN & KUSH

Rap that feels mystical, sensual and high powered. Lizzy Jeff, the Rap Priestess, also known as the Westcoast Wave Goddess, uses plant medicine and creative expression to empower her community.

She is the clearest answer on this list to anyone who still treats spirituality and pleasure as opposites. The work is celebratory and grounded at the same time. Start with Goddess Code.

What We Love MOST from Lizzy: Goddess Code by Lizzy Jeff

Website: https://lizzyjeff.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lizzyjeff

Bandcamp: https://lizzyjeff.bandcamp.com/

King Soon of Orun

KING SOON OF ORUN

King Soon writes mantras built to be used daily rather than admired, calling in protection, strength and abundance. The money tree line has lived in a lot of people's heads rent free.

What stands out is how he holds the community around the work. He replies constantly, and those replies create the actual safe space where conversation and healing happen. The mantras are the doorway. The responsiveness is the room.

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqxhp6i9epbhZ_Bhi__jp_Q

Imani Cohen, The Hood Healer

IMANI COHEN OF @THEHOODHEALER

But like, what is your star sign?

Imani Cohen, better known as The Hood Healer, is a psychic clairvoyant offering daily astrological guidance, sharp humour and a community that keeps it real. The part of her work we keep coming back to is that she does not stop at telling people what their intuition says. She teaches them to trust it, and to understand that it is leading them towards safety, abundance and growth rather than away from them.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thehoodhealer

What these five have in common

Not a modality. They work in Vodou, astrology, affirmation, music and conjure, and those are genuinely different practices with different histories and different demands.

What connects them is who they built for. Every one of them chose to do this work publicly, in community, for people who have historically been served badly or not at all by mainstream wellness. That industry has a long habit of borrowing from these traditions while leaving the people who carry them out of the frame and out of the money.

Listing five people in a blog post does not fix that. Following them, paying them, buying from them and learning from them does more.

Keep reading

If this is the part of our work you care about, the companion piece is Black Leaders Creating Real Change, and everything we have filed under Social Responsibility sits together in one place.

And if you came here for us rather than for them: we make bath bombs, gummies, lubes and topicals, and you can find all of it in the Kush Queen shop. None of the people above is affiliated with us or paid by us. We just think they are worth knowing.

Rainbow stripes, ombre blends, and swirling tie-dye patterns are easier to pull off than they look, and knowing how to color bath bombs the right way means your fizz stays fully intact. This guide walks through everything from picking the right colorants to shaping a finished design that actually looks like Pride. Whether you're making something for yourself or building a gift worth giving, there's a technique here that fits your comfort level.

What You’ll Need to Tie-Dye a Bath Bomb for Pride

Before you start swirling colors, taking a few minutes to gather your supplies makes the whole process go a lot smoother. Knowing how to color bath bombs the right way begins with choosing the right canvas. A plain white bath bomb is your best bet — it picks up color vibrantly and won't muddy your hues the way a tinted base can. If you need a solid starting point, the Kush Queen Bath Bomb Bundle gives you several to experiment with, so there's no pressure to get it perfect on the first try.

What you'll need:

  • White or uncolored bath bombs
  • Skin-safe liquid colorants or bath bomb dyes (look for cosmetic-grade options made specifically for bath products)
  • Small spray bottles or dropper bottles for precision
  • Plastic wrap or a silicone mat to protect your work surface
  • Disposable gloves to keep your hands clean
  • Paper towels for quick cleanup
  • A well-ventilated workspace with covered surfaces

Your colorant choice matters more than anything else here. Standard food coloring can work in a pinch, but cosmetic-grade bath bomb dyes give you richer, more consistent results and are formulated to be skin-safe and rinse away cleanly. Natural bath bomb colorants like beet powder or spirulina are worth knowing about too — just expect softer, more muted tones rather than the saturated rainbow you're probably picturing for a Pride design.

One more thing before you dive in: protect your surfaces. Dye moves fast and stains faster. Lay down plastic wrap or a silicone mat before opening anything, and put your gloves on from the start. Once your space is set and everything is within reach, the fun part takes over. A plain bath bomb becomes something personal, colorful, and genuinely worth sharing.

How to Color Bath Bombs Without Ruining the Fizz

The secret to coloring bath bombs without wrecking them comes down to one rule: keep moisture out. Even a small amount of excess liquid can trigger the citric acid and baking soda in your base to react early, leaving you with a crumbly, flat mess before it ever hits the tub. The good news? With the right colorant format and a light hand, you can get bold, vivid results without sacrificing a single bubble.

  1. Choose your colorant format. Mica powders and cosmetic-grade oxides are the easiest starting point. They blend smoothly, come in a huge range of shades, and add zero moisture to your mix. Natural bath bomb colorants like beet powder or spirulina work too, though the tones tend to run softer and more muted.
  2. Mix dry colorants into your dry base first. Before any liquid touches the bowl, stir your powder colorants directly into the dry ingredients. You'll get even, consistent color throughout with zero fizz risk.
  3. Apply liquid colorants by misting only. If you want to dye bath bombs with a spray effect or add surface color, use a spray bottle filled with a water-based or alcohol-based colorant. Mist lightly from a distance. Never pour directly into the mix.
  4. Layer gradually. Build color in thin passes rather than going heavy all at once. This gives you much better control over depth and intensity, especially when you're working with multiple shades.
  5. Press and shape immediately. Once color is applied, pack your mixture into molds right away. The longer it sits exposed to air or moisture, the higher the risk of premature activation.
  6. Allow full drying time. Leave your bath bombs in the mold for at least 24 hours in a cool, dry space before unmolding or handling.

Watch Out For This

The most common mistake when learning how to color bath bombs is adding too much liquid at once. The fix is simple: mist slowly and build up, never pour.

Keep Your Fizz Intact

  • Work in a low-humidity space, especially on rainy or muggy days
  • Test any new colorant on a small batch before committing to a full recipe
  • Reach for alcohol-based colorants over water-based ones when liquid is necessary
  • Make sure your workspace and tools are completely dry before you begin

Getting your bath bomb color ideas to land the way you picture them is mostly about patience and restraint. Use less liquid than you think you need, layer deliberately, and give your bombs real time to set. Once they're ready to go, check out how to get the most out of your bath bomb experience so all that effort pays off the moment they hit the water.

Building a Pride Look with Tie-Dye, Ombre, and Rainbow Swirls

You do not need advanced decorating skills to make a Pride bath bomb look special. When you are learning how to color bath bombs, the easiest win is starting with a plain white bath bomb. White gives you a clean background, so bright shades stay bright and soft shades still show up clearly.

Here are a few easy looks to try:

  • Tie-dye stripes: Add two or three colors in diagonal or horizontal bands with a dropper, cotton swab, or fine brush. While the color is still slightly damp, drag a toothpick lightly through the edges to create that blended, streaky tie-dye feel.
  • Rainbow swirls: Dot or paint several shades around the surface, then swirl them together gently with a toothpick for a loose spiral effect. You do not need perfect lines here. A little movement makes it look more playful.
  • Pastel ombre blends: For a softer finish, use the same bath-safe colorant in lighter and deeper amounts as you move across the bath bomb. Start with a very sheer wash of color on one side, then build slightly stronger color as you go. This creates a dreamy gradient without adding anything that could affect the fizz.
  • Bold flag-inspired bands: Paint or dab clean sections of color in straight rows. This is one of the simplest bath bomb color ideas because there is no blending to manage, just clear, confident blocks of color.
  • Shimmer accent: If you want a little extra glow, tap cosmetic-grade mica or glitter onto one edge while the surface is still tacky.

Pro tip: Three to five distinct bands can echo classic Pride flag palettes without any swirling at all.

Whether you love soft pastels, bright rainbow tones, or natural bath bomb colorants, this is where you get to play. If you want more inspiration on how color and design come together in finished products, take a peek at how Lush inspired our CBD bath bombs.

Using a T-Shirt as Your Tie-Dye Template

If you’ve ever tie-dyed a shirt, you already get the vibe. The same divide, drip, and blend approach that gives a tie-dye T-shirt that easy, swirled look works beautifully when you’re figuring out how to color bath bombs. You’re not aiming for perfect lines here. You’re aiming for movement, contrast, and that slightly messy-in-a-good-way finish.

Here’s the mindset to borrow from classic tie-dye:

  • Section the surface first. Picture your bath bomb like a shirt you’ve twisted into sections. Mentally map out a few color zones before you start so each shade has room to stand out.
  • Drip, don’t brush. A dropper or small squeeze bottle gives you better control than a paintbrush and helps keep the look soft and organic instead of streaky.
  • Let the colors meet naturally. Where one shade hits the next, allow a little blending at the edges. That blurred transition is what makes tie-dye feel relaxed and dimensional.
  • Don’t over-correct. A little unevenness is part of the charm. Some of the best bath bomb color ideas come from letting the pattern develop on its own.
  • Choose bath-safe colorants for the effect you want. Water-dispersible dyes can create bright, stain-style color, while cosmetic-grade mica adds a more swirled, shimmery finish. If you prefer natural bath bomb colorants, plant-based options can work too, but check that they’re approved for bath use.

Whatever route you take, stick with skin-safe colorants that won’t interfere with the fizz. That’s the sweet spot for how to make bath bombs colorful while still keeping them functional, giftable, and fun to drop in the tub.

Finishing, Storing, and Gifting Your Pride Bath Bomb

Once your bath bomb has its color, you're almost there. A little patience in these final steps is all that stands between a beautiful finished product and one that cracks before it ever hits the water.

Let it dry completely. This one is non-negotiable. Set your bath bomb in a cool, dry spot and give it a full 24 to 48 hours to cure before you handle it much or wrap it up. If it still feels soft or tacky anywhere, leave it longer. Rushing the dry time is the single fastest way to ruin a design you worked hard on.

Keep it away from moisture. Humidity and fizz do not get along. Skip the bathroom windowsill or kitchen counter and find a dry spot away from steam. If you're holding onto it for more than a few days, a sealed bag or airtight container will protect both the color and the fizz until you're ready to use it or pass it along.

Make the packaging part of the gift. Clear cellophane tied with rainbow ribbon is an easy, polished look. A small box with tissue paper works just as well, or stack a few bath bombs together in a mason jar for a ready-made gift set. The color work you put in deserves to actually be seen, and handmade always lands differently than something off a shelf.

If your first attempt comes out a little rough, that's genuinely part of the process. Grab a few options from the Kush Queen bath bomb reject sale to practice your coloring technique before the ones that really matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I use to color bath bombs?

Use skin-safe, cosmetic-grade bath bomb dyes, mica powders, or cosmetic-grade oxides for the best color and the least fizz trouble. Natural options like beet powder or spirulina can work too, but they usually give softer, more muted shades than a bright rainbow look.

Can you add food coloring to bath bombs?

Yes, food coloring can work in a pinch, but it is not the best choice for coloring bath bombs. Cosmetic-grade bath bomb dyes are a better fit because they give richer, more even color, are skin-safe, and are made to rinse away cleanly.

How do you paint bath bombs?

Paint bath bombs by applying bath-safe liquid color lightly with a spray bottle, dropper, cotton swab, or fine brush. Build the color in thin layers instead of soaking the surface, because too much liquid can trigger the fizz early and leave the bath bomb crumbly.

Illustration by @dmblunted

The history of pot brownies is richer, stranger, and more human than most people expect. It runs through the hands of women bakers, queer caregivers, and grassroots advocates who turned a humble kitchen staple into something that carried real weight during some of the hardest decades in recent memory. This piece covers where that history actually begins, why the brownie specifically became the edible everyone recognizes, and what that legacy still means for how we think about cannabis today.

What the history of pot brownies really starts with

Most people know pot brownies as a cultural punchline or a rite of passage. What fewer people realize is that the history of pot brownies runs a lot deeper than that — rooted in community, caregiving, and a quiet kind of resistance that rarely gets the credit it deserves.

Long before edibles came in sleek packaging with milligram labels, people were figuring out how to make them work in home kitchens. Women were often leading that experimentation. And during the AIDS crisis, queer communities turned cannabis brownies into something closer to a lifeline than a party trick. That context tends to get left out of the conversation. It shouldn't be.

Knowing where pot brownies actually come from shifts how you think about edibles as a whole. It draws a direct line from something you might pick up at a dispensary today back to decades of grassroots advocacy, hands-on caregiving, and communities that found ways to show up for each other when mainstream medicine wouldn't.

This piece traces that full arc. You'll meet the women who helped bring cannabis edibles into the light, explore why queer culture was so central to normalizing them, and find out how the brownie specifically became the edible everyone recognizes. Want the whole story in one place? It's right here. But first, let's go back to where it all started.

Meet Brownie Mary and the women who helped make edibles visible

If you know one name from the history of pot brownies, it’s probably Mary Jane Rathbun, better known as Brownie Mary. In 1980s San Francisco, she became one of the most recognizable faces in cannabis brownies history through volunteer work, public advocacy, and the now-famous brownies she baked for her community. Her arrests brought national attention, but that headline version only captures part of her story. What people remembered most was her consistency. She showed up, she baked, and she kept showing up.

She also wasn’t acting alone. The pot brownie history behind Brownie Mary includes a much wider circle of women, home bakers, organizers, and caregivers who helped make edibles visible through everyday acts of support.

  • Home bakers and neighbors shared cannabis-infused food through informal community networks, long before licensed shops existed.
  • Women in queer communities prepared edibles for friends, partners, and chosen family while caring for seriously ill loved ones during a public health crisis.
  • Grassroots organizers helped people find food-based cannabis at a time when access was inconsistent and stigma was everywhere.
  • Community kitchen volunteers treated baking as mutual aid, rooted in trust, generosity, and showing up for one another.
  • Activists and advocates documented this work and challenged the idea that marijuana brownies origins were just counterculture trivia or a punchline.

That broader network matters to the origin of pot brownies just as much as any one famous name. Brownie Mary became the icon, but she represented something bigger: a tradition of sharing cannabis with intention, compassion, and community at the center. That legacy still shapes how people think about THC edibles today.

Why queer communities were central to cannabis edible culture

Queer communities helped shape the social life around cannabis edibles in ways that matter to the history of pot brownies, even if that part of the story is not always centered. In many pre-legalization spaces, privacy mattered. So did trust. A brownie was easy to carry, easy to share, and a lot less attention-grabbing than lighting up.

That made edibles especially useful in community settings built around chosen family and mutual care. Homemade brownies could move quietly through trusted circles, from house gatherings to informal support networks, without asking anyone to make a public scene of their cannabis use. In that context, food and care were often closely linked.

A few factors likely made brownies stand out:

  • Mutual aid and sharing: homemade edibles were often passed between friends and community members who looked out for each other.
  • Chosen family culture: bringing food to a gathering was already a social language, so cannabis brownies fit naturally into that rhythm.
  • Harm-reduction-minded use: for some people, edibles offered a smoke-free option that felt easier to work into the moment.
  • Discretion: brownies were portable, familiar, and less likely to draw unwanted attention in stigmatized settings.
  • Caregiving traditions: people including Brownie Mary helped make the pot brownie history feel personal, rooted in generosity as much as novelty.

So while no single group can claim the full origin of pot brownies, queer spaces clearly helped shape how they were shared, understood, and remembered. You can still see that legacy in today’s cannabis edibles: thoughtful, social, and often passed along with intention.

How brownies became the edible people remember

The brownie didn't become the symbol of cannabis edible culture by accident. Look closely at the marijuana brownies origins and the answer is almost entirely practical: brownies were something almost anyone could make at home, with ingredients already in the kitchen, using a method that actually worked.

Here's why the format stuck:

  • Pantry-friendly ingredients. Butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa, and flour were staples most people already had on hand.
  • Fat-soluble infusion. Cannabis binds to fat, and brownies call for plenty of butter or oil, making them a naturally effective delivery format.
  • Easy hand-portioning. A pan of brownies cuts into neat squares, which made rough dosing far more intuitive than most other baked goods.
  • Forgiving bake times. Dense, fudgy brownies are hard to overbake, which gave early home bakers real margin for error.
  • Texture that masked flavor. Rich chocolate did a solid job covering the grassy, herbal taste of early cannabis preparations.

It's worth separating the legend from the logic here. The history of pot brownies is full of colorful origin stories, but the brownie earned its place through usability, not mythology alone.

That practical foundation didn't disappear as cannabis culture evolved. It transformed. The same chocolate-forward instinct that made brownies the original go-to has continued to shape cannabis confections in increasingly sophisticated ways. Curious where that evolution leads today? The THC chocolate and rosin edibles guide is a solid next stop.

What this history says about edibles today

The history of pot brownies is not just a fun piece of trivia. It is a record of who showed up for people when the systems around them would not. Women like Alice B. Toklas and Brownie Mary, alongside the queer communities who quietly shared recipes and hard-won knowledge through the AIDS crisis, built something that still shapes how people experience edibles today.

That legacy matters because edibles were never only about getting high. They were about access, care, and finding something that genuinely worked for real people navigating real circumstances, often without much support from anywhere else.

When you pick up an edible now, you are benefiting from decades of that kind of practical, compassionate knowledge. Which is exactly why mindful dosing and clear labeling are not just nice extras; they are the least the category owes to the people who came before. Those early makers did not have guardrails. You do, and that is worth using.

If you are newer to edibles or just want to feel more grounded about how they work, our THC edibles guide covering onset, dosing, and effects is a solid place to start. Knowing what to expect is probably the most respectful thing you can do, both for this history and for yourself.

The roots of this category are real, and they deserve to be honored. Choose accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's another name for pot brownies?

Another common name is cannabis brownies, and people also use marijuana brownies. Those phrases point to the same familiar edible format: a homemade brownie infused with cannabis, which became iconic because it was practical, easy to share, and simple to make with everyday kitchen ingredients.

How do pot brownies make you feel?

Pot brownies can feel approachable, discreet, and easy to share, which is part of why they became so central to edible cannabis culture. The bigger takeaway is to expect an edible experience that calls for mindful dosing and clear labeling, since effects can be strong enough that knowing what to expect matters.