I make no secret that I sell cannabis smoking games.  I do not hide the fact that it’s my business and that I sell games to make a profit.  I acknowledge that cannabis is consumed as part of my games and I don’t try to make it a “wink-wink” kind of game where smoking is implied as a rule.  In 2012, when I started my company, I believed that national cannabis legalization would soon be here.  Unfortunately, unlike many states, New York has not legalized adult use of cannabis.

I started my journey into the cannabis game field by joining local business and advocacy groups to meet the local community.  I gravitated to two groups, one a business group and one a student advocacy group supported by a NYC law firm doing social outreach. In 2013, both of these groups did good work by bringing a wide range of people together.  Magazine publishers networked with student activists, entrepreneurs talked with interested investors. These groups seemed to be guiding NY to legal status and getting ready for the green internet to be released in NY State. 

These groups encouraged me to show up, give out some games and see what happens.  I did and, at first, things were great.  As long as I wanted to give out games for free, or spend money on one of their events, I was a good friend and someone they loved to work with.  I was invited to many events, building the reputation of my game, and it worked.  They needed a vendor, I was there.  They needed help organizing an event, I was there.  I built a reputation based on doing what I say. 

Like the movie Groundhog Day, these groups just couldn’t get it right again.  They would put in less and less effort and expect people to pay more and more.  It didn’t matter that legalization didn’t happen and these business groups failed to spawn a single business.  The groups became about having events and collecting money from individuals who wanted information about the cannabis industry.  Each event covered the same ground over and over and naked greed was showing it’s ugly head. 

The deals became one-sided and the several emails needed for a reply turned into weeks of effort.  I would see these cultural cannabis advocates headlining marches or speeches, but no mention of the fact that they had failed - pot is still illegal in NY!  It’s like sheep leading sheep.    What they do is get way too stoned and act like they are something.  The fact is that they suck at everything:  none of them have serious relationships or responsibilities, and they use their group as an excuse to get high all the time! 

These thieves should have been out of business a long time ago, but they are needed to swindle people out of their money.  The cannabis advocacy community has been taken over by the CBD crooks.  With no real store front, these fly by night crooks use these cannabis events to sell their goods.  With no real oversight or need for compliance, these makers sell their oils, gummies, and other products directly to the public at these snake oil shows masquerading as advocacy or business groups.

My grandparents were from Manhattan and they always reminded me that NYC was designed to separate suckers from their money.  So, there are no marijuana business associations. Period!  NORML is the only legitimate advocacy group I know and the rest are con artists!  Buy weed from a person you know. If you don’t, spend time to develop a relationship with the person who supplies you with ganja.  It’s old school but it’s the only way.  And always know where your wallet is!!!