Partnerships, Products, & Policies
6th Street in downtown Austin, TX is no stranger to cannabis. Austin is a progressive city, and our law enforcement is somewhat more lenient about plant matter than in other parts of the state. But 6th street really tests the limits of that leniency.
That being said, I’ve never reveled so openly in the celebration of cannabis as I did at Parlor & Yard last month. They’re a pub on West 6th street that specializes in well-balanced cocktails and ambience. They recently hosted a CBD-themed dinner by the cannabis event agency Honey, and GRAV was privileged to sponsor.
The crowd was a blend of industry insiders, employees at the various cannabis companies sponsoring the event, their friends and family, and even passers-by. Some folks seemed pretty familiar with cannabis and glassware; others were clearly surprised to encounter the abundance of consumption methods GRAV brought to bear. We had an array of dry pipes flanking a dab bar, where daring individuals could dab CBD hits from our water pipes and Orbis rigs. Premium CBD hemp flower and its isolates are legal now in the Lone Star State, and GRAV plans to fully exercise our new rights.
But the star of the show was a secret project GRAV has been working on for the past few years. We’re poised to launch a new device called the Glass Joint that combines all the convenience of pre-rolls with the safety and flavor of smoking through glass. Personal and commercial filling systems will allow cannabis consumers and producers alike to quickly fill glass cartridges with ground flower, and those cartridges pair with a mouthpiece to create a smoke-ready, half-gram pipe. We brought several samples filled with CBD flower, and as people passed them around the yard (which is only separated from 6th street-proper by a knee-high wall), we were filled with pride and validation. Not only were folks enjoying something we’d put a lot of time and effort into, but it also felt like Texas was moving in the right direction. It doesn’t always feel that way.
Our VP of Marketing, Maria Hansen, was in attendance to showcase the Glass Joint. She spoke first with GrowHouse - a YouTube channel based on one couple’s love for cannabis and each other. The hosts of GrowHouse - Liz Grow and Patrick Pope - are the very first members of the media to profile this new product line, and it was a thrill for Maria to showcase the function and hear their feedback. Keep an eye on their channel to catch that interview when it drops.
Soon after, it was time for dinner and cocktails. Nine Banded Whiskey supplied the liquor, Gras CBD spiked the drinks, and Chef Buds and Stoned Layla served up a buffet of CBD infused snacks. There were sliders, tacos, veggie bites, and a CBD-laced marinade that worked with everything so you could fine-tune your dose.
It’s difficult to say what effect the CBD had. I was eating great food, drinking great whiskey, surrounded by friends and colleagues - and I’m happy to admit that as the night wore on, the Glass Joints may have been packed with something other than CBD. So I wasn’t a blank slate. But even a month later, I look back on the night with a sense of deep contentment, and I’m blaming that on the CBD.
The climax of the evening was a panel discussion, led by Lindsey Mandelbaum, the founder of Honey. The panelists included our very own Maria; cannabis advocate and lawyer, Marshall Sales; and Jenny Joslin and Kendall Watkins, the creaters of a new comedy anthology series called High Herstory. They discussed the state of cannabis regulation in Texas, the opportunities in this space for women entrepreneurs, the frustration of law enforcement working at cross-purposes with lawmakers, and some of the more absurd aspects of the legalization growing pains. Maria spoke to the fact that most of GRAV products - namely pipes and bongs - are still considered drug paraphernalia in jurisdictions that have legalized hemp flower. Other tools you might use for smoking - lighters, matches, rolling papers, wooden pipes - escape that designation, but glass, simply by virtue of being associated with a subculture, is legally hazardous.
But the times are changing quickly, and people like those who attended this event are hastening that change. Our great thanks to everyone who participated, and especially Honey, Gras, Nine Banded, Parlor & Yard, Chef Buds, Smoked Layla, High Herstory, and Marshall Sales. See y’all next time!
