XPost: alt.atheism, sac.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: alt.society.liberalism   
   From: dirtbag@gavinnewsom.turds   
      
   Imelda Walavalkar can still remember what people said when she first   
   started selling packs of miniature joints shorter than her pinky finger.   
   The co-founder of the Pure Beauty cannabis brand believed in the idea,   
   but she kept getting a singular reaction from would-be customers: "What   
   the f-k is this?"   
      
   That was 2018, when the standard legal joint was filled with 1 gram of   
   cannabis and about as long as a middle finger. Walavalkar's "Babies" are   
   comically small, weighing in at just 0.35 gram and featuring a cute pair   
   of googly eyes printed on the filter. But seven years later, customers   
   aren't scratching their heads at Walavalkar's tiny joints - they've   
   become her brand's top product with millions sold every year.   
      
   "Most of the stores we talk to now say we don't even have to sell them,   
   they kind of sell themselves," Walavalkar recently told SFGATE. "People   
   come looking for them."   
      
   Small joints have become big business in California. The state's biggest   
   pot brands have followed suit, recognizing the reality that many   
   customers don't actually want that much weed in one session. Micro   
   joints "have exploded" in popularity in the last few years according to   
   Eli Melrod, the CEO and co-founder of the dispensary chain Solful. He   
   said his company is now working on releasing its own version of the   
   bite-sized blunts under the house brand.   
      
   Micro joint fans say their benefits are plentiful. The smaller portion   
   allows them to easily be finished in one sitting, as opposed to a larger   
   joint that might require you to put it out and carry around a smelly   
   half-smoked joint in your pocket. Modern pot is extremely potent, so   
   many cannabis users simply don't want to smoke a full gram joint.   
      
   Chad Heschong, the founder of Selfies, an Oakland brand that exclusively   
   sells tiny joints, compared his smaller portions to an evening drink.   
      
   "It's for someone who just wants to take the edge off after a long day   
   of work," Heschong said. "It's like having a glass of wine versus   
   drinking a full handle."   
      
   Heschong created his brand in 2017 with his wife Kristen, who noticed   
   that he kept leaving half-smoked joints around the house.   
      
   "We were smoking joints and we'd leave them on the coffee table and she   
   hated [them]," Heschong said. "She went, 'Why don't you just start   
   rolling smaller joints?'"   
      
   Heschong said the only small joint he had previously seen was a half   
   gram, but he took the concept even further by releasing a joint that's   
   just 0.25 gram. Selfies sells the joints in two-packs, 12-packs and even   
   28-packs, which he said have become very popular for weddings and other   
   parties where people want to share cannabis with a big group.   
      
   Marty Higgins, the CEO of the dispensary chain Urbana, said a brand   
   called Dogwalkers originally pioneered the mini joint around the idea of   
   something you could smoke on a short walk with your dog. He said smaller   
   joints were rare at first, but now they've become their own subcategory   
   of products. He said mini joint customers "lean towards a more mature   
   audience who are looking for a little less" cannabis consumption.   
      
   The growth of tiny joints also points to a subtle way commercialization   
   of pot has shifted cannabis culture. During the scarce days of marijuana   
   prohibition, passing a communal joint around a group of friends was a   
   cherished ritual for smokers. But legalization has made pot accessible   
   and affordable - Selfies' two-pack sells for $13 with tax - and the idea   
   of putting your lips on the same joint that someone else smoked is   
   becoming as socially acceptable as four friends collectively splitting a   
   pint of beer.   
      
   Heschong said he saw an increase in interest in mini joints during the   
   pandemic, especially because multiple people can still smoke them   
   together and have a communal experience without sharing germs.   
      
   "Joints were created to share, so we wanted to create something that you   
   could share the experience without sharing the actual joint," Heschong   
   said.   
      
   Heschong, who produces his joints at a manufacturing facility in   
   Oakland, said his brand now produces over 325,000 mini joints a month,   
   or nearly 4 million tiny joints a year.   
      
   Kristen Heschong, who worked in marketing before transitioning to   
   cannabis, designed the loud and proud prismatic packaging for the brand.   
   She said the tiny joints are not only for convenience, but also for   
   appealing to a different type of stoner.   
      
   "I saw a need in the market to have a product that spoke to people like   
   me that weren't heavy, heavy smokers," Kristen said.   
      
   https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/california-tiny-joints-popular-20   
   034743.php   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)