Different Leaf: the Podcast

In honor of Danksgiving finally becoming a real thing (did you see the NYT article?) we're revisiting our interview with cannabis journalist Jackie Bryant to discuss the science of edibles, which she wrote about for Different Leaf magazine in the fall of 2021. Host Brit Smith talks to Jackie about the chemical process behind how digested cannabis works in humans, giving us a more physical high tha...

The high holiday season is almost here, friends! This means it's time to plan that gift list, and we're here to help. In this episode, host Brit Smith talks to Different Leaf Magazine's merch+more writer John Arvanitis about the best cannabis-related products from 2022 that will truly take your gift-giving skills to the next level. Get ideas for the coolest pot-themed presents and stocking stuffer...

Smoking accessory designers have brought us out of the ages of hand-carved apple pipes and two-liter plastic bottle bongs. Today's marijuana vape and smoking technology is often sleek, high-end, and discreetly delivers consistent doses to the consumer. Designers are even considering how paraphernalia can fit in with our personal style or home décor, while also having a minimal impact on the planet...

Can kush be kosher? Of course it can! This episode, we're diving into the long and fascinating history of Jews and cannabis with Eddy Portnoy, historian of Jewish culture and the Director of Exhibitions at the New York City YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Eddy tells host Brit Smith about the religious, ritual and cultural connections between Judaism and marijuana. They discuss evidence of hash...

Happy National Chocolate Day! From cannabis candy bars to dank CBD dripping sauces, there are plenty of yummy infused chocolate options on the legal marijuana market. While they may all taste and feel great, most are packed with sugar and are highly processed. Thankfully, chocolatiers are leaning into a new trend of creating healthier infused treats, some even with the planet in mind. In this epis...

Learn how to go from an amateur at-home cook to a cannabis chef superstar with guest Robyn Griggs-Lawrence, author of some of the first mainstream cannabis cookbooks in the US, including 'The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook' and 'Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis.' In this episode, Robyn gives us her top tips for beginner weed cooks, like how to properly activate and infuse marijuana into food,...

It's Hispanic Heritage Month, and we're kicking off our fall season by discussing the connection between the Latinx community and the marijuana plant. This episode, host Brit Smith talks to the founders of CLEO Delta-8 and CBD gummies, Andrea Berrios and Spencer Perron, about what their families in Texas and Minnesota think of the legal options of CBD and Delta-8, and how legal pot companies can d...

The Annaboto, winner of last year’s Boston University Cannabis Startup competition, is an artificially-intelligent robot that’s making it easy for anyone to grow hydroponic marijuana in their own home with the push of a button. This episode, host Brit Smith continues our story of what it's like to grow cannabis at-home with AI by harvesting, drying, curing and smoking her first Annaboto-grown flow...

Over the last decade, eighteen US states have implemented their own sets of regulations to form a recreational cannabis industry. Now there's a patchwork of legalization, many farms have failed, product prices are high, and much of legal weed has fallen short of initial expectations. So what is the current economic state of the legal and illegal cannabis markets in the US? Where has state cannabis...

From marijuana aficionados to the canna-curious, post-pandemic travelers are flocking to states where they can legally get high. With so many curated infused experiences to try, where should you start with cannabis tourism? In this episode, host Brit Smith gets the top tips on where to try the trendiest new cannabis vacation experiences in and around the US. First, Bobby and April Black from Highe...

Host Brit Smith talks to legendary daytime talk show host, decorated Navy veteran, and fierce medical marijuana advocate Montel Williams about his experience as one of the nation's first high-profile proponents of cannabis as medicine. While hosting his Emmy-award winning TV show in the early 2000's, Montel was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. When his doctors advised him to move away from opioi...

New York City is already a travel hotspot, full of history, culture, food, and entertainment. Thanks to the state's new legalization law passed in early 2022, New York is also on the verge of becoming the east coast's next big cannabis tourism hub. Insiders expect adult-use dispensaries to open by the end of the year, but what about tourists who want to experience NYC's cannabis culture before the...

The south of France is well known for its sun, sand, and amazing food and wine. Now, there's a newly-thriving French CBD industry that cannabis-curious tourists can try on their European vacation. There's even been a boom in CBD vending machines, proving that hemp is popular and accessible in France, but it's not always of the best quality. So how can tourists find and try high-quality hemp (and m...

Plenty of tourists enhance their travel experience by bringing cannabis products with them on vacation. Although laws across the US prohibit crossing state lines with pot or toking up in public, that doesn't deter everyone. So how do people anecdotally travel with weed? What does the TSA say about the risks of bringing marijuana into US airports? And what new infused products are discreet enough f...

In most Central and South American countries, recreational cannabis industries don't yet exist. But in places like Uruguay or in certain parts of Mexico, it's more acceptable and less legally risky for travelers to seek out local bud. Several countries have decriminalized possession of small amounts, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru. So what should travelers know...

We're kicking off our summer season in the heart of southern Maine, at one of the only 420-friendly campgrounds in the nation; Camp Laughing Grass. Located less than an hour inland from Portland, Camp Laughing Grass sits on the edge of the scenic Crooked River in the historic resort town of Harrison, ME. There, cannabis-loving visitors get to enjoy kayaking, hiking trails, fire pits, outdoor games...

For our second check-in with the Queer Cannabis Club, we're looking at how LGBTQ+ owned cannabis companies are setting the tone for true inclusivity this Pride month. First, host Brit Smith talks to Luke Anderson, founder of CANN infused social tonics, and Juanjo Feijo, Chief Marketing Officer at WeedMaps, to discuss the new CANN x WeedMaps Pride marketing campaign; the iconic new pop song and mus...

Today's teens are the first adolescents to have access to discreet vape pens and gummies, to regularly see billboards for marijuana delivery services, and soon they’ll be the first generation of young adults who can hit the pot shop instead of the bar on their 21st birthdays. So how has legalization affected teenagers’ views of weed? How can adults have ongoing conversations and empower their kids...

What do French ocean pioneer Jacques Cousteau, US Army General George S. Patton, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt all have in common? They all have grandchildren involved in the legal cannabis industry! But why would the descendants of families of such notoriety want to associate their family's legacy with weed? In this episode, host Brit Smith talks to members of three heirloom families who ha...

Hear the inspirational story of how a traumatic accident led Hennepen's Hemp CEO Bradford Beckermann to develop an accessibility-focused business model within the newly-blossoming hemp industry. Diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and epilepsy after being struck by a car, Bradford embarked on a healing journey that led him through India, and eventually to cannabis and CBD. Years later, when he b...

From India to Bangladesh to Nepal, ganja has been established as an essential medicine across South Asia for thousands of years, and it has long been of major significance in religions like Hinduism and Sikhism. But after British colonization, the role of ganja changed drastically for citizens of the Indian subcontinent, and those who hail from South Asia, known as the Desi community. In this epis...

After US hemp was legalized in 2018, the popularity of CBD and Delta-8-THC products skyrocketed, especially in states where all other forms of cannabis are still illegal. And with every new industry comes a new generation of entrepreneurs with their eyes on a new market of consumers. This episode, Brit talks to three entrepreneurs from Morehouse College, one of Atlanta's HBCU's, who invented the d...

From the thoughtful takes on marijuana culture to the visually stimulating photography, there are so many reasons we love a good cannabis magazine (like Different Leaf, available now at DifferentLeaf.com and on more than 1500 newsstands!) Another one of our favorite marijuana magazines is Broccoli; an international magazine for cannabis lovers that is created and run by women. This episode, host B...

This episode, host Brit Smith talks to Ellen Holland, author and Editor-in-Chief of High Times magazine, about her new book 'Weed; A Connoisseur's Guide To Cannabis.' Ellen's latest book is a must-have for those interested in the history and culture of marijuana, and for appreciators of great cannabis photography. Brit and Ellen talk about her research for the book, which covers everything from ca...

From choosing an extract to working a mini blowtorch, there's a lot to learn about dabbing cannabis concentrates for the first time. This episode, Brit talks to Tommy Wu and Colin Rumsey of Happy Cabbage Farms, producers of Oregon's premium solventless rosin line, to learn how different concentrates are made, and why consumers should care about the extraction method. Then, Brit talks to Jess Gallo...