For many, Monday night means one thing – Primetime Football.
That was evident on Monday as smokers and football fans gathered in New York City to watch the New England Patriots take on the Arizona Cardinals and smoke with Ricky Williams.
Produced by Williams’ cannabis brand Highsman, the event drew a diverse crowd, including Heisman-winner Troy Smith and notable cannabis influencers.
Despite power issues before the game started, the amount of smoke in the dark air was a great example of the rich community vibes flowing through New York City’s cannabis scene.
New York’s Budding Lounge Scene
New York’s five boroughs boast more consumption lounges than any other US city, each with its own vibrant personality.
The trend began with Happy Munkey and the no-fucks-given attitude possessed by even the most average New Yorker has allowed pre-licensed cannabis lounges to flourish, both in number and sophistication.
Monday night’s event was hosted at Work’n’Roll, a lounge located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.
With a We Work approach to getting high, Work’n’Roll’s daily and monthly memberships provide access to a well-lit space where ideas and joints are passed freely.
Most of the memberships offered by Work’n’Roll include access to their podcast room, a unique benefit that more lounges should consider.
While there is room for growth, Monday night’s Highsman event felt like those found at cannabis social clubs in Barcelona, Catalonia, where building community through conversation is as important as checking out heady rosin.
Licensed and Legacy
Much like the Holiday Canna Market hosted by CANY, the Highsman event was an intersection of licensed and pre-licensed cannabis firms.
Several of the attendees showed off quality products including infused pre-rolls and shatter-infused flower, the latter of which, made by LA Fruitcart, has already hit shelves at California dispensaries like Cookies and Lemonnade.
“New York is still about putting the community first,” Joe, the chef behind Infusery_LI, stated, “Whether your are licensed or still working on getting a license, it’s about serving the people.”
If you were a medical cannabis patient in a state like Michigan, Maine, or California back in the good old daze, Infusery_LI will bring you back to what made those scenes great.
Offering infused dinners, juices, and unique edibles like their 65-mg yam and marshmallow mini-pies, Infusery_LI is a perfect representation of the uniqueness that’s still thriving in New York.
While limitations such as milligram-per-serving caps or the cost to get SKUs production-ready are likely to stifle New York’s product diversity, one thing is for certain, consumers are still interested in purchasing unique products.
Highsman Highs
For anyone who has spent time in New York City’s art and nightlife scene, Monday night’s event seemed like business as usual as celebrated athletes brushed shoulders with beautiful humans and a photographer from the NY Post captured it all.
“We took a risk opening the event up to the public but if you look around, this is beautiful, this is the kind of vibe we want to create at all our events” Lane Radbill, CMO and co-Founder of Highsman mentioned during a half-time conversation.
Attendees enjoyed football-inspired foods like chicken wings and waffles, which worked well with the watch party theme, but most went for the Highsman flower samples and swag.
Pay attention to Highsman as they expand, the mix of company culture and through brand development has the brand positioned to win the sports-inspired and celebrity-backed categories.
