AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT JUNETEENTH AND THE WAR ON DRUGS
On June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3, which proclaimed that all enslaved African Americans were free.
On June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3, which proclaimed that all enslaved African Americans were free.
It began with …
The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.
To commemorate this proclamation, we celebrate Juneteenth, which actually became a federal holiday last year, after Congress passed The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. A bill that passed the Senate with unanimous consent.
While we certainly welcome the opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth as a national holiday, we should also use this time to recognize that despite General Gordona Granger’s 1865 proclamation that all African Americans are free, history accurately disputes the validity of this claim.
You needn’t look any further than Jim Crow and the War on Drugs for proof of this truism.
Of course, while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 overruled Jim Crow laws, the War on Drugs has allowed the continuation of Jim Crow style policies, which have enabled a very real destruction of black communities in the United States.
The War on Drugs is a War on Us
Earlier this month, the California Reparations Task Force released its interim report detailing the harms of slavery and systemic discrimination on African Americans. In that report, authors highlighted how the war on drugs has contributed to the cycle of mass incarceration of black folks.
Here are some highlights of that report …
The American government at all levels criminalized African Americans for social control, and to maintain an economy based on exploited Black labor. Mass incarceration, another tool of racist social control, has also had the consequence of breaking up Black families.
Although the majority of illegal drug users and dealers nationwide are white, three-fourths of all people imprisoned for drug offenses are Black or Latino.
The criminalization of African Americans through the ‘War on Drugs’ also contributed to increasing numbers of Black children being removed from families and placed into the foster care system, as Black men in particular were disproportionately arrested for minor crimes, breaking apart families and often leaving children in the care of extended relatives or strangers,
During the post-civil rights era, both Republican and Democratic politicians ran on ‘tough on crime’ or ‘law and order’ political platforms that popularized especially punitive criminal laws—particularly laws prohibiting drug sales, distribution, possession, and use—to gain support from voters. These political campaigns often relied on the negative stereotypes of African Americans as criminals built by the previous three centuries of American law and order.
Police crackdowns and incarceration for drug possession did not relieve the social conditions that spawned the crack cocaine epidemic, but rather created harmful consequences for African Americans. State actions exacerbated them by treating drug addiction as a crime, as opposed to a public health issue.
Rather than treat drug use as a public health issue, the American government chose to treat illegal drug use as a criminal justice issue. Federal and state governments chose to punish drug users rather than offer medical help. The war on drugs, which continues today, is a cause for the high numbers of imprisoned African Americans, as evidence exists to suggest that African Americans use drugs at approximately the same rate or less than white Americans.
African Americans have experienced marginalization, physical harm, and death, at the hands of the American criminal justice system at both the federal and state level beginning in slavery and continuing today.
And make no mistake: none of this was unintentional.
50 Years of Modern Slavery
In 2016, journalist Dan Baum reported that John Ehrlichman, former President Richard Nixon’s domestic policy chief, admitted that the war on drugs was designed to persecute black communities in the United States, saying that they knew they couldn’t make it illegal to be “against the black community,” but by criminalizing drugs heavily, they could disrupt the black community.
We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.
Nixon’s declaration of the War on Drugs has lasted for more than 50 years, but new decriminalization and legalization measures have started to dismantle this racist and unjust war. Though still, African Americans are arrested for violating cannabis possession laws at nearly four times the rates of white folks, with both groups consuming cannabis at roughly the same rates.
Moreover, even with new legal markets popping up all over the country, African Americans still have very little representation in these markets. And we know we can’t rely on the government to right these wrongs, so we continue to take matters into our own hands by working with, and supporting black-owned cannabis businesses as well as the communities they serve.
This is certainly the case in Michigan, where we recently launched exclusively in five black-owned dispensaries in Detroit: Remedy, House of Zen, House of Mary Jane, West Coast eds, and Viola.
Only about 3% of cannabis business owners in Michigan are black, so we wanted to ensure that those black-owned dispensaries had the opportunity to get TICAL products on their shelves first.
Of course, this has always been our strategy, regardless of which state we’re in: get TICAL into the communities that have been most negatively impacted by the war on drugs, and support the black-owned and women-owned dispensaries that are instigating racial justice within the cannabis community.
Slavery and Jim Crow laws were overturned because those who supported racial justice worked tirelessly to overturn them. But we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to ending the war on drugs and the federal prohibition on cannabis, which continues to facilitate the persecution and enslavement of African Americans.
Make no mistake: while we joyously celebrate Juneteenth today, we must also recognize that African Americans will never truly be free until the war on drugs has been completely dismantled. And with your support, we will make that happen.
TICAL TOUR SPRING 2022
TICAL Tour Spring 2022. Method Man performing. Buy TICAL Limited Edition Mechandise . Giveaways and Swag.
APR • 16 - CARNIROLL - NORTHAMPTON, MA
APR • 18 - 22 - TICAL POP UP SHOP AT GRASSROOTS - DENVER, CO
APR • 18 - 20 - TICAL POP UP SHOP AT TOP NOTCH - LAS VEGAS, NV
APR • 19 - CERVANTES - DENVER, CO
APR • 20 - CIVIC CENTER - DENVER, CO
APR • 20 - RED ROCKS - MORRISON, CO
APR • 30 - KRUSH GROOVE - LOS ANGELES, CA
MAY • 4 - 5 - HALL OF FLOWERS
Check out the TICAL Tour. We will be popping up in cities across the country. Make sure to stop thru and check out all of our New Merch, Swag and Giveaways.
We hope to see you there.
Roll that Shit. Light that Shit. Smoke It.
HOW KENTUCKY’S HEMP EMPIRE WAS BUILT ON THE BACKS OF SLAVES
For Black History Month, it was our intention to spotlight some famous black hemp farmers of the 1800s.
For Black History Month, it was our intention to spotlight some famous black hemp farmers of the 1800s.
After all, prior to the abolition of slavery, it wasn’t white folks out in the hemp fields. And while there are plenty of old pictures of slaves in the cotton fields, slaves in the hemp fields have been less documented.
Certainly this became apparent after spending hours upon hours trying to locate at least one black farmer known for growing hemp during the 1800s, and finding nothing. Which is odd, considering that it’s unlikely that anyone without shackles and a bill of sale was growing this incredibly valuable crop in the 19th century.
And this got us thinking …
There must’ve been thousands of black hemp farmers who were never properly recognized for their talent and mastery.
Like most slaves that enabled the United States to become an economic superpower, their names have been forgotten, and likely never even acknowledged by the white slaveowners who profited off their servitude.
But through our research, we did make one interesting discovery regarding the history of slavery and hemp farming in Kentucky in the 1800s.
Turns out, according to historian James F. Hopkins, it is possilbe that it was a flourishing hemp industry that allowed slavery to exist as it did in Kentucky during the time.
In his 1951 book, “History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky,” Hopkins writes …
“Without hemp, slavery might not have flourished in Kentucky, since other agricultural products of the state were not conducive to the extensive use of bondsmen. On the hemp farm and in the hemp factories the need for laborers was filled to a large extent by the use of Negro slaves, and it is a significant fact that the heaviest concentration of slavery was in the hemp producing area.”
It’s also worth noting that few white slave owners even had the knowledge or expertise on how to properly grow and handle hemp, which left slaves to become the experts on the crop. This is why Kentuckians used to refer to hemp as a “nigger crop.”
Hopkins also writes …
“A Lexingtonian stated in 1836 that it was almost impossible to hire workmen to break a crop of hemp because the work was ‘very dirty, and so laborious that scarcely any white man will work at it,’ and he continued by saying that the task was done entirely by slave labor.”
The black men and women who grew hemp during this time in Kentucky were merely considered property by slave owners. Not farmers, agronomists or ranchers.
Not laborers, hired hands, or gardners.
They weren’t even considered human.
Yet it was because of their ability to grow hemp that the crop eventually ended up becoming one of the country’s most valuable commodities. A bitter irony, to be sure.
So today, instead of giving props to our modern day cannabis champions, advocates, and protectors, we thought it appropriate to honor those who never had the chance to be recognized.
The black men and women who were forced to use their knowledge and skill to produce the nation’s earliest hemp crops.
You won’t find their names or family trees in a Google search, but they existed. And they deserve to be acknowledged.
LIVWELL IN 2022
Sure, this may mean that it takes a little longer for us to find the right partnerships, but integrity is a keystone of our business, and we expect the same of any company we work with. Which is why we’re very excited to announce our latest partnership with LivWell.
Robert Louis Johnson, the co-founder of BET and the first black American billionaire, once said, “All business is personal.”
We couldn’t agree more.
For us, TICAL isn’t just about selling weed. It’s personal.
How could it not be?
The prohibition of cannabis has been one of the greatest violations of human rights the world has ever seen. It spawned the war on drugs, which was, and still is, a war on poor people and people of color.
So when we launched TICAL, we knew from day one that we would only work with growers and dispensaries who understood our vision: Taking into consideration all lives!
This is why we’ve been so particular about those we do business with. Again, it’s personal.
Make no mistake: you’ll never find TICAL in a dispensary that doesn’t live up to our expectations when it comes to respecting the plant, the people, and the culture.
Sure, this may mean that it takes a little longer for us to find the right partnerships, but integrity is a keystone of our business, and we expect the same of any company we work with. Which is why we’re very excited to announce our latest partnership with LivWell.
A Higher Calling
LivWell operates 21 retail stores, giving us an opportunity to share more of our high-end herb with the good people of Colorado. But that’s not the main reason we’ve partnered with LivWell.
We partnered with LivWell because the company is dedicated to supporting and investing in the communities where it operates. The way business should be done.
From neighborhood clean-ups to community events, LivWell is always present and contributing to the greater good of the community. It also puts its money where it’s mouth is.
LivWell Cares has made $2.5 million in donations (both cash and in-kind):
Mental Health Colorado
Colorado COVID Relief Fund
Juneteenth Music Festival
Food Bank of Larimer County
Penny Ounces for Veterans
PrideFest
CannAbility Foundation
Winter Collection Drive
Voter Registration
Autism Awareness
LivWell also takes care of its people, paying higher-than-industry average salaries and benefits.
LivWell embodies the spirit of TICAL, and that’s why you can now find TICAL products at the following LivWell dispensaries:
2863 Larimer St.
Denver, CO 80205
124 Santa Fe Trail
Trinidad, CO 81802
1819 E Main Street
Cortez, CO 81321
900 N College Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80524
6651 N Tower Rd., Suite 120
Denver, CO 80249
GOT BLUNT?
On December 21, 2001, How High was released, and ultimately became one of the greatest stoner flicks of all time. But what made this movie so iconic was the chemistry between Method Man and Redman: Arguably two of the most gifted rappers in the world, but as it turns out, one of the most charismatic as well.
It’s hard to believe, but it was 20 years ago today that the world got to see the greatest stoner comedy duo on the big screen since Cheech and Chong.
On December 21, 2001, How High was released, and ultimately became one of the greatest stoner flicks of all time. But what made this movie so iconic was the chemistry between Method Man and Redman: Arguably two of the most gifted rappers in the world, but as it turns out, one of the most charismatic as well.
Although Redman and Method Man had collaborated on other projects years before How High, it was this movie that took the duo from primarily the world of hip hop to the global cannabis community.
In fact, High Times rated Method Man and Redman #1 in their “Best Buds: 8 Celebrity Stoners” piece, writing …
Hip-hop houses more than a few celebrity stoner duos. Maybe that’s because rap lyrics think of weed as its own skill, mainly saved for gold medal partiers. Well if that’s true, Method Man and Redman look like the Dream Team of herb smoke. Their record stands undefeated too. The rappers flaunt the weed lifestyle in movies, books, and wherever herb is sold. For instance, one time they performed in Calgary and smoked a 24-carat blunt for the love of the game. True bromance never looked richer.
And How High consistently ranks in the top 10 best stoner movies of all time.
Ranker rated it #9.
Rolling Stone rated it #5.
And IMDB, clocked it in at #2, just below the legendary “Up in Smoke.”
There’s no denying that Method Man and Redman, along with screenwriter Dustin Lee Abraham and director Jesse Dylan, made stoner movie history with How High.
Of course, their love and support of the industry never stopped with that movie. Today, the two continue to elevate the conversation and the movement. Certainly this has been the case with Method Man’s TICAL, which exists solely to celebrate the culture.
From ensuring that social equity and social justice is woven into the fabric of the brand to bringing the highest quality products to the marketplace, Method Man continues to raise the bar.
In fact, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of How High, TICAL has partnered with the great El Blunto for a limited edition run of TICAL blunts.
If you’re unfamiliar with El Blunto, this is a company run by skilled experts that have borrowed age-old techniques from master cigar-rollers while employing modern technology to make the highest caliber blunts in the world.
Make no mistake: these aren’t your ordinary blunts.
These blunts have been packed with our indica-dominant C.R.E.A.M strain, which offers a relaxed, euphoric effect with scents of vanilla, berries and citrus hops.
We also packed the same strain in a 4-pack of individual .75 gram cigarillos. These El Bluntitos are perfect for those looking for more than one blunt option.
Combining our high-end flower with El Blunto’s historic cigar-making traditions,we have created what is arguably the most sophisticated blunt on the market. And we can’t wait for you to try it.
The new blunts are available now at the following dispensaries …
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
1841 El Camino 1841 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA 95203
7 Stars 3219 Pierce St., Richmond, CA 94804
Canna Culture Collective 3591 Charter Park Dr., San Jose, CA 95136
Cannavine 1230 Airport Park Blvd., Suite C, Ukiah, CA 95482
CBCB 3033 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705
Grassroots San Francisco 1077 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94109
Hazy Bulldog Farms 1201 Mono Way, Sonora, CA 95370
Moe Greens 1276 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94102
Mercy Wellness Cotati 7950 Redwood Dr., #8, Cotati, CA 94931
Mercy Wellness Santa Rosa 900 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Santa Cruz Naturals Aptos 9077 Soquel Dr., Aptos, CA 95003
Santa Cruz Naturals Royal Oaks 19 San Juan Rd., Royal Oaks, CA 95076
Surf City Original 2649 41st Ave., Soquel, CA 95073
Treehouse 3651 Soquel Dr., Soquel, CA 95073
Vibe by California Sacarmento 8112 Alpine Ave., Sacramento, CA 95826
Vibe by California Stockton 1550 W Fremont St., Ste 100, Stockton, CA 95203
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Farmacy Santa Barbara 128 W Mission St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Harvest Palm Springs 312 N Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262
Harvest Venice 712 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Sweet Flower Studio City 11705 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604
Sweet Flower Westwood 1413 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
The Artist Tree Beverly Hills 8311 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90020
The Artist Tree KTown 520 S Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90020
The Artist Tree Riverside 240 Iowa Ave., Riverside, CA 90020
The Circle 1755 Ximeno Ave., Long Beach, CA 90815
JOSEPHINE AND BILLIE’S: RIGHTING THE WRONGS OF PROHIBITON
Founded by Whitney Beatty and Ebony McGee Andersen, Josephine and Billie’s also bills itself as a re-creation of the speakeasy style tea pads of the 1920s and 1930s, which were created in black communities to allow all people to come together in solidarity to enjoy jazz and consume cannabis in a safe space.
In a 1978 interview, Miles Davis called Billie Holiday the nicest woman in the world, saying …
All she wanted to do was sing. They picked on her and picked on her to get money out of her. You do drugs 'cause you like to, not 'cause it's a life-style.... They picked on Billie so much.
“They” could refer to so many folks. Mostly men who mistreated her and abused her from her teenage years to her sad death in 1959. But one man in particular who did Billie wrong was a government official. A man who worked under the illusion of patriotism while inflicting pain and violence onto the black community. And Billie Holiday was the trophy over which he obsessed.
His name was Harry J. Anslinger, and in 1930 he was appointed as the first director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, as the prohibition of alcohol was beginning to collapse. With alcohol out of the prohibition picture, the agency needed a new target, and chose cannabis as it was, at the time, primarily found in the nation’s black and brown communities. Places where Anslinger knew there would be little backlash.
Anslinger was also an outspoken racist, known for such infamous quotes as …
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”
“... the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”
“Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men.”
These were the words of the nation’s first drug czar, and his prohibition of cannabis, which was built on the bedrock of little more than racism and intolerance, still exists to this day. But what’s often hidden in the shadows of this inconvenient truth is the fact that Anslinger’s prohibition of cannabis ultimately led to the incarceration of black women at a disproportionate rate compared to white women.
The Drug Policy Alliance notes that black women are almost twice as likely - and Latinas are 20% more likely - to be incarcerated than white women. Native American women are incarcerated six times the rate of their white counterparts.
Drug use occurs at similar rates across racial and ethnic groups, but racialized women are far more likely to be criminalized for drug law violations than white women. Black people are no more likely than white people to use illicit drugs during pregnancy, but they are far more likely to be reported to child welfare services for drug use.
During Anslinger’s time, it was quite easy to target women of color, as most were less likely to have the money, contacts, or legal expertise to fight a conviction. But black women with fame, money, and resources would be far more difficult. Anslinger saw this as a challenge, and doubled his efforts to bring down Billie Holiday.
Anslinger’s distaste for jazz also made Holiday a worthwhile target.
Journalist Johann Hari published a piece about Anlsinger’s obsession with jazz in a 2015 article in Politico, writing …
Jazz was the opposite of everything Harry Anslinger believed in. It is improvised, relaxed, free-form. It follows its own rhythm. Worst of all, it is a mongrel music made up of European, Caribbean and African echoes, all mating on American shores. To Anslinger, this was musical anarchy and evidence of a recurrence of the primitive impulses that lurk in black people, waiting to emerge. “It sounded,” his internal memos said, “like the jungles in the dead of night.” Another memo warned that “unbelievably ancient indecent rites of the East Indies are resurrected” in this black man’s music. The lives of the jazzmen, he said, “reek of filth.”
Anslinger looked out over a scene filled with rebels like Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk, and—as the journalist Larry Sloman recorded—he longed to see them all behind bars. He wrote to all the agents he had sent to follow them and instructed: “Please prepare all cases in your jurisdiction involving musicians in violation of the marijuana laws. We will have a great national round-up arrest of all such persons on a single day. I will let you know what day.” His advice on drug raids to his men was always simple: “Shoot first.”
He reassured congressmen that his crackdown would affect not “the good musicians, but the jazz type.” But when Harry came for them, the jazz world would have one weapon that saved them: its absolute solidarity. Anslinger’s men could find almost no one among them who was willing to snitch, and whenever one of them was busted, they all chipped in to bail him out.
In the end, the Treasury Department told Anslinger he was wasting his time taking on a community that couldn’t be fractured, so he scaled down his focus until it settled like a laser on a single target—perhaps the greatest female jazz vocalist there ever was.
He wanted to bring the full thump of the federal government down upon that scourge of modern society, his Public Enemy #1: Billie Holiday.
Anslinger was ultimately successful in his quest to detain and prosecute the most gifted jazz singer of all time, having her arrested for drug possession, and handcuffed to her hospital bed while she was battling liver and heart disease. A conured image that reflects just how evil Anslinger was.
Ensuring Justice
The War on Drugs, which was absolutely a war on women of color, continues to this day, but the days of federal cannabis prohibition are coming to an end. And there is no better middle finger to the man who created the prohibition of cannabis than women of color becoming successful entrepreneurs in a legal cannabis market. And this is why we are beyond thrilled to be working with Josephine and Billie’s: The nation's first dispensary designed by and for women of color.
Founded by Whitney Beatty and Ebony McGee Andersen, Josephine and Billie’s also bills itself as a re-creation of the speakeasy style tea pads of the 1920s and 1930s, which were created in black communities to allow all people to come together in solidarity to enjoy jazz and consume cannabis in a safe space.
In our quest to ensure racial and social justice in everything we do, it would be impossible for us to not work with the beautiful people at Josephine and Billie’s. This is why you will not only find TICAL flower here, but also our limited edition TICAL gift boxes, which come completely loaded with the highest quality TICAL flower.
Whitney Beatty actually created these boxes, too, which is why Josephine and Billie’s is the only place in the world where you can get one.
So if you’re in the area, stop by and visit our good friends at Josephine and Billie’s who, through their entrepreneurial spirit are righting the wrongs of cannabis prohibition by defying Harry Anslinger’s mission of destroying black communities while honoring two jazz legends - Josephine Baker and Billie Holiday - who were unjustly targeted during the early days of the War on Drugs.
Josephine and Billie’s is located at 1535 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90062. And you can check out their menu here: https://josephineandbillies.com/
TENTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: MATHEMATICS TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Mathematics one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Mathematics Video Drops Today
Mathematics, the group’s official DJ and occasional producer, designed the Wu logo and talks about the process.
“The logo was—GZA and RZA used to talk to me all the time,” says Mathematics, who has a background in graffiti. “They used to be like, ‘Yo, we need something that really stands out.’ And the crazy thing about it, when he actually needed it, he hit me up like, I need the tomorrow logo. I was like, tomorrow?”
Mathematics showed off a few variations of logos he drew for the camera. He admitted he had no idea the logo would become as big as it is today."
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Mathematics one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
NINTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: MASTA KILLA TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Masta Killa one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Masta Killa Video Drops Today
“Yo, I gotta be around this music, it's therapeutic. Light my first blunt of the day to start the movement…”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Masta Killa one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
EIGHTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: CAPPADONNA TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Cappadonna one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Cappadonna Video Drops Today
“Love is love, love, love is love, love”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Cappadonna one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
SEVENTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: GHOSTFACE KILLAH TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Ghostface Killah one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Ghostface Killah Video Drops Today
“Ghostface Killah, you know what I’m sayin’? He on some “now you see me, now you don’t”...”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Ghostface Killah one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
SIXTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: U-GOD TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted U-God one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
U-God Video Drops Today
“And then Baby U, he a psychopathic, He a psychopathic thinker…”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted U God one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
FIFTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: RAEKWON TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Raekwon one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Raekwon Video Drops Today
"And Shallah Raekwon, he the Chef He cookin' up some marvelous shit to get your mouth waterin' On some "oh shit"..."
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Raekwon one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
FOURTH SWORD OF WU-TANG: INSPECTAH DECK TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Inspectah Deck one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Inspectah Deck Video Drops Today
It's like this, I'ma start from the top, Inspectah Deck, he's like, He's like that dude that'll sit back and watch you, Play yourself and all that, right? And see you sit there and know you lyin', And he'll take you to court after that
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Young Dirty Bastard one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
THIRD SWORD OF WU-TANG: YOUNG DIRTY BASTARD TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Young Dirty Bastard one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
Young Dirty Bastard Video Drops Today
“I call you my sun, because you shine like one”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted Young Dirty Bastard one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
SECOND SWORD OF WU-TANG: GZA TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted GZA one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
GZA Video Drops Today
“He the head, let's put it that way. We form like Voltron, and GZA happen to be the head”
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted RZA one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
FIRST SWORD OF WU-TANG: RZA TICAL 4K
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted RZA one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
RZA Video Drops Today
Yo RZA, yo razor, hit me with the major, The damage, my Clan understand it be flavor…
At the Wu-Tang Clan show backed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Red Rocks, Method Man and the TICAL Official team gifted RZA one of the famous TICAL Boxes.
INTRODUCTION TO THE 10 SWORDS OF WU-TANG
On August 13th, 2021 Wu-Tang performed at the Red Rocks backed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra while playing the film that inspired the Wu-Tang, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.
Video Teaser Drops Today
On August 13th, 2021 Wu-Tang performed at the Red Rocks backed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra while playing the film that inspired the Wu-Tang, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. The swords aligned and coincidentally that same weekend TICAL was dropping in Denver, Colorado. Method Man and the TICAL team gifted the Wu-Tang Clan the exclusive TICAL boxes with our newly launched strains in Colorado. In honor of the season premiere of Wu-Tang: An American Saga Season 2 dropping on September 8th (Wu-Tang Wednesday!) we wanted to give you an inside look at our launch weekend. Enjoy the teaser and keep your eyes open for more content. 10 Swords of Wu-Tang dropping tomorrow.
When TICAL and Wu-Tang connect you best roll that shit, light that, shit smoke it.
TICAL IS ONE YEAR’S OLD!
On June 11th, 2020, TICAL was made available to the public for the first time. And it was a momentous occasion. Not just because the brand that we had been developing for so many years was finally finding a home on the shelves of California dispensaries, but because we launched TICAL at a time that couldn’t have been more perfect.
The TICAL Legacy: Chapter One
On June 12th, 2020, TICAL was made available to the public for the first time. And it was a momentous occasion. Not just because the brand that we had been developing for so many years was finally finding a home on the shelves of California dispensaries, but because we launched TICAL at a time that couldn’t have been more perfect.
You see, one year ago, the entire global community was in full panic mode. A new pandemic called COVID-19 hit us with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. Entire economies shut down. Millions were forced into quarantine, and sadly, bodies were piling up. It was a humbling and scary time, indeed. And to make matters worse, here in the US, the country was becoming more and more divided as ugly politics and uncomfortable truths about race and injustice boiled to the surface, with the death of George Floyd providing the spark for a kind of social unrest that had been in the making for a very long time.
So why would we look at this time as the perfect opportunity to launch TICAL?
Because, in the immortal words of the great Bob Marley, “Herb is the healing of a nation.”
Healing with Joints, Jobs and Justice
It should come as no surprise that during the pandemic, one of the few industries that managed to defy the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 was the cannabis industry. In fact, while thousands of businesses were shutting down, the weed industry was booming -- and hiring.
It’s no secret that weed is a stress reliever. And fear of death and unemployment certainly caused a lot of stress for all of us.
As well, weed is incredibly effective at helping us connect to each other in a way that strengthens our social support systems that are essential during times of uncertainty and strife.
And indeed, 2020 was a year of uncertainty and strife. Because COVID was just the beginning.
In 2020, with the help of cell phones and social media, the pandemic-stricken world also got to see evidence of what many people of color have known for decades: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not guaranteed for black and brown people. In fact, according to the CDC, the seventh leading cause of death among non-Hispanic black males between the ages of 15 and 24 is use of lethal force by law enforcement.
This is not a criticism of law enforcement in general, by the way, but rather a simple observation of truth: systemic racism has long been the catalyst for violence against black and brown people, with the war on drugs providing the legal foundation for this violence.
This is why we have made it our mission to use TICAL as a catalyst for social, economic and racial justice in defiance of the war on drugs.
As we made very clear from day one, we’re not just looking to sell some of the highest quality weed in the world (although we’re really good at that). Instead, we seek to provide this high quality product to the world while ensuring that those who have been most negatively affected by the war on drugs benefit both socially and financially from our success. In fact, when we launched one year ago, we made it a priority to launch in minority-owned dispensaries, establishing our directive to honor and provide for those who came before us and laid the groundwork for our accomplishments.
But that was just the beginning.
Now that we’re one year in, and growing rapidly, we’re now in a position to take our mission to the next level by ...
• Providing support systems for those who have been unjustly imprisoned for drug offenses.
• Providing internship opportunities for people of color
• Spearheading new social justice campaigns that will address racist drug policies and criminal justice reform
• Providing financial support for educational initiatives and recreational programs for the communities that have long been victimized by unjust drug war policies.
• Using our platform to promote efforts to fully legalize cannabis at the federal level.
Make no mistake: We enjoyed incredible success in 2020, and we have every intention of sharing this success with our customers and our communities in 2021 and beyond.
TICAL Worldwide
We crept into 2020 without a lot of noise. Basically, we were far more concerned with getting our premier herb into your hands than we were with promoting it.
Of course, no promotion was needed anyway. It didn’t take long for the word to get out, and our first run sold out within days. And even today, it’s not easy keeping TICAL on the shelves. But we’ve adapted quickly, and we’re now ready to expand into new territories.
Later this year, you’ll not only be able to find TICAL in the Golden State’s finest dispensaries, but also throughout Nevada and Colorado. As well, we’re currently in discussions to bring TICAL to three more states, and to South Africa, too.
Bottom line: We know smokers all over the world want TICAL, and we’re going to make it happen.
We’re also launching new strains this year and embarking on new brand collaborations to accompany a post-COVID world where Method Man will be back on stage, in front of the camera, and back out on the road.
2020 will certainly go down as the year that changed everything for the weed game. The year when the world discovered just how paramount this amazing plant is to the health and well-being of our global community. And the year when TICAL showed the world that it is possible to bring the highest quality herb to the masses while successfully promoting social and racial justice. To accomplish such a thing is a gift, and we are grateful to you for being a part of this movement.
BLACK HISTORY EVERYDAY
As we come to the end of February, and what here in the U.S. is known as Black History Month, 2021 easily sparks the beginning of a whole new era and so many reasons for further commemoration and celebration.
This is not the beginning nor the end. A part of Black History that has never really been spoken about or recognized are the contributions to the Cannabis culture and community. This is a major chapter in the story, and the history that really deserves to be told and right now more than ever.
There are so many black and brown “CannaContributors” and advocates for Cannabis that have to be named and honored. So many positive influences that made positive outcomes from an openly and outwardly oppressed culture and people. A strong culture with its foundation built on racism and oppression in the United States of America. As we all know, prohibition and the US Federal Bureau of Narcotics openly and outwardly targeted minorities in their first Act in 1937. As we all know today, laws are changing and finally peoples’ narrowed minds are changing, and I know we are all looking forward to the cultural changes that last Forever, like Wu-Tang.
There is no way to highlight all of the major influences in one article or one month, so @TICALOFFICIAL would like to continue this conversation in our following posts for days, weeks, months and for as long as we can.
Taking Into Consideration All Lives and all those that have paved the way for us and our culture. The pioneers that blazed the way before us, the people that continue to burn the path right there with us, and all that will put in their hard work, their blood, sweat and tears after Us.
Let's leave Unity as a mark in this part of history.
Love is Love.
NEW STRAINS DROPPING TOMORROW!
We have a total of three new strains, and the THC levels on all three are extreme. Two have come back at nearly 30%! We can’t wait for you to get a taste.
It’s been a minute, but we’re back with a new batch. And this one is crazy powerful. We have a total of three new strains, and the THC levels on all three are extreme. Two have come back at nearly 30%! We can’t wait for you to get a taste.
The new strains are as follows …
Gold Tang
Dominance - Hybrid, leaning more on the indica side with a ratio of 60/40.
Smoking Effects - Blends both mental and physical effects. Relaxing with a “kick back” feel.
Scents - Fresh citrus with an orange zest.
Taste - A sweet, citrusy taste with a slight skunky undertone.
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Description - Gold Tang, also known as “Kosher Tangie,” was created through crossing the delicious Kosher Kush x Tangie strains. With its eye-opening flavor and relaxing effects, the strain takes on the flavor of its Tangie parent, bringing bright citrus flavors and adding a slightly sugary exhale that sweetens with each toke. The aroma is very citrusy as well, although it quickly takes a sour skunky turn as the nugs are burned. Gold Tang produces very thick and frosty buds that look like they are coated in pure gold! Each pepper-shaped nug is dotted with purple undertones and golden orange hairs with a heavy coating of golden amber crystal trichomes. As the effects build, a deep relaxation will sweep over your body, leaving you a little bit couch-locked and sleepy. When used for medical purposes, Gold Tang is commonly used for relieving anxiety, nausea, pain and nerve damage discomforts.
Sweet Tarts
Dominance - Sativa with a ratio of 70/30
Smoking Effects - Long lasting effects of feeling uplifted, cheerful and euphoric.
Scents - Citrusy and fruity with a skunky undertone.
Taste - Creamy lemon with hints of diesel.
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Description - The perfect Sativa for daytime use, Sweet Tarts promotes high energy while also creating the ability to maintain focus. With the crossing of Lemon Skunk x Cookies & Cream, it is also known for it’s high THC levels. The strain produces chunky buds with a dense internal structure. Because of its mostly upbeat vibe, it is perfect for day time and early evening use. When used for medical purposes, Sweet Tarts has shown to be beneficial for those who have ADD and alleviate stress and depression for many individuals. With its anti-inflammatory properties, it has also been shown to soothe aches and pains (commonly used for migraines), and help ease nausea and cramping.
Crowdwalker
Dominance - Indica with a ratio of 85/15
Smoking Effects - A heady high while feeling relaxed and sedated.
Scents - Spicy herbal smells with diesel undertones
Taste - Peppery, spice-like. Tastes almost like it smells.
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Description - Crowdwalker is a potent cross between Skywalker x OG Kush strains. The strain produces round, deep olive green buds with wiry pistils and dense white trichomes. It’s an instant heavy high that will leave your body feeling relaxed and happy. Because of the strong physical high that it offers, Crowdwalker is perfect for those who suffer from chronic pain. The heady high of it is great for people who suffer from depression, anxiety and extreme stress. This strain is also great for individuals who struggle with a poor appetite.
If you’re in or around LA, you can pick some up at these dispensaries …
We’ll also be dropping these strains in the Bay Area and San Bernandino before next Friday at these dispensaries …
Empire Connect, Empire Twin Palms in San Bernardino
Vallejo Relief Center in Vallejo CA
Delivery will also be provided by Proven SF and Curing Hands Sacramento.
Nearly all of our last drop sold out in 48 hours, and we’re expecting the same this time. So if you're trying to get some of this new Tical, load up early!