‘We bring trees to the woods’

Connecticut smokers combine fitness and friendship

Lifestyle brand breaks buds, stigmas and showcases east coast cannabis culture.

by Lief Landracer

courtesy of Cannacticut about an issue and put my all into it” during grad school. He did just that with Maryland NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) for over four years, organized large-scale events for the first National Cannabis Festival in 2016 and became a founding board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association.

The idea for Cannacticut came about as he was talking on the phone with some of his hometown smoking buddies. “It just kind of hit me like a smoking idea to drop the two first vowels of Connecticut out and add A’s and it’ll be Cannacticut,” Kevin Cranford said. “I’m a flag nerd myself, so looking at the flag I’m like ‘we can replace those grapes with cannabis plants,’ and we just went from there.”

Cannacticut creates space for community in all aspects of the business, with merchandise consisting of artisan collaborations with local woodsmen, seamstresses and graphic artists. Products including scarfs, smoking jackets, lighters, rolling trays and more. Kevin and K’Ronn Cranford hope their brand can serve as a platform to positively shift attitudes around the plant. “They’ve integrated cigarettes to where you’re feeling a little, you know, pick me up or something, you go outside, you smoke a cigarette. It’s very socially acceptable,” said co-founder K’Ronn Cranford. “We now see a green light for us to have a green light to do the same activities working with local bars, country clubs, fields, as well as state parks, to try to find ourselves green spaces where we can say that it’s cannabis-friendly.”

Since legalization, they have primarily focused on creating safe consumption spaces and a newfound sense of pride. “Me and my friends were like ‘We have to start a Connecticut lifestyle brand about weed—just have to do that,’ because Connecticut has no state pride. When you grow weed you have pride, right? Like you courtesy of Cannacticut just have pride in your plant,” said founder Kevin Cranford. “If you’re prideful about something, people will buy the product I feel, especially if you’re in Connecticut; there’s no word for it like New Yorker or Connecticut-er—you just have to be from Connecticut.”

Legacy and legal sponsors alike provide members with cannabis for bi-weekly “highkes” across the state. “People will come out for free weed, don’t get me wrong,” said Kevin Cranford. “They don’t necessarily need weed—they need the community we didn’t have under prohibition,” he said.

Highking organizers at Cannacticut work with members to spread awareness about every trail they blaze. Stoners from all corners of Connecticut trek to the trails, some traveling from the opposite sides of the state for a fun-filled morning. The typical highke starts at 10 a.m. where members usually roll some joints before “hitting” the woods. The woods can hit back sometimes, as K’Ronn Cranford describes: “This gentleman walked up to us and said ‘you guys definitely put the high in hiking.’”

A while back, the group of highkers happened to stumble upon a troop of over 70 retirees on the trail. “I guess he broke away from the group of ladies that he was with and asked us if we had anything that could help him elevate his thinking… we gave this 70-year-old man a joint and courtesy of Cannacticut watched him walk out through the woods happiest he’s ever been!”

Cannacticut thought of Holi-Daze Parties, a community-funded Coffee Club and even a 10-hour scavenger hunt called the Crankee Yankee Nutmeg Rally. Lastly, monthly munchie bunches gain input from smokers’ word of cotton-mouth for elevated meals. “We know a lot of cool places to go eat—we’re by ourselves going high—why not bring a whole bunch of us together and then have power in numbers?” said Kevin Crandford.

A History of Highdeas & The Future of Connecticut

“High ideas, man–I f–ing have them.”

Before founding Cannacticut, Cranford wanted to end his advocacy career at courtesy of Cannacticut

Maryland NORML “with a bang.” After smoking a joint outside his cottage, he realized: “what is a joint but a torch?” Soon after, the 2016 Unity Cypher was born: “I got a group of activists from Maine to Miami to pass a three foot [joint-shaped] torch down the coast to each other,” he said. “I knew enough people and the people I didn’t know I could find because I know somebody in the state next town and they know the advocates in the next state and can put me in touch and that’s what I did.”

The torch lit up 16 destinations, beginning its humble journey in Maine, where it arrived by mail and was set ablaze over a speech from ten smokers. Advocates then rolled it down the east coast, touching highlights like the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS), New Hampshire Hempfest and a plane ride from Georgia to Florida. Cranford also worked with cannabis activist and gubernatorial candidate New Jersey Weed Man while he was in prison to organize a Unity Cypher pop-up event in the Garden State.

K’Ronn and Kevin Cranford envision a future where the cannabis plant is seamlessly integrated into social life without any judgment. As their merchandise and events operations expand, the group of brothers and friends remain focused on igniting their passion and showing the country what wholesome cannabis consumption looks like. “While these events are fun and active, we also have a level of transparency so people can come ask us questions; people can experience firsthand that hanging out with a bunch of cannabis enthusiasts is actually quite normal,” said co-founder K’Ronn Cranford. “In which case, we can start breaking down those barriers so we can start building an inclusive community: And our goal is to do that personally in the East and then spreading throughout the country.” *