It could be so easy to believe that cannabis culture is something that has been fully claimed by the profit-driven forces of capitalism.
The polished packaging that lines the shelves of dispensaries.
The slick branding that populates the websites of many cannabis advocates and cannabis-centered companies.
But somewhere on the streets of Harlem, Logan Grendel—artist, urban gardener, musician, revolutionary community organizer, and “very, very modern version of the village witch”—offers a different vision of what is possible: cannabis as a source of radical hope, connection, and collective liberation.
The Cannabis Connection
A cannabis plant grown by Logan in a previous season. Photo credit: Logan Grendel. Used with permission.
Logan’s insight into cannabis arises from years of interaction with this mentor plant.
“I have allegedly had a personal relationship with cannabis since I was a young teenager,” they said. “And that relationship, the personal relationship, has been medicinal, it has been healthy, it has been, sometimes, a coping mechanism—because the world is hard when you are multiply marginalized and living through capitalism, et cetera.”
Nowadays, Logan is very intentional about the ways they interact with cannabis. “I don’t partake that much anymore,” they continued. “At this point, it is largely medicinal and spiritual. The spiritual use can depend on the ritual: sometimes I like Big Clarity, but sometimes cannabis will be something I add. Whatever ritual work I am doing, getting out of my own way is part of that, and cannabis can be really helpful there.”
“Sometimes cannabis is just for relaxation, you know? Some people—and I am also some people—would have a glass of wine at the end of the day: sometimes I would prefer a little touch of the water pipe instead, as it were.”
Logan also sings the praises of …
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Author: Lore McSpadden / High Times
