Editor’s Note: Welcome to one of our newest bi-weekly columns, High Folks: the cannabis-infused version of Humans of New York, in which we take an intimate look at people’s relationships with our most beloved plant. The connection between humans and cannabis is primal, dynamic, and profound. But it’s something that’s increasingly overlooked in the new age of weed. So in an effort to combat the superficiality of cannabis in the social media-age, High Times is proud to present to you a collection of work that highlights one of life’s most beautiful gifts: connection.
“It’s like having your feet in two different worlds,” says Yareem Barnes-Ivey who’s in Orlando, FL., on business for a Home and Garden Landscaping company he owns. “One foot in because you know you’re in a cutting edge industry; you’re at the forefront; you’re at the beginning and there is a lot of opportunities.”
His other foot rests in a world where cannabis gives Black Americans two options: covert therapy or public persecution. As a cannabis grower, the 35-year-old—like most Black Americans—has learned the art of shapeshifting, as he oscillates between growing herb and owning a mainstream business. Residing in Colorado Springs, Barnes-Ivey’s has nurtured an experimental relationship with the plant. It’s a new privilege– but he doesn’t experience it all the time, as he travels frequently around the United States for work.
Barnes-Ivey’s love for the outdoors and her gifts runs deep. As a boy, he loved playing with bugs and getting his hands dirty. As a boy, he loved playing with bugs and getting his hands dirty. “I’ve always been intrigued by nature,” he says.
Experimenting with growing clones came later. In 2007, he grew Yem OG, Tangerine Haze, …
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Author: Lyneisha Watson / High Times
