Celebrating the Best Hour of the Day, Stigma-Free
“We work tirelessly in an effort to produce the highest quality flower available in Oklahoma. At the end of the day, we’re producing a medicinal product so quality isn’t an option.”
by Veronica Castillo, Photo Credit: Happy Hour Medicinals– Instagram
I am so happy to be the writer assigned to the small-batch farm series, published by Herbage Magazine. These days, my connections have been intentional, aligned, and necessary. I have been craving stories. I want to hear them, I want to put them into words that we can publish, I want to motivate, encourage, and build community.
Though my travel to Oklahoma awaits (it’s happening 2021 for sure!), I feel as if I have traveled around the state, learning about some of the best businesses, cultivators, dispensaries, and creatives. Like the folks featured in this piece, Happy Hour Medicinals. Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma- these folks live a STIGMA FREE lifestyle and say:
“Whether you’re a free-spirited artist type, or you live a more rigid lifestyle, say that of a doctor, lawyer, or architect, all are welcome here. Everyone can appreciate a good happy hour and we want to evoke a feeling through our brand that reflects that most beautifully anticipated part of anyone’s’ workday.”
About Happy Hour Medicinals
A team described as: “friends, family members, and flat-out hustlers who all know our respective roles and know them well”, is the engine that makes this all possible. The team has over 50 years of collective cultivation experience, 20 years of experience in healthcare and compliance, and multiple backgrounds in design training, architecture, construction, photography, and world-class graphic design.
The indoor cultivation facility grows 27 strains in rotation and harvests 12-15 per month. And speaking of strains, I asked Tobin, Co-founder and Brand Director of Happy Hour Medicinals, what the team favorite is:
“It seems like everyone on our team has their own favorite. Personally, I love our Orange Cookies, STR8 Lemonade, Kimbo Kush, and Martian Monkey. They all bring something unique to the table. In January, we are harvesting a new strain called Drops of Jupiter that I’m dying to try. The buds are straight-up bright purple. Just gorgeous.”
1620- What it is and What it Represents
As I looked around Happy Hour Medicinals social media and merch, I noticed 1620 on almost everything. I asked Tobin to fill me in on what 1620 means and represents:
“Anyone who’s ever smoked weed knows that the stoners’ happy hour is set for 4:20 pm. And while we love ourselves some 420, we really wanted to break away from some of the more traditional cliches of stoner culture.
1620 goes back to the idea that we wanted to create a cannabis-friendly brand that was truly STIGMA FREE. We’d never turn our backs on the tried-and-true traditions of fellow stoners or cannabis lifestyle, but some things seemed to welcome new takes on old traditions.
If you’re a working professional, say an architect, for instance, you might not want to walk around with a shirt that advertises a giant 420 on it. We hear a lot in this industry about breaking old stigmas. We decided to try and smash them.
1620 is simply the 24-hour version, or worlds’ clock for 4:20 pm. Here in the states most refer to it as military time but around the world, many cultures use what they refer to as “the worlds’ clock” and we loved that idea.”
I love it too! That is such a way to support the cause, represent the plant, and showcase love for it- without being labeled.
Last Prisoner Project and Shameless Consumption 2020
I found a cool video on Happy Hour Medicinals Instagram page, and I had to know more about it. Very diverse in their crafts, in support of meaningful moves within the industry, Tobin shares:
“My creative partner Conrad is one of those guys whose dedication to creativity can’t be taught. He’s not comfortable unless he’s creating and he’s grown up in bands all of his life. I’ve just been a lifelong music enthusiast, especially for hip hop.
One of my friends in Tampa is a well-known local MC, who I had the good fortune of working with on the backend of another track earlier this year. That working relationship spawned the idea of doing something together for Happy Hour.
That exploration led us to dig a little deeper in an effort to create a more thoughtful track with some real substance. My wife Bianca had read about the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) earlier this year and we’d been trying to think of unique ways to get involved with them. We believe they’re arguably the worthiest organization in our industry, but we’re still a very young small business and don’t quite have the type of funds available to buy our way into that sort of movement as an official sponsor.
We still wanted to do something meaningful though and this track seemed like it was at least worth a shot. I introduced Mike and Conrad to one another and together we studied the LPP. Conrad produced the beats, Mike developed the lyrics, and we went for it.
Honestly, the LPP didn’t even really know we existed until we were done with the track. We sent them a short, one-minute mini-doc that we produced to promote it and they loved it! We had so much fun in the recording studio and we’re really looking forward to seeing Mike and Conrad perform live on stage when that moment presents itself.”
And shameless consumption, while many of us try to leave politics out of Cannabis talk and all talk really, it’s sort of hard when politics sit right at the head of cannabis legalization. Tobin shared more insight on Shameless Consumption 2020:
“Let’s just say with all the craziness that this election year came with, I thought it’d be a nice break to spin things in a more light-hearted direction. Shameless Consumption is a term I’ve used to describe our stigma-free approach since we started the company. I’ve even begun the trademarking process for another spin-off design campaign. One night while working late in the studio, it sounded funny to me, to use the two words like running mates in an election. Simple as that. Just having some fun.”
In Closing
Happy Hour Medicinals wants Oklahoma patients to know that they are more than cultivation:
“Many cannabis companies develop a nice logo and then maybe create a promotional t-shirt and a hat. In order to embrace a true lifestyle brand, we wanted to take it much further. In our first year, we have over 50 products in our signature Happy Hour Medicinals™ Goods+Gear line. We are focusing our sights on national expansion in 2021.”
Happy Hour Medicinals is aiming for more pop-up happy hour events all over Oklahoma and has their sight set on Portland and New York City (if the pandemic allows).
