You sound like many nepo-babies who’ve tried to get within the sport lately. And also you is likely to be a partial inspiration for Audible’s new pot-focused darkish comedy Blood Weed.
In Blood Weed, Chase Stapp finds himself in that very same place. That’s earlier than issues get thrown the other way up because of the Russian mob, dangerous govt selections, a torture website, and a few gallons of human blood.
That plot line would possibly make it sound like Blood Weed is one other out-there stoner journey, and it actually is to some extent. However because of the on-the-job expertise of co-creator Dan Abramson and a love of all issues pot from co-creator Matt Klinman, the story stays grounded, doing one thing few have completed: showcase the trendy authorized hashish area, warts and all.
The Humorous or Die veterans headed up the present’s 10-episode manufacturing, with the forged comprising an ensemble of stable voice actors. Notable voices embrace Haley Joel Osment (as Chase), Maria Bakalova, Hugo Armstrong, Clayton English, Allan McLeod, Yevgeniy Kartashov and lots of different proficient comedians and actors.
I not too long ago checked out Blood Weed throughout my drive throughout New Jersey as I toured some dispensaries. It made for an satisfying driving companion.
Entertaining, Relatable Story
General, Blood Weed was an satisfying hear. The work of Abramson and Klinman, together with the forged, was important to immersing listeners within the story. Credit score can be given to the manufacturing. Musician Michael Cheever delivers on making a world of scenes, usually utilizing darkish, bass-heavy music. With Audible’s backing, there’s no shock that the manufacturing high quality is top-notch.
However it’s the story that stood out for me. Popping out the gate with the primary episode titled Corridor of Flowers, I wasn’t certain what to anticipate. Would it not be a hokey stoner slog, or would Blood Weed transcend the low-hanging comedy fruit?
The present delivered on the primary episode, notably when Chase and his weed model, Elevator, are hounded by the media over their lack of bud at their debut present. Regardless of rolling up flowerless, Chase and the Elevator staff focus extra on creating an thrilling sales space expertise and producing buzz. That leaves room for a complete new mess of issues to enter.
In a current episode of my webcast, Canna Say One thing, Abramson defined how he noticed any such considering first-hand whereas working as a hashish business copywriter. At his firm, which he most well-liked to not identify, he recalled witnessing the sales space emphasis over flower high quality.
“These firms are actually placing quite a lot of strain on themselves for the sales space,” he recalled considering.
Now I’ve by no means been to Corridor of Flowers. So, I received’t decide anybody at that occasion—I’ve heard nice issues from fanatics and fits alike. However I’ve attended sufficient weed commerce reveals over the previous few years to see what number of manufacturers have prioritized the sales space over the product. And typically, the gross sales figures help the method. Hooray, capitalism.
Later episodes within the sequence helped drive the authenticity of the story house that rather more. Examples embrace Elevator’s takeover, led by Andrey and the Russian mob. With new management realizing much less about weed than Chase, pricey selections, like firing your cultivation workers, come into play. These selections finally result in the Blood Weed coming into the story—together with Chase being imprisoned, tortured, and tasked with implementing workplace effectivity instruments into the mob’s workflow.
Much more sensible examples all through the present embrace training on THC efficiency, bother with new terminology, bribing lab testing amenities, and authorized operators pushing unsellable merchandise onto the unlicensed market. For a comedy, this was a fairly relatable hear.
The characters helped cement that Blood Weed wasn’t only a cookie-cutter pot manufacturing. Weed tales are sometimes slowed down in stereotypes, principally the Cheech and Chong, Jeff Spicoli-type stoner. Whereas Klinman and Abramson really feel these traits have locations in comedy, their character selections in Blood Weed helped current a extra sensible illustration of at this time’s weed world, with numerous characters making up the corporate and its supporting forged.
Regardless of there being ample tales to inform on this planet of weed, they are saying the marketplace for stoner comedies isn’t going away.
“Individuals could complain like, ‘I don’t need stoner stuff’, however all people fucking liked Pineapple Categorical,” mentioned Klinman.
Klinman dropped one other cannabis-comedy-education sequence on HBO Max this previous 4/20, High Science, co-starring Zack Poitras and Paul Bettany. The sequence portrays two stoner lab assistants who get excessive on science.
Recognizable Characters
Abramson and Klinman created the sequence a number of years in the past when the hashish business was booming. At the moment, buyers flooded the area with funding, resulting in a wave of entrepreneurs and buyers getting concerned. Many both had get-rich-quick objectives in thoughts or just had no thought how complicated this business can be. Lots of these of us are actually out of the sport after taking a monetary beating alongside the way in which.
Blood Weed did an incredible job capturing that point interval. And kudos to the workers, who produced Blood Weed through the pandemic.
“I recorded it from my little downstairs makeshift sound studio,” mentioned McLeod. He performs a number of supporting roles within the present, together with a stoned fanatic at Corridor of Flowers and a workers member on a Louisiana develop op. McLeod mentioned he’s now having fun with listening to the episodes and infrequently recognizing his work.
Then there’s the leads who really personify the hashish area. Chase is the form of particular person I’ve interviewed numerous occasions through the years. An all-flash and little substance kind, he had no thought what he was stepping into when he began Elevator and positively didn’t when he received in over his head with the underground. However relating to workplace effectivity instruments, he excels in a approach that may horrify anybody who’s endured startup workplace tradition.
Coal Fusion, a previous prime hip-hop star who loves weed, is Elevator’s co-founder. He additionally serves because the superstar model ambassador archetype that ran wild throughout this period. Even now, with the cash flowing into hashish much less, celeb manufacturers and sponsors nonetheless pop up sometimes—whilst their success is debated.
Or, as Klinman described the character: “What if Ja Rule teamed up with a low-rung tech billionaire or no matter?”
Elevator’s workers is a who’s who of the parents you would possibly meet at a corpo hashish firm workplace. Many are examples of unfold too skinny, doubtless type-A transplants from different industries. Blended in with a poached Emerald Triangle OG right here or there, and Elevator mimics tons of firms attempting to make it in weed.
Combining business expertise and relatable characters helps Blood Weed really feel extra related to the brand new authorized area than some other pot entry I’ve seen. The relatability and accuracy are delivered in a lightweight, humorous approach regardless of being wrapped up in a world of market deception, mob ties and homicide. It’s not a wholly true-to-life depiction of pot, however that wasn’t anticipated from a comedy about blood-soaked weed.
Blood Weed Delivers
General, Blood Weed was a enjoyable hear for my drive—and whereas cooking a number of days later. It additionally gave me time to pause and marvel in regards to the dealings of a number of the widespread manufacturers that is likely to be within the dispensaries I simply visited.
I attempted to determine any negatives of the present and got here away with just some hair-splitting notes. The one of us I may see having a problem with Blood Weed is likely to be these looking for correct, grounded and/or optimistic depictions of the hashish world. And whereas that’s undoubtedly a legitimate want, that’s like searching for genuine medieval dialogue in Your Highness. In the event you’re on this camp, chances are you’ll be higher off testing some hashish documentaries as an alternative of a comedy sequence.
Whereas I don’t suppose it did, some may really feel Blood Weed goes too inside-baseball with the business speak. However, I’d argue it’s important for framing such a posh world of weed.
In all, I loved Blood Weed, however the actual take a look at is shopper response. Abramson and Klinman informed me they hope to listen to extra suggestions after not getting a lot within the first month of the present’s launch.
“Hopefully individuals will form of take it with a grain of salt, like what we’re doing,” mentioned Klinman. He added that the duo hopes to make extra pot initiatives.
“We might like to make extra stuff in that world, treating it severely…portraying the precise business as it’s, as a result of there’s so many tales and so many loopy issues in it,” Klinman mentioned.
You possibly can take a look at Blood Weed on Audible. I used my free credit score to snag this for gratis. In the event you don’t have a credit score, take a look at a couple of minutes of the present over at Soundcloud.