Present of Doja (GoD) is a women-of-color-created cannabis equity brand—specializing in honoring the vibe of “all beings and all issues.” GoD’s terpene-rich phenotypes could be discovered at many dispensaries all through larger San Francisco and Los Angeles, or through numerous supply companies within the Bay Space. GoD Curator Nina Parks enjoys being a steward of sacred plant medicines and the Divine Female—for her, it’s a calling.
GoD curates small-batch hashish grown by farmers from throughout California who select to domesticate underneath processes utilizing love and intention. Yow will discover strains similar to HER-lato, grown by Rising Tree Farms in Grass Valley, or Michelle Obama Kush, grown by a woman-owned cultivation web site in Salinas Valley.
The model got here collectively in 2020, when Parks was impressed to start out a enterprise despite the chances. Shelter-in-place orders had been nonetheless in impact then, however it offered a singular window of alternative for some individuals, similar to in Parks’ case. “[I] simply occurred to know in the future,” Parks informed Excessive Instances. “I wakened now, and I had a imaginative and prescient.”
Parks’ journey within the hashish area started as she rolled out her brother’s model, Mirage Medicinal. “Effectively, first off, my birthday is 4/20,” she mentioned. “I used to be simply form of born for this shit, proper? It truly began making a number of sense too when individuals are like ‘you’re stoned on a regular basis.’”
When individuals continuously requested Parks about her birthday, becoming a member of the hashish trade simply appeared to make sense.
Parks grew up deeply embedded on the earth of road artwork—being uncovered to artwork and streetwear whereas she was driving the bus all through San Francisco. One of many issues she likes most about residing in a metropolis like San Francisco is that you just get to look at the ebb-and-flow of the human expertise.
“I used to be studying Jay Z’s guide the opposite day, Decoded,” Parks defined. “And like, he’s speaking about Basquiat. And his reverence for him and the way, although they reside very totally different lives, all of them heard the identical sirens.”
Parks was intrigued how individuals all stroll the identical streets and with so many alternative universes in a single densely-populated city area. A part of that aesthetic included warehouse events, individuals creating, individuals with cameras and documenting life. So, for Parks, she began off as a road photographer.
There’s all the time one thing occurring within the San Francisco space. To not point out the wealthy hippie tradition in San Francisco—from the bohemian tradition of locations like The Fillmore, or the opposite areas within the Bay Space which have an modern, inventive vibe. San Francisco is a spot that has the flexibility to supply the area so that you can end up. “We’re not going to evaluate you for those who come into a gathering smelling like weed—like half town smells like weed. It’s not the identical,” she mentioned. “For those who go away San Francisco, we aren’t the identical.”
A part of the approach to life within the metropolis is reaching the shoreline to have the ability to witness the sundown or discovering a great peak to roll up and spark up a joint. GoD exudes town’s magic. “With Present of Doja, the purple on the packaging itself is basically there to stimulate the creativeness,” Parks mentioned. “The sundown on the highest of the jar may be very a lot an homage to thatؙ—that second between mild and darkish when every part is simply stunning. Then the area on prime of the jars, for individuals simply to write down one thing out. Like I mentioned, I got here from graffiti tradition and for those who didn’t know easy methods to write, you didn’t have a reputation, ? That’s simply one thing that’s simply being misplaced. Individuals don’t even educate handwriting at school anymore. I do know, this is sort of a lengthy technique to get to love, the place I’m going with a model.”
Parks was in her twenties when she was in a position to witness graffiti increase from its definition as a “hooligan exercise” into the wonderful artwork area. She noticed so many related issues that had been occurring within the hashish area when it was within the pirate-like, Wild West period. As a photographer in San Francisco, that vibe is one thing that Parks doesn’t wish to lose. She all the time been documenting the issues round her, similar to civil protests with regard to police accountability.
Parks was additionally a case supervisor and fulfilled many different roles. As a middle-class combined child, she had the privilege of with the ability to transfer by way of many, many alternative areas. “What I discovered although, is that weed related all of it,” she mentioned. “In each single area that I went into, like weed related at both finish or the start. So, if I wished to be in a membership, and I wished to love shoot a live performance, identical to nicely, shoot some fire-ass weed over to the bouncer and also you may simply make it if it’s good shit.”
When Parks began working the supply service, the satisfaction got here from with the ability to carry any individual assist for his or her aid. It meant that an individual who was chronically unwell with a bodily ailment wasn’t any bit extra vital than the one which had the psychological, emotional ailment that simply wanted any individual to speak to.
Parks began studying extra about cannabinoids, terpenes, the entourage impact, flavonoids, and he or she knew that she wanted to proceed to expertise this. “I had the chance once I was rolling out my brother’s model, Mirage Medicinal, to curate these menus. It was the very best factor ever to only odor hella luggage of weed.” She went on to elucidate how understanding the flavonoids has helped to promote hashish over the telephone. “They’re like, ‘What you bought?’ I’m like, ‘Whoa, what are you on the lookout for?’ And also you simply go down the entire adjectives record. The entire similes record. How else do you promote weed on the telephone?”
Then life occurred, and round 2017, when Parks’ father handed away, it was a large problem for Parks to maintain doing what she does. Her father additionally didn’t go away a will. Her whole life needed to pivot to cleansing up 64 years of his life, primarily, she mentioned.
When Parks lastly got here up for air, she wished to know what it was going to appear to be, and what it’s that she wished to create that might add some worth to the area.
“The plant needs you to play together with your creativeness. The plant needs you to play together with your senses and nonetheless form of be there. Present of Doja and the way in which that the model is rolled out, it’s very particular to totally different terpene profiles. So, you will get a number of jars [of] no matter flavors that I’ve; you’ll study the plant by way of it. By that, you get to determine, very like how in Harry Potter the wizard goes to the wand and the wand begins shifting and chooses the wizard—the weed ultimately chooses you. You discover the one which connects together with your endocannabinoid system. Some individuals are simply buying [based] on the THC content material and it’s identical to, ‘oh, chances are you’ll simply be fucking your self up on it,’ ?”
GoD continues to be in its infancy however Parks has plans to increase it into a spot the place individuals can come to have an entire plant expertise and study it. She would really like to have the ability to spotlight the terpene profiles, spotlight the territory that it was grown in, and spotlight the rising processes that these cultivators actually put their coronary heart in.
Parks is all the time on the hunt for brand new phenos. She’s additionally enlisting the assistance of her mates as a result of she does have her personal particular terpene profile. You’ll discover a number of limonene, lemony-like flavors, as a result of Parks likes that stage of consciousness related to these strains.
For the Individuals, By the Individuals
Parks grew up saturated in California’s dispensary life: infinite wellness facilities. That’s how she grew up understanding the plant. “Individuals are chronically unwell for a plethora of various causes; that might be every part from bodily ailment to, like, psychological well being. Additionally it was just like the veterans that actually stood up and had been like, ‘We’d like a spot to be.’ That’s how all of those dispensary areas and smoke lounges truly had been in a position to pop up. We’ve got that consciousness right here.”
The hashish trade grew out of the hippie motion—the free-loving, the ‘rattling the person,’ anti-capitalist area.
Parks’ artwork and activism has all the time been entrance and middle. “I battle actually arduous with the enterprise area as a result of my thoughts doesn’t truly work in that manner,” she mentioned. “The place I’m like, ‘how am I going to squeeze each bit out of my backside line?’ Nonetheless, I’m additionally like, nicely, I positively must guarantee that I will pay individuals nicely as a result of the Bay Space shouldn’t be a straightforward place to reside.”
When Parks began promoting weed, and never simply with the supply service, however taking part in brokering, it lastly opened the doorways to monetary freedom. She felt like she earned it and wasn’t simply being plugged into any individual else’s machine.
“I can’t full my dream with out being in an area the place we’re serving to different individuals’s desires additionally,” Parks mentioned.
That’s what it’s like at a neighborhood fairness distro, so after Parks left the supply service, she plugged into native fairness distro with Ramon Garcia, Morris Kelly, Ron Brandy, and Nancy Doe. “It’s like Black and Asian ladies and men, , it’s variety,” she mentioned. “The world is on the market yelling and creating all of those divisive separations.
On GoD packaging there’s a bit of trademark, signifying fairness commerce. The fairness commerce signifies that GoD qualifies for fairness in its native jurisdiction. There are provisions for native, state, or nationwide fairness certification.
“So I qualify in my jurisdiction and I’m dedicated to serving to the trigger transfer ahead,” Parks mentioned. “For me, additionally, as a enterprise proprietor, that’s been every part, as a result of working with people, like extra set-up SF routes, like seeing his hustle […]”
Parks needs to realize visibility and be represented in a manner that’s significant within the area that we’re in. That may be an uphill problem as a result of getting shelf area isn’t simple.
“[I’m] so blessed to have the ability to be rolling out at a Excessive Instances retailer, with the ability to see DIOS on the ground, too, and see them represented […] It’s phenomenal, , to have the ability to see it represented that manner.”
Whereas different individuals are centered on facets similar to merchandising and enlargement—Parks is in search of a extra natural expertise. Simply seeing the development and being part of it’s what she believes will result in stability. “You’ve acquired to have stability,” she mentioned.
Learn this story initially printed in Excessive Instances November 2021 Difficulty in our archive.
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