“Despite being such a critical catalyst in the early stages of this industry in the ’90s in San Francisco and beyond, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to be underrepresented in the cannabis industry,” Feijoo says. Cannabis in America data reports showed that 37% of cannabis consumers want to support LGBTQ+ owned cannabis businesses. “We aim to elevate their presence in the cannabis marketplace and encourage consumers to learn more about these communities’ presence throughout cannabis culture.”
For Cann, being able to execute this music video at this level was as much about celebrating being gay and enjoying weed at one’s own pace as it is the manifestation of their truest, zero-shame, pure pride fantasies.
“Being queer is a big part of my identity, but it’s always been a struggle,” Anderson explains. “When I was straight-leaning, I was ‘too gay,’ and when I started hooking up with guys, I wasn’t “gay enough.” The us vs. them mentality in marginalized communities breeds toxicity and can lead to self-destructive behavior like over-drinking alcohol. Cann is about radically inclusive, spectrum-like thinking when it comes to who you are and what you drink.”
When thinking of the enduring stigma not only against cannabis, but cannabis in advertising, and cannabis in drinkable forms—the song’s chorus of “a little different Cann taste so good” works on multiple levels.
Cann is no small fish, but that beverage segment of the cannabis market remains a slim part of the pie. Cannabis beverages represent about 3% of all purchases at dispensaries in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Consumers are still wrapping their heads around the idea of drinking weed, and there’s still a lot of work to do normalizing weed beverages as consistent, trustworthy, delicious vehicles for cannabis.
That’s why this campaign matters to the industry at large—it shows that cannabis is worthy of legitimate celebrity endorsement, is more than high-THC dabs, and there are cool, potentially profoundly empowering things happening in cannabis that people should know about.
“I love that we get to show through music and film that cannabis is not what it’s been portrayed as in the past, but something to be enjoyed and shared,” VINCINT says. “I get to be a part of helping someone feel better, on top of making them smile.”