At High Minded, we are committed to giving back to the communities that we live and work in. One of the ways we do this is by creating specialty strains that benefit local organizations supporting veterans, people living with chronic illness, LGBTQIA+ folks, justice-impacted families, and more. Since Stash was founded in 2020, we have given over $16,000 to LGBTQIA+ nonprofits alone! This May, we are so excited to launch Cadillac Rainbows, benefiting Great Lakes Bay Pride.
Great Lakes Bay Pride was founded in 2002 and provides inclusive sexual orientation and gender identity and expression education, advocacy, networking, and resources to individuals and organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Until 2016, the organization kept a low profile in the interest of remaining a safe space for folks who had not publicly come out. This was indicative of the time, says Scott Ellis, the Executive Director of Great Lakes Bay Pride. He explains that there were people who were not safe or comfortable being out and keeping the organization quieter allowed people to be a part of the community privately.
This changed in 2016, when Great Lakes Bay Pride was asked to take over another organization’s pride festival. By taking on this large, public-facing event, the organization itself came out of the closet and scaled up. Scott joined the team that year, first as a volunteer, later becoming Executive Director. Since then, the organization has grown to offer events in all counties they serve as well as become a community center for the area offering peer support programs, a resource directory, help with updating legal documents, and even a community closet.
The Great Lakes Bay area is growing more and more diverse as it expands, and with that diversity comes more acceptance. In fact, Michigan has had a couple of big legislative wins in the last few years, including updating the Michigan Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and the banning of conversion therapy. The LGBTQIA+ community and the cannabis community have stood together in solidarity for decades, as their struggles with legality and stigma have many parallels. The queer community is often credited as having a hand in the legalization of medical marijuana in California as a result of their advocacy for medicinal cannabis during the HIV/AIDS crisis.
“There was a lot of crossover,” says Fred Swinburnson, a team member at Cloud Cannabis, who has been openly gay for over 20 years and smoking weed for over 40. “Everyone I knew who was gay smoked pot. We were both counter-culture. We were both minorities, and I found myself in both groups.” There’s something about cannabis that helps bridge the gap between people struggling to relate to each other, says budtender Jessi Anderson. Jessi moved to Michigan from North Carolina, where she says people are not too interested in learning about those who are different from them. Instead, they often lead with judgment. Folks in Michigan are curious, she says, but in a way that is respectful, not judgmental.
Jessi arrived in Michigan with little but a suitcase and a rescue cat – a gamble that she says has paid off in every way. She went to her first Pride celebration in Detroit, started going to trans nights at bars, and attended drag shows full of people smoking weed – a world she had never experienced. Jessi says she has had people dislike her in the past just for her identity, but weed can help. Smoking weed can take the edge off of tricky conversations, and spark curiosity which, hopefully, leads to acceptance. She says weed can help shift the vibe of a conversation so people are more open to finding common ground. When moving here, Jessi felt immediately welcomed by the local stoner community, new friends who weren’t just nonjudgmental, but were actually excited to meet her. This makes sense to Fred. “Isn’t it supposed to expand your mind to use substances?”
Expanding minds while giving back is absolutely the goal, says Brelynn Woodrick of Higher Hopes, the philanthropy arm of our company. Not only do we hope to raise awareness, support, and money for our local queer communities, but Brelynn hopes the campaign will encourage our team members to get curious too, and to really understand why equity and inclusion are so important to our company culture. In addition to donating proceeds, we encourage the whole company to get involved personally by volunteering with a hyperlocal nonprofit or checking out a nearby pride festival. People often don’t understand the LGBTQIA+ experience unless they have someone close to them in the community or they really intentionally set out to learn about it, says Brelynn. “It’s important to open the eyes of people who maybe haven’t had exposure [to LGBTQIA+ folks] in the past. This isn’t just for those that identify as in the community, we really want all of our employees to understand. It’s more than just rainbows, is what I’m trying to say.”
Our High Minded cultivation team put incredible love and care into the baby Cadillac Rainbow buds which were specifically selected for this campaign. This care followed the flower through processing, production, and packaging, and into our stores, where we can raise proceeds through sales of the full Cadillac Rainbows line. We are especially happy to be partnering with such an incredible local organization because it allows us to feel the true impact in our own communities. Great Lakes Bay Pride is not only local, but they do so much incredible work, from advocacy and direct support, to networking and community education. Working with a nonprofit based in Mt. Pleasant is huge for us too as it’s home base for us and the majority of our employees live in the area. Scott agrees it’s a great partnership. “We appreciate how supportive everyone has been. We got to tour the High Minded facility last year. We were able to meet folks and take a photo, and it was a really good experience. We are glad to have you all involved.”
About Cadillac Rainbows: Cadillac Rainbows is an indica dominant hybrid that will take you for a ride. Its colorful buds burn gassy and fruity, with a lemon, diesel, and slightly minty flavor and aroma. Cadillac Rainbows is extremely potent and definitely not for beginners. Frequent smokers will enjoy its relaxed, euphoric, snacky effects that hit quickly, melting you into the couch and a deep, happy head high. The High Minded Cadillac Rainbows product line includes flower, pre-rolls, live resin vape carts, live resin concentrate and purple sparkly live resin gummies.
Fred says Cadillac Rainbows is perfect for those looking for a strong indica. Jessi agrees, it’s what she recommends when folks ask for the dankest, stinkiest strain they have. “If you like a stanky indica, it’s the perfect bud for you.”
Find out where to purchase Cadillac Rainbows by visiting our Where to Buy page.
