It was an unseasonably warm October evening as I walked toward the live mariachi band with my new bride, Cynthia. In between days of dreary rain and freezing snow, somehow the clouds parted and made room for a perfect wedding under the stars last weekend in Lafayette, Colorado—just north of Denver.
As the eight-piece band set off into a soaring chorus of harmonies, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of joy. Here we were on this beautiful night in our earliest moments as newlyweds, sharing it with our family, relatives, closest friends, and more than 100 colleagues.
Andy and Cynthia exchange their vows. (Courtesy of Carmely Photography)
Cynthia and I are both proud members of the cannabis industry, and in planning one of the most important days of our lives, we decided to share a key part of ourselves with those nearest and dearest to us by integrating cannabis into our wedding reception. Our guests discovered an array of locally sourced cannabis products in our specially outfitted Bud Barn—a literal barn adored with scores of elegant chandeliers hanging from the roof. There were cannabis soft drinks from Keef Brands, infused teas from Purple Monkey, and gooey, tantalizing s’mores made with cannabis chocolates crafted by Incredibles. To top it all off, budtenders were holding court in the Bud Barn, hand-rolling joints for our guests with flower sourced from our Denver cultivation facility at Medicine Man.
By this point you’re likely thinking our wedding vows were exchanged in a haze of billowing smoke. But that’s where you’d be wrong, as we didn’t open the Bud Barn until after the ceremony. As people who are invested in the future of the cannabis industry, Cynthia and I are passionate about responsible social cannabis consumption. We believe in the power of cannabis to positively shape people’s health and well-being, yet we understand the anxiety surrounding recreational use for new adopters, which is why we decided to create a space at our wedding reception where novices and experienced enthusiasts alike could experiment on their own terms and, most importantly, relax knowing they were in full control of their high.
Knowledgeable budtenders helped ensure that no one went overboard. (Courtesy of Carmely Photography)
To ensure this, all the infused cannabis products we served at our wedding were microdosed, with every serving measured to contain only a fraction of a dose of THC. This allowed every guest to effectively control their own experience. A typical microdose contains 2.5 milligrams of activated THC, which is one-quarter of the state-regulated edible cannabis serving size in Colorado and other states. Some people say it’s cannabis’s equivalent of having a glass of pinot grigio. That’s what we mean by responsible social cannabis consumption.
We’re starting to see more cannabis businesses producing microdosed products, understanding that, sometimes, less is more. A single piece of chocolate in the cannabis-infused s’mores we served included 2.5 milligrams of THC. Each cup of tea also included 2.5 milligrams. The Keef Sparkling Blood Orange, served in champagne flutes, was measured out at roughly 1 milligram of THC, so that nobody—an experienced aficionado or first-timer—was going to have a bad experience on our watch.
It was a night of firsts for many of our 400 guests, all of whom received cards at the beginning of the night encouraging them to try something new at our celebration. For some, that meant substituting alcohol with cannabis. For others, it meant testing some new moves out on the dance floor.
Of course, not everyone at our reception consumed cannabis. Like many wedding receptions, we had a full bar stocked with beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and champagne, as well as an espresso bar, topped off with infused Honey Buzz sweeteners and Canna Creamers (as well as non-infused sweeteners and creamers).
While alcohol and socializing are a culturally acceptable pairing, cannabis is still on the fringes, even when the data clearly points to it as the far safer alternative. An average of 88,000 alcohol-related deaths occur annually in the US alone, with more than 2,000 of those deaths due to alcohol poisoning, and Colorado is one of the leading states for alcohol poisoning fatalities per capita. By comparison, no cannabis overdose has ever been reported. And while Denver’s dynamic bar scene is thriving, it’s still almost impossible to legally consume cannabis in any form outside of someone’s personal residence—even though the city’s voters approved social use-centric Initiative 300 in November 2016.
Andy and Cynthia share their first dance. (Courtesy of Carmely Photography)
So our hope is that our friends and neighbors will look back to our wedding as an example of responsible social cannabis use, because there are clearly certain prohibition-era relics still hanging on, even in these enlightened days.
With that, Cynthia and I raise a glass to the future, one that is more enlightened about this plant we love. Next up, Maine for the honeymoon—where we will toast the rest of our lives together in another recreationally legal state!
Cheers.
