Queer-run cannabis company Stone Road bringing back Pride joints in June
Thu. May 18, 2023 5:28 AM by Ross Forman
queer-led cannabis brand stone road
photo credit // provided
Stone Road is launching 6 limited edition pre-roll flavors in celebration of Pride 2023
Stone Road, a California-based line of premium, sustainably-grown cannabis products, will bring back its limited-edition Pride joints in June – a follow-up to the Love Is Love Pre-Roll Collection of 2022 Pride, which featured three catchy flavors: Drag Brunch, Sugar Zaddy and Grinder & Chill.
Stone Road donated 10 percent of its proceeds last June to New Alternatives, to help reduce homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth in New York City.
This June, queer-led cannabis brand Stone Road is launching 6 limited edition pre-roll flavors in celebration of Pride: Dancing Qween Diesel (5 pack), Bi-Now-Gay-Later (5 pack), Iced Vanilla Twink Latte (5 pack), Super Silver Daddy (single), Second Date Wedding Cake (single), and Out of The Closet Kush (single).
Led by Founder and CEO Lex Corwin, Stone Road is known for creating a safe space for queerness in cannabis. This year is extra special, as Lex recently got engaged to his boyfriend, Harrison.
“We are deeply connected to our customers and supporters. We know how to interact and market to our target audience which skews heavily to women and members of the LGBTQ+ community,” said Corwin. “It’s a real asset to us as our community is highly loyal and engaged. The community supports one another and it’s allowed us to consistently grow even in a notoriously tough market.”
Stone Road prioritizes diversity and representation as part of the brand year-round, Corwin said. “Stone Road is a queer-run brand, and celebrates it with its diverse, inclusive, and provocative brand imagery, paving the way for a more inclusive cannabis industry. Stone Road emphasizes diversity in every aspect of the business, ensuring a diverse cast and crew and partnering with queer and BIPOC artists to create the brand’s unique image.”
Stone Road has partnered with creatives such as Billie Black, a queer Los Angeles-based photographer; Anderson Martinez, a Hispanic, queer New York-based photographer; Kate Sweeney, a queer Ohio-based photographer; Ruth de la Cruz aka Ruth Fruit, a Mexican-American LA-based photographer; and Amanda Picotte, a queer New York-based photographer, among others.
“We aim to show our community in the most empowered light possible,” Corwin said. “We focus on hiring models and creatives of diverse backgrounds so that our marketing is diverse, inclusive and beautiful. Also, frankly Instagram is painfully boring these days so just to get people to stop doom-scrolling we specialize in interesting and provocative imagery.”
Corwin said the Pride joints “are a super popular product,” and the company had its largest sales month ever in June 2022.
Stone Road will offer new flavors and products this Pride and also will be choosing a different LGBTQ+ affiliated non-profit to support, Corwin said.
“We aren’t keen on just celebrating ourselves and self-expression for one month of the year. Gay is beautiful and we will live our truth 24/7, 365,” he said.
Stone Road dates back to 2009, as that was the first place where Corwin ever grew cannabis while in high school – on his neighbor’s property, which was located on Stone Road.
The cannabis company Stone Road launched in December 2016 with three different single joints hand-tied to branded cards with hemp wick.
Today, Stone Road sits on retail shelves in four states, soon to be six. The company grew by 50 percent in 2022, Corwin said.
“We do more sales now in a month just in California than our first two years of sales combined,” he said.
Corwin said he hopes to launch Stone Road in Illinois in the next year.
“It all comes down to the inputs and team. We only use the highest quality soil and nutrients at our farm. When you start with beautiful, clean flower, it’s easy to make a beautiful product,” Corwin said. “We do everything in house – we mix our own soil, brew our own compost teas, make our own top dressing, hand-prune our plants, harvest and dry by hand, and finally trim our flowers completely by hand.”
Corwin added: “Our farm is entirely off-grid, so that informs how we approach sustainability across all facets of the company. The farm is solar-powered and we only utilize water from our two artesian wells. Plus, we never use any pesticides or synthetics, instead relying on an army of predator mites, ladybugs, and beneficial fungi to keep pests at bay.
This commitment to sustainability extends to our packaging which is currently 99 percent plastic free. We are also transitioning to fully recyclable tins for our pre-roll packs, which will eliminate that last 1 percent of plastic from our supply chain. All of our packaging is made from post-consumer material and we aim to be completely plastic-free in the near future.”
Stone Road donated 10 percent of its proceeds last June to New Alternatives, to help reduce homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth in New York City.
This June, queer-led cannabis brand Stone Road is launching 6 limited edition pre-roll flavors in celebration of Pride: Dancing Qween Diesel (5 pack), Bi-Now-Gay-Later (5 pack), Iced Vanilla Twink Latte (5 pack), Super Silver Daddy (single), Second Date Wedding Cake (single), and Out of The Closet Kush (single).
Led by Founder and CEO Lex Corwin, Stone Road is known for creating a safe space for queerness in cannabis. This year is extra special, as Lex recently got engaged to his boyfriend, Harrison.
“We are deeply connected to our customers and supporters. We know how to interact and market to our target audience which skews heavily to women and members of the LGBTQ+ community,” said Corwin. “It’s a real asset to us as our community is highly loyal and engaged. The community supports one another and it’s allowed us to consistently grow even in a notoriously tough market.”
Stone Road prioritizes diversity and representation as part of the brand year-round, Corwin said. “Stone Road is a queer-run brand, and celebrates it with its diverse, inclusive, and provocative brand imagery, paving the way for a more inclusive cannabis industry. Stone Road emphasizes diversity in every aspect of the business, ensuring a diverse cast and crew and partnering with queer and BIPOC artists to create the brand’s unique image.”
Stone Road has partnered with creatives such as Billie Black, a queer Los Angeles-based photographer; Anderson Martinez, a Hispanic, queer New York-based photographer; Kate Sweeney, a queer Ohio-based photographer; Ruth de la Cruz aka Ruth Fruit, a Mexican-American LA-based photographer; and Amanda Picotte, a queer New York-based photographer, among others.
“We aim to show our community in the most empowered light possible,” Corwin said. “We focus on hiring models and creatives of diverse backgrounds so that our marketing is diverse, inclusive and beautiful. Also, frankly Instagram is painfully boring these days so just to get people to stop doom-scrolling we specialize in interesting and provocative imagery.”
Corwin said the Pride joints “are a super popular product,” and the company had its largest sales month ever in June 2022.
Stone Road will offer new flavors and products this Pride and also will be choosing a different LGBTQ+ affiliated non-profit to support, Corwin said.
“We aren’t keen on just celebrating ourselves and self-expression for one month of the year. Gay is beautiful and we will live our truth 24/7, 365,” he said.
Stone Road dates back to 2009, as that was the first place where Corwin ever grew cannabis while in high school – on his neighbor’s property, which was located on Stone Road.
The cannabis company Stone Road launched in December 2016 with three different single joints hand-tied to branded cards with hemp wick.
Today, Stone Road sits on retail shelves in four states, soon to be six. The company grew by 50 percent in 2022, Corwin said.
“We do more sales now in a month just in California than our first two years of sales combined,” he said.
Corwin said he hopes to launch Stone Road in Illinois in the next year.
“It all comes down to the inputs and team. We only use the highest quality soil and nutrients at our farm. When you start with beautiful, clean flower, it’s easy to make a beautiful product,” Corwin said. “We do everything in house – we mix our own soil, brew our own compost teas, make our own top dressing, hand-prune our plants, harvest and dry by hand, and finally trim our flowers completely by hand.”
Corwin added: “Our farm is entirely off-grid, so that informs how we approach sustainability across all facets of the company. The farm is solar-powered and we only utilize water from our two artesian wells. Plus, we never use any pesticides or synthetics, instead relying on an army of predator mites, ladybugs, and beneficial fungi to keep pests at bay.
This commitment to sustainability extends to our packaging which is currently 99 percent plastic free. We are also transitioning to fully recyclable tins for our pre-roll packs, which will eliminate that last 1 percent of plastic from our supply chain. All of our packaging is made from post-consumer material and we aim to be completely plastic-free in the near future.”