“Not everyone wants to go out to a bar to have fun. Some people want to roll up a joint of some quality cannabis, eat some good food, listen to some good music, and have fun with like-minded friends.”
Tash is a member of the South Shore-based Cannamaniacs collective, whose eponymous “potcast” has their crew “seshing out with some of the bright lights of our cannabis community.”
“But,” he tells us, “the Cannamaniacs are so much more than that.” Tash explains, “the plan is to build out an entire ecosystem and network where everyone can go for their high-quality cannabis related entertainment.”
They’re currently developing additional shows, a line of NFTs, all kinds of merchandise, and a line of CBD cat treats called Pawtheads, plus have “a few more surprises” coming.
They’re also throwing events and parties “to showcase what an amazing time and place we are currently at with cannabis in the northeast part of the country.”
Next up is their very 420-friendly Resolution NYE party in Worcester this weekend. We asked Tash what’s in store …
How do you explain how what you are generally doing fits into the cannabis space, and how it is unique?
I’m just a highly motivated stoner who loves to share how amazing this plant is in the coolest ways I can think of. I don’t know if what I’m doing is unique. But what I do know is my background from the Boston music scene and from the art world scene and the Boston scene and now the legal cannabis scene gives me a unique perspective and network to draw from to create these events. I’ve been outside for 25 years now.
Plus, I think it’s safe to say that anyone who has met me or worked with me knows that my passion for hustling and my passion for cannabis gets it. I see how big this can all be from the grassroots level all the way up to the corporate bigwigs.
I honestly feel like we are at a point in history where the northeast of the United States can make a global impact on the way that the world views, consumes, and relates to cannabis. We’re on the front lines of that tidal wave.
And I think that’s pretty unique.
How about the NYE event—what was your vision going into this? You have mentioned the importance of it being cannabis and not alcohol focused.
The name of the event says it all, Resolution. Look at it like this, a lot of people have New Year’s resolutions and a lot of the time the resolution is to stop drinking. And this being the Roaring Twenties of cannabis and the paradigm shift for the general public from alcohol to cannabis, we wanted to represent that in this event, and every event we do going forward.
Not everyone wants to go out to a bar to have fun. Some people want to roll up a joint of some quality cannabis, eat some good food, listen to some good music, and have fun with like-minded friends. At resolution, we wanted to provide that.
Because we understand it’s New Year’s and some people do want to have a drink, there will be a small bar there, but that isn’t the focus of the night. The focus is cannabis.
For instance, instead of champagne, we will be giving away cannabis when you walk in the door so everyone can consume, and we are also giving away a craft joint and an infused beverage to everyone in attendance for a giant toast to ring in the new year together at midnight.
Who is going to be joining you? It seems you have produced a circus of sorts, with all sorts of different things going on at once.
I like the term circus. The circus was fun, right? I remember the circus having a ton of things going on and it being a lot of fun. So I’d say that’s accurate. First and foremost, we are on a private site, so we have on-site consumption. Roll it up, light it up, smoke it right at the event. Joey Cares of Care Gang provided the space. We have high-end catering by Crafted By: Nick which includes burnt pork ends and meatballs and mozzarella along with a full menu of infused and non-infused options.
We also have a bunch of live art. We have Brian Downey painting live, live digital art by Jeff Cluett, and we have live glass blowing by Tuppy Reynolds. Plus we will be podcasting and broadcasting live throughout the night.
Why did you pick Worcester? Does it have to do with it pretty much being the center of the Mass cannabis universe?
Honestly, the sad truth is there aren’t a lot of places where you can do this kind of thing in Boston or on the South Shore where I’m from. I feel like that’s about to change though and I feel like I can help bring these types of events to that part of the state because there is a huge void and a huge need for events like these in the eastern part of the state.
With that said, I love everything that is going on right now out in western Mass as a whole. They always make me feel at home out there and I really do believe that we, being Mass in general, are positioned to be next in line to be the next West Coast. We’re ahead of the world on this. I think people know it’s going to be big, but it’s still a lot bigger than people realize.
The Cannamaniacs are trying to get out ahead of that.
What do you see as the future of public consumption in Mass and what other kinds of parties will you be doing?
I hope the future is safe, fun places where people who enjoy cannabis can consume cannabis with like-minded people. We all know that smoking a joint brings random people closer together. Let’s start doing more of that. We need to stop the stigmatization and everyone needs to realize that cannabis is good for you and it brings people together in positive ways. It’s exactly what the world needs right now.
As for us, we have a bunch of events coming in 2023. Our first two events are a double event where one night we will watch Super Bowl XLIX (the Seahawks one) with Eric Martin of the New England Patriots. He is a cannabis-friendly ex-professional athlete, so we will watch the game with him, consume some cannabis and amazing food, and he can give us insight on the game, because he was there on the field. We are also having a Super Bowl party the following week with Eric.
We are also building a standup comedy circuit and I want to throw cannabis themed events for couples. All of these events will be in places where you can consume cannabis at the event because time and time again that’s what the people want.
And finally, any new year’s resolutions?
Yeah man, I got to stop smoking weed.
I’m kidding, it’s actually to smoke more.
For Resolution tickets, reach out to Cannamaniacs617 on IG or Chris Tash on Facebook. Tickets are $100 each or $170 for 2.
Facebook.com/thecannamaniacs617
