Influencers + Cannabis: What Are The Rules?

Last week I was a speaker at an exciting event hosted by Jones Media at 1 Bloor. We are T-16 days away from legalization and the world of cannabis marketing is something people have a lot of questions about. The worlds of cannabis and business like an online dispensary canada are really, truly beginning to collide. They are rapidly growing in popularity which is why the need for cannabis businesses is increasing! Anybody that is running or looking to run a cannabis business may want to think about hiring somebody like a cannabis consultant for their company to run smoothly and efficiently. Specifically, this talk was about cannabis + influencers and what is allowed within the rules of the new cannabis act. The panel featured Chris Nyberg, a lawyer who specializes in this area, Lorilynn McCorrister from Weed Box, and Jen Newton who does the High Tea podcast and comes from an agency/brand background. We talked about everything from how do you market in a space that’s so highly regulated, how to partner with a licenced producer, how to align with an influencer, and examples of creative marketing we’ve seen. On Going to the USA One of the topics we talked right off the bat was can you still go to the USA if you work in, invest in, or post about cannabis on your social accounts? Sorry to say, you can 100% get a lifetime ban if you do any of those things. Safe bet is to scrub your social accounts and make sure you don’t mention your connection to the wonderful world of flower if you don’t have to. On my last trip I remove Weed VR social accounts & email from my phone and didn’t take any business cards. I have cards Director cards from Occupied VR…

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Follow the Pot of Gold ?⚱️?

Good morning and happy Monday! Spent the weekend at the cottage wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, cooking, reading, and relaxing. The cool Autumn air is a nice change from hot summer. We made a fire at night but it was still warm enough in the day to take Sean out wakeboarding. The thing I love about Monday is not knowing what the week will bring aside from the things already in my calendar. I’m looking forward to being back to the office after a whirlwind month with Toronto Fashion Week, TIFF, and a trip to Mexico. Scroll down for details about a panel I’m moderating Wednesday on influencers + cannabis, an interview I did for Lift & Co. Magazine, and a great feature on Biome Grow, the company that acquired Weed VR. High Profile w/ Lift & Co. A couple weeks ago I sat down at a cafe near our place for a chat with Kate Robinson for Lift & Co. Magazine. We were discussing coming out the ‘cannabis closet’ and my story. Read my story on Lift & Co here or click on the image below! Cannabis in An Influencer Age This week I’m moderating a panel for influencers and agency people about working together in the new cannabis industry. The panel will feature a few experts and you’ll learn creative ways to partner with brands, produce content, and work within the regulations. Before you shop marijuana seeds online in the hope that you can start your own marijuana operation, it may be worth finding out more about the regulations involved with the ever-growing industry. Once you’ve done that, then it’s probably smart to start researching different strains that you might want to grow, such as this gdp strain from Royalseedbank. For some people, there is no fun in…

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High Tea: You Can Roll With Us

You walk past a group of beautiful, stylish ladies outside a cute and classy coffee shop in a quiet neighbourhood. Everything looks normal until you get a little closer and see a cloud of smoke big enough for a rap video and realise what’s up! ? So much so you might be tempted to grab your TONIC rolling papers and join us! The other week I had a really cool experience of attending an event called ‘See You Next Tuesday‘ hosted by the fine ladies of the High Tea podcast (listen here). It was a rolling salon and flower side chat where we had an in-depth lesson on rolling the perfect joint and talked about cannabis. As you can imagine we also spoke about some of the lesser known cannabis infused products out there such as moonrock canada. We each took home a few goodies and fresh cut flowers. It was fun! The High Tea podcast was started to create ‘high-vibe entertainment, for women who also love weed‘. Each episode is a ‘blunt and thoughtful exploration of pot and its magic‘. I love the play on words you’ll find in everything they share including the name of the event series. Thanks for hosting a fun night! Over the past few months, I’ve spent more time having great conversations with amazing women over cannabis vs. late nights with too much wine. It’s so much of a healthier lifestyle, I’ve cut down my drinking significantly and even lost weight. The side effects of cannabis are much more positive including increased creativity and less pain/anxiety, instead of a hangover. When talking about the effects of cannabis, many often wonder, “are cbd terpenes important?” When it comes to people’s experience with the drug, it does look that way. There are lots of different reasons…

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“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”

A lot of my experience comes from making mistakes, wrong decisions, with the wrong people. I’ve learned a lot of street smarts this way. A lot of my business smarts comes from school.  I was really into business as a youngster when I made gym bags and sold them to students in grade school. I went to college and university and have no doubt that those experiences gave me the skills I need to do great work. I’m not saying everyone has to go to post-secondary but there you learn a foundation to build on when you’re out in the field. When I  was a teenager, I started a publishing company with a friend, published a book, and was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the city. I’ve done a lot of things since then but what I learned from my business teachers in high school, college, and university is with me every day. When I won that award my high school got a donation to go towards computer equipment which was pretty cool given the internet was just getting started.  Yesterday I got an exciting email. I’ve been chosen as the Preston High School Hall of Fame inductee for 2018. Me! An old friend from dance, who’s a teacher there now, sent me the nicest email about my career and life since PHS. I’m kinda in shock! The PHS Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates Preston graduates who have made a successful impact in our world and exemplify the spirit and ideals of the school. Well, lady, you have certainly grown yourself, your business, your brand, and your spirit into something really worth celebrating!  I’ve been asked to say a few words at the commencement ceremony next month. I’m excited to be recognized and am looking forward to sharing some words of wisdom with the graduating class. If…

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You Are My Sunshine, My Summertime, My Love

Hard to believe it’s already September! Where did the summer go? Remember back to March when we had the winter that felt like three years? It was so cold. We all rejoiced for those warm spring days and bright sunshine.  This summer was great and lucky for us it’s still feeling hot af outside so it’s not over just yet. There’s still a few weeks of warm days and cool nights. I love this weather. Enjoy these moments while we have them!  This week is TIFF and Toronto Fashion Week. I’ve got an appointment at Sassoon, I think it’s back to bleach blonde for me. After TIFF we’ll spend some time at the cottage. Hopefully Thanksgiving too. I’m booked for Cancun before October. Will be heading up to Blue Mountain, then Stratford, and Montreal in October.  Booked my ticket for New Orleans in November. It’s going to be the holidays before we know it! We were at Costco on Friday and they already have Christmas cards & decorations out.  I  took last week off from the blog to give myself some space and time. I’ve still been writing, I’ve got some fun stuff to share. The next few weeks are full of exciting events and great opportunities. I love documenting it all and sharing what I learn and experience with you. I’ve learned I need to give myself breaks to recharge my batteries. We are like a vessel and if we’re constantly putting energy out into the world and to other people, we need to do things that fill us back up so we don’t get depleted. For me, that’s taking cooking, reading, naps, snacks, and a good Netflix binge. This weekend I watched most of Sisters, an Aussie TV show on Netflix and there is a girl from New Zealand named Kasey. Ha! Sending you love from…

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Head in the Clouds: Altavie & The Art of Now

Not long I went to an event at Only One Gallery featuring a reading by NYC poet Cleo Wade hosted by MedReleaf‘s brand, Altavie. It was one of the first cannabis-focused events I’d attended, it stood out with its classiness and the incredibly cool group of mostly women in attendance. The night started with a guided meditation where everyone closed their eyes to take a few minutes for themselves. The panel was hosted by Briony Douglas who’s art was displayed around the gallery with a few other artists (Alpo Snow, Tahsin- The Good and Enzee Creative. Briony is one of my favs I have couple pieces from her recent show MOUTHPIECE in my room. AltaVie by MedReleaf aims to help make mindfulness more attainable Altavie is a high-end cannabis brand with a movement towards mindfulness, being present, and living in the now. Cannabis products are becoming more and more well known for their mental health benefits, for example, in helping with anxiety, depression and insomnia, and there are many different kinds of products out there, from CBD vaping cartridges (check out this CBDFX discount code if you’re interested in those) to products like Altavie. I was there thinking, ‘wow this weed brand is so ME right now, how is this really happening‘. Life is such a dream. It’s amazing how so much has changed – now there are more cannabis brands reaching customers with the help of an SEO agency specializing in the cannabis industry which once upon a time, not too long ago, would have been totally unheard from. How times have changed, and for the better too, I would say! The only product currently on the website is a cannabis-free a nut bark that looks pretty good called Cannabis Crunch. It’s infused with cannabis inspired flavours (toffee, cinnamon,…

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Sometimes you just need a break.

It’s a great reset to take a break from your everyday life and escape to the woods. Sean and I had 7 whole days alone before welcoming guests on the last weekend. It was an incredible getaway. After my Portugal trip I felt like I needed some time to reset. August is always a time where  I asses the year so far, look at my goals and make a plan for the final quarter. Fitness, mental clarity, more work I enjoy, travel, and balance are key. I hit the ground running w/ my trainer this week and after my first weekend of wakeboarding, it was kinda hard. MY ARMS WERE KILLING YESTERDAY. I’m determined to give it another go this weekend and hone in on my skills. I honestly never thought I would be a gym-loving wakeboard chick but here I AM.  Swipe for video of me wakeboarding (Cory Lee is screaming, not me! haha) Feeling fresh and ready for a great month. Yesterday was my first day back and I’m already moving on a couple exciting things. Next week I have 2 speaking gigs, the public one is at the Apparel Textile Sourcing show and you can register to come here.  Remember, you will never be younger than you are today so make the most of it.  buy Cytotec online https://micgadget.com/wp-content/languages/new/finasteride.html Buy lasix

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WordPress Finally has a New Editor: Meet Gutenberg

I’m writing this post using the new WordPress Editor, Gutenberg. It takes some getting used to and I had almost finished my post when I accidentally deleted it so now I am paying more attention. It allows you to add content blocks, ex. a paragraph of text, image, gallery, audio, subheading, columns (beta). It’s similar to how Medium works or LinkedIn work for posts.  It’s much easier to move parts of your post around without cut/paste. I think that columns is a neat idea. Wondering how I can use this in a creative way to tell a story. The new format is similar to medium or LinkedIn where you are working with content blocks you add to the post. They’re easily searchable and you can add favs to a quick menu. [Columns didn’t work for me they looked ugly, still in Beta so I’m sure will improve] One of the really great things is adding Twitter/Youtube/IG/FB embeds from the blocks. You can also easily add almost any kind of content. I’ve been using WordPress for years and I think this is a real step in the right direction. I wonder if they will add more photos editing options?! If you want to try the new Gutenberg editor you have to install and activate it as a Plugin while it’s still in Beta [dowload here]. WordPress dashboard has a welcome message for the latest update outlining some feature and benefits (I am using the fully hosted option not wordpress.com). I‘ve been thinking about editing my theme and might do that during my vacation next week. I’ve decided I like the new editor. Hello Gutenberg, my new friend that I will spend countless hours with. Drop cap is kinda nice. I feel like using the old editor will be like going back in time.…

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Amazon Prime Day is Today – Get 5x Aeroplan Miles!!

I look forward to Prime Day each summer! I bought my first Instant Pot on Prime Day years ago and I’ve been obsessed ever since. If you’re an Aeroplan Member, you can earn you 5x the Aeroplan Miles on Prime Day this year. Think about that for a hot second, get amazing deals AND rack up those miles! DYK what day it is tomorrow? Prime Day #PrimeDay gotta get deals on #PrimeDay ! So what i love amazon prime ok. pic.twitter.com/5RgkaFiFBo — CASIE STEWART ?? (@casiestewart) July 15, 2018 I’ve been earning Miles w/ Aeroplan as long as I can remember because mum was keen on getting any help we could in order to visit the fam back in New Zealand. I really love Amazon Deals and Amazon, in general, it’s such a great addition to life. An easy way to get just about anything sent to you in a day or two. If you don’t have a Prime Membership, sign up here. I love the future! Amazon Prime + Aeroplan Details WHAT IS AMAZON PRIME? The basic benefits of being a prime member are FREE 2-day shipping, access to Prime Video (Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle Transparent), access to Prime Music, AND special deals on Prime Day! There are over 100,000 deals across heaps of categories like electronics, fashion housewares, and more. How it works: Amazon + Aeroplan Visit aeroplan.com/estore Using the search function on the page, find Amazon.ca Enter your Aeroplan number and last name Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button to be redirected to Amazon.ca. GET ALL THE DEALS. Happy shopping! The Aeroplan eStore promotion starts on Prime Day and lasts until July 18th. Prime Day starts at 3pm ET on Monday, July 16 This week is an exciting one, today is Prime…

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Balance + Books + Blogs

Sean and I had a really romantic weekend, we cleaned house and went to the dump about 4 times. To be honest, chucking furniture into a huge bin is exhilarating. We managed to move a massive fridge then, on the way it fell off the trailer, it was so mashed up! Also kinda satisfying seeing it so mangled! haha ? We got it back on the truck with no fuss and Sean moved another fridge later in the day. This spring we’ve been up here quite a bit. It’s been nice. Though, unless you have a cottage or something like it, you won’t know how much work it is. We’ve been husting every weekend since we opened this place in March. This weekend I managed to carve out time to finish a book I picked up Friday. [Sister of Mine, it was good! Toronto based author, Ryerson Professor] Check this out, the author and I chatted on Twitter. Love reaching out after a read a good book to thank the author, even cooler when they reply! Over the last little while, I’ve been working on a thing that’s really exciting and I can’t wait to share with the world. I think it’s important to have something not everybody knows, a secret project, a magic motivation to focus on. If you tell everyone everything, you have no surprises! This week I’m also working on blogging more. I often chat with people who have blogs and they set really high goals and rules for themselves, then, beat themselves up when they don’t blog every day or publish as much as they imagined. Don’t do that! Write when you feel like writing, if it’s your own blog and you’re your own boss, be a good boss to yourself!  A blog is your creative expression, it’s always there for…

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On The Road Again: Palmerston North to Lake Taupo

I spent most of today in the car on a 3hr road trip from Palmerston North to Taupo. Woke up feeling a bit groggy from loud singing Adele with mum after an amazing dinner and few bottles of wine with my cousins. We had so much fun together last night. I love having my family close, getting to know them, making jokes together, them making fun of me, and laughing. This trip has been so exciting. I went to say my last goodbye to nana at the home this morning. She was doing better than yesterday but she’s had quite a decline from the first day I saw her over a week ago. Getting old is sad. Next, we visited my cousin Lisa and gave gifts to her three darling little daughters. It was nice. Lisa came to visit us in Canada when she was 9. Her and my sister used to look so much alike. Lisa is 1/2 Maori and beautiful. Mum is staying in Palmy this week to spend more time with her mum and I’m on the road alone. The best parts of my trip today were stopping at least 10 times to take photos and post things on the internet. A long drive on the open road is nice but I like to take photos so luckily for me, New Zealand has a lot of rest stops. Aside from driving on the other side of the road, it’s pretty challenging because the roads are narrow and twist and wind all over the place. You really have to concentrate. I had my GoPro along for the drive and haven’t even checked the card for that yet. I’m planning to do some data backup and management on the long, nearly 24-hour journey back to Canada. I stopped to take some…

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Paris in the Springtime?

I’m nervous/excited today and that’s my favourite feeling in the world.  The feeling you get before something big happens, before you make a significant change or a go on a great adventure. Tomorrow I’m on set for a few scenes of my cameo in a feature film. Yes, me! Huge call sheet with lots of scenes and set times, characters, craft, lighting. So exciting! On Sunday mum and I leave for New Zealand. This is where we are spending 3 days over New Years with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. If you’ve been following, you’ll know Aeroplan covered the tickets for mum and I to go back to NZ. The video I shot with 1188/Aeroplan is now out and I am genuinely so excited. Scroll down to watch it! In other exciting travel news, Aeroplan just launched a new tool for using your Miles to book flights and get travel deals. I’ve been an Aeroplan member since I was a teenager and redeeming miles has been helpful in my adventures. I also have a credit card that helps me earn rewards. I got a chance to check out the site as soon as it launched and obvs my first instinct was to check the great deals. As more people book the great deals, more will come available. Some of the destinations on my vacation dreams list are Barcelona, Venice, Lisbon, and Athens. The interface is nice and clean and it’s easy to navigate. I found a great deal to Paris in the springtime which has been a dream of mine for the last few years.  I imagine Sean and I riding bikes with berets and baguettes, romantic walks by the tour Eiffel. Lots of flowers and cafes. I’m really excited and can’t wait for adventure that lies ahead. See my Aeroplan video below and check out the new travel…

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Speaking at Centennial College – Advanced Social Media

Here I am on the TTC again. I really wish I had headphones but they’re still in my travel bag at home. I’m heading over to Centennial College to chat with a class of Advanced Social Media year 3 students about my life and work. I try to say yes as often as I can when a friend or close contact asks me to chat with their class. It’s always an opportunity for me to learn. I love their questions. I love reminding them that the job they’ll have one day might not, and probably doesn’t even exist. It’s ok if they don’t know what they want to do yet. I remind them to find something they love doing and become really, really good at it. I tell them to explore creativity and try new things. To not be afraid of other people who can’t see their vision or grasp their unique idea. There have been so many times in my career where the person/people I was working with or for, didn’t get my idea. Most the time it was because only I could see so far ahead, not as far as me. They weren’t there yet. Having the skills and knowledge to see an idea before anyone else will often keep you ahead of the pack.  When I worked at CTV for Much/MTV Canada I remember telling my boss it would be a good idea to put the show hashtag on the tv screen. He totally thought I was crazy and made me feel bad about my ‘dumb’ idea. We all know how that turned out, eh? Another time at an agency job I suggested we get this cool InstaPrint thing from NYC. It involved hiring a guy to man 4 machines onsite for the event that would print little…

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Being Prepared Helps Me Feel Less Stressed

Some cottage time this weekend was the perfect way to prepare for this week. It’s always super hectic and I love it so much at the same time. I’ve been doing TIFF for 10 years. The things I do during the festival now are so much different than when I started. Back then it was a party here or there and now there is work, daytime stuff, more exciting events, a lot more people. It is so important to take time to balance yourself, chill out, sit quietly, let your mind wander. Shared this tweet yesterday and it kind of sums up how I feel about the seasons changing and winter coming. This month is very busy (TIFF, TFW, speaking, travel) and will be fun but I need to stay focused on the self-improvement track. I look forward to going to the gym these days and I hate missing yoga for anything. I also love reading a book tucked away in my favourite room or spending hours in the kitchen. Don’t forget to take time for YOURSELF.        

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