
Back in the pre-legalization primordial soup of 2010, Leaf Magazines founder Wes Abney identified a need for true Cannabis journalism in his home state of Washington. Together with his old friend and college newspaper collaborator Daniel Berman, the then-21-year-old Abney borrowed $1600 to print the first issue of Northwest Leaf. Shortly afterward, they printed the second issue, then the third, and Abney sold his beloved 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback and invested in his dream of an independently funded Cannabis media company with no corporate overlords or institutional money.
In the subsequent years, this grassroots local publication grew, and the Leaf Magazines team replicated the vision in other markets, staying true to the mission of localized Cannabis coverage that highlights the plant and the passionate people behind it. In 2019, Abney joined with tenured Seattle rock radio DJ Mike Ricker to launch the Leaf Life podcast, entering the explosive world of online broadcasting. During the COVID crisis of 2020, the Leaf chose to grow while other publications shuttered. The dedicated team expanded in size and geographical territory, expanding from four markets to 13 with the addition of California Leaf and Northeast Leaf. By the beginning of 2021, Leaf Magazines stood as the most widely distributed consumer-facing Cannabis print publication in the world, operating magazines in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Maryland, California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. To this day, we at Leaf Nation aim to craft the highest quality Cannabis content in every category, and strive to use our platform for good, to bolster and build the industry we all love and enjoy.