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Rehashed: Joint Rivers Summer Roll Up

“This is an event we look forward to throwing every year.”

Photos by Sy Bean

Summer finished with a blast of Cannabis smoke in the air as the Joint Rivers Summer Roll Up brought the Cannabis community together in a celebration of freedom.

Located on Muckleshoot tribal land and next door to the beautiful casino and hotel with a premier Cannabis retail location, Joint Rivers has grown rapidly since opening in the summer of 2018, and they give back each year by throwing an amazing party for customers and vendors. This year’s event, the Summer Roll Up, featured over 45 Cannabis vendors in a parking lot festival with their best products on display and available for tasting. Joint Rivers customers and event attendees were welcomed to this free event with the opportunity to acquire custom casino-style tokens, which were then redeemable for Cannabis tastings and samples at booths. The tokens were collected and tallied throughout the weekend, and the companies with the most engagement won big awards, making this a true people’s choice competition.

“We had over 13,500 tokens passed out and redeemed for Cannabis and over 3,500 people who came to the event over the two days, and we had a really good response to the token tasting and competition,” explained Hannah Pohl, sales manager at Joint Rivers. “This is an event we look forward to throwing every year, and we enjoy bringing our vendors to the community and giving them a platform to connect with consumers directly.”

Entrants to the event had to pass through the retail shop, where they were ID’d and given a wristband. Inside the secured parking lot were dozens of Cannabis vendors, and a heavily discounted food area serving tacos, street corn and hot dogs. The fruited drinks were a hit, and the presence of affordable food with tons of terps was a solid combination. Other highlights included an on-site tattoo station, puff putt golf, a dazzling photo station, and DJ Ben Soto dropping beats to keep the crowd moving.

“We want the word to get out that we can do open consumption events. We are blessed to be able to provide tasting and consumption on tribal land, and it’s something we feel very lucky to have, like a small bird in your hand. You have to treat it respectfully while moving forward, and we take it very seriously,” Pohl explained passionately. 

As Washington State continues to wrestle with regulatory issues including consumption events, on-site and off-site sales for events, and general freedoms like homegrow, it’s important to recognize the work that tribally owned stores are doing to progress freedoms for all Cannabis users and companies. Over the past decade, the Liquor and Cannabis Board has shown zero desire to normalize Cannabis and allow companies the same freedoms as alcohol producers and sellers. As the industry looks to grow, it’s more important than ever before that consumers and companies have the chance to connect, share, and smell Cannabis, and be a part of our vibrant community that, like plants, thrive best outside in the light.

“This is the future of events,” said Chris Taylor, general manager of Joint Rivers. “The tribes are all equal in their opportunity for consumption events or deli-style, and as tribes show that more freedom can come with high standards, we will move policy forward for everyone. We hope these rights spread to all of 502, and we feel lucky to pave the way for the industry and LCB to show how to throw these events safely and successfully.”

jointrivers.com | @jointrivers_

Photos by @sybean

About Wes Abney

Wes Abney is the founder and CEO of the Leaf Nation brand family, which began in 2010 as Northwest Leaf magazine. Recognized as the first Cannabis publication in the region, Northwest Leaf defined and developed the medical and recreational Cannabis communities in Washington with free publications focused on quality content and truthful journalism. The model’s success has led to Oregon Leaf in 2014, Alaska Leaf in 2016, Maryland Leaf in 2019, California Leaf in Spring of 2020, and Northeast Leaf in Fall of 2020. Wes’s writing and publishing background began with his college newspaper, The Ebbtide, which included a love for multimedia and creating content on many platforms. The nickname “Bearded Lorax” came after years of publishing millions of free magazines, using his voice to speak for a plant and those that benefit from it. Wes is an activist not only for Cannabis but for alternative medicine treatments, ending the drug war and freeing prisoners who have been wrongfully incarcerated for non-violent crimes. His passion for reaching people with written and spoken words led to the concept of Leaf Life Podcast in partnership with Mike Ricker, which began development in 2018 and launched in January 2019. With the combined passions of Cannabis and a love for broadcasting, the creation of Leaf Life was a natural progression for Leaf Nation as it spread roots across the United States. With over 100 shows recorded, and printing over 100,000 monthly copies, Leaf Nation has become the world’s largest Cannabis media company, while still celebrating the humble roots and truthful journalism that the model was founded upon. Beyond leading a team of 40+ passionate Cannabis creatives, Wes is the father to two beautiful daughters and two furry cats. He lives in Seattle, drinks coffee, and enjoys Cannabis daily, and hopes to eventually transition from a successful Cannabis journalist to a classic coffee shop author as the Leaf continues to grow in the coming decades. In true Lorax fashion, he enjoys hikes in the forest, communing with nature, and reminding people that “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of Northwest Leaf.

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