Asian culture is far from a monolith; the continent encompasses countless ethnicities, cultures and religions. Every Asian American diaspora experience is unique.
Though the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience is incredibly diverse, one deeply American value connects all of these stories: freedom — the freedom to honor their roots while forging their own futures with the Cannabis plant.
Karlyn Laulusa of Noa Botanicals
Karlyn Laulusa’s roots reflect the rich diversity of Hawaiʻi itself: Native Hawaiian and Samoan, with mixed ancestry. Growing up, her community cultivated pakalolo. But the war on drugs hit hard through Operation Green Harvest, when helicopters hunted outdoor grows and federal raids swept Hawaiʻi in the 1970s.
After the trauma of prohibition, her ‘Ohana initially discouraged her from entering the legal market. Still, in 2014, she became CEO of Noa Botanicals on Oʻahu, one of only eight licensed Hawaiian medical Cannabis companies.
As the first-and-only Native woman CEO of a Hawaiian-Cannabis company, Laulusa brings cultural understanding and lived experience to leadership. She is currently a medical program caregiver and champions local genetics, Indigenous plant medicine and a future where Hawaiʻi becomes a world-class Cannabis tourism destination.
noacares.com | @noabotanicalshi
Derek Fukuhara of High Rise
Raised in Orange County, California, Derek Fukuhara transitioned from professional skateboarding into Cannabis media and events. After years of creating content with his friend Erin Coffey, they launched High Rise Agency in 2019, producing campaigns for brands like STIIIZY, Wonderbrett and Seed Junky Genetics.
Fukuhara’s story is shaped by generational resilience. His father, a second-generation Japanese American, was born in an Idaho concentration camp during World War II, where his family was forcibly detained after over 120,000 people of Japanese descent were stripped of their rights and property. Like many families, they rarely spoke about the trauma after returning home to nothing.
Influenced by his professional photographer father, Fukuhara embraces the Japanese philosophy of “Shokunin”: dedicating one’s life to mastering a craft through discipline and refinement. That mindset helped shape his own photography and the many cultural stories captured by his lens.
highrise-agency.com | @highrise.agency | @derekfukuhara
Maha Haq of UCLA CannaClub
Maha Haq has built a career at the intersection of Cannabis, education and community. As founder of UCLA’s CannaClub, she helped expand the organization to more than 60 chapters across 17 states. Now, she hosts her Twitch channel HighMaha, consults for Cannabis businesses, works with Los Angeles’s Social Equity Program and writes for VICE Media.
Raised by her immigrant mother in a Pakistani-Muslim household in Greater Los Angeles, Haq grew up with little Desi representation. At her high school, most students were Chinese American; she was one of only three Desi students. She found belonging among a group of fellow Asian American outsiders she jokingly called the “Asian rejects.”
When Haq was caught using Cannabis at 16, her scientist mother unexpectedly asked her to write a research paper on the plant. Impressed by the results, she was invited to present at the cancer clinic where her mother worked. Haq eventually got her master’s in medical Cannabis science.
At UCLA’s CannaClub, many members were Asian American students seeking an accepting Cannabis community. In 2022, Haq hosted a “Diwali & Dabs” event, bringing together South Asian and Cannabis cultures in an inclusive space.
cannaclubatucla.org | @cannaclub.ucla | @highmaha
Jerry Chu of Vibe with Chu
Vibe with Chu, created by Jerry Chu, has built a massive following through Cannabis-centered food and lifestyle content across multiple platforms. Combining culinary skills, stoner humor and global travel, Chu has documented adventures across 38 countries and counting.
Born in Taiwan, Chu ended up in Torrance, California, at age 10 when his parents unexpectedly returned home without him from what was supposed to be a family vacation. They had hoped that American citizenship and education would lead to a better future. Unable to speak English and struggling to adapt, he found comfort in cooking with his grandmother and the multicultural food scene around him.
In college, Chu began using Cannabis while figuring out his future and dealing with the pressures of cultural expectations back home. In Taiwan, Cannabis remains taboo, classified as a narcotic under the term “dupin,” meaning toxin.
On April 20, 2022, Chu launched his stoner cooking YouTube channel despite knowing his parents would disapprove. The gamble paid off. Today, his Puff Puff Pack subscription boxes include hemp products, accessories and Asian munchies.
“Kids used to make fun of my lunches,” he laughed. “Now everyone wants prawn chips.”
vibewithchu.store | @vibewithchu
Leo Stone of Aficionado Estates
Leo Stone is known for his legendary Cannabis genetics rooted in Humboldt County, California, which is expanding into a global hempire. Born to a Filipina mother and American father, he spent ages 7 to 20 living in the U.S. naval base near Yokohama, Japan. The mix of Navy-brat life, the Filipino migrant community and local street culture shaped Stone’s adaptability, a skill he relied on while serving in Iraq, and later in the Cannabis industry.
After using Cannabis to manage his PTSD while stationed in Germany, Stone was destined to end up in the Emerald Triangle. During an era when the region was infamously known as Murder Mountain, Stone leaned into his racial ambiguity and ability to code-switch to thrive. After over 20 years of breeding and cultivation, he has won 48 awards.
As the industry globalizes, Stone has grown far beyond Humboldt. He now works internationally as CEO of seed company Aficionado Estates. With projects in Canada, Colombia and Spain, plus worldwide consulting, Stone draws on his global background to shape the future of Cannabis culture and cultivation.
aficionadoseeds.com | @aficionadoestates
Melchor Manibusan of Guamsterdam
In the Pacific, the U.S. has three inhabited island territories: American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Residents are American citizens, but cannot vote for the president.
Guam is over 6,000 miles away from the mainland. Despite the island’s stoner culture, strong Catholic influence initially made Guamanians wary of Cannabis. Melchor Manibusan, of Indigenous Chamorro blood, made local history by hosting the first 4/20 party at his shop Coffee Slut when adult use was legalized in 2019. Founder of Guamsterdam, a nod to his Dutch roots, his vision is to create a legacy cultivation, retail and lifestyle business on the island.
For decades, Guam was a luxury destination for wealthy Asians. Today, the streets are empty. Manibusan welcomes any mainland operators that meet the five-year residency requirement to set up shop.
“It would make us a tourist destination again and create jobs. And if anyone comes to the island with ill intentions, we’ll take care of them,” he said with a wink.
