As the seasons change around the release of this new issue, that also means the trees and leaves all around the state will be turning from a shade of green to orange, among other vibrant colors. Fall in Baltimore can look and feel a little different for everyone, but for Samantha Stinchcomb (@sstinchcomb), she always has a little orange around her. Orange drink coasters on her living room table, a small orange bulldog statue that occupies its own little corner of the room; it’s a familiar and special color for her — it was her parents’ favorite color as well.
“My dad’s color was orange, their color was orange and orange is my color too, if you couldn’t tell,” she said as she began to laugh.
Stinchcomb grew up in Baltimore County and attended Catholic school through eighth grade before moving on to an all-girls high school. Being in a tight-knit class of about 82 girls taught her about culture and respect, she said, but at the same time she was figuring out how to process the loss of her father and be there for her family.
“Losing him at 13 forced me to grow up sooner than everyone around me,” she said, adding that while the loss taught her to be more independent, it showed her how fragile life can be and to be intentional with how you express how you’re feeling to someone. “I’m a big fan of ‘I love yous’; I learned that being up-front with people is the best way to secure your relationship with them,” Stinchcomb shared.
After graduation, she went to the University of Delaware and earned a degree in English with a minor in organizational and community leadership, both of which she still finds herself applying throughout her work and personal life today. Writing has always been something she’s loved to do since she was young, and it has remained an outlet for her to stay creative and be introspective about her life and the world around her.
“I’m a strong writer, and I’ve always had a thing for storytelling,” she said. In addition to writing in journals and blogs, she wrote for a satirical publication in college called The Black Sheep. “My writing style is very creative-nonfiction reflective … it’s based around real-life experiences,” she shared.
In her junior year of college, Stinchcomb had the opportunity to study abroad and travel around to a few different countries. With six months spent overseas, she developed a love for traveling and was fascinated with how easy it was to move around Europe. After finishing college, she became a certified English as a second language teacher and took a job in Florence, Italy. She later worked for a travel company, selling trips to students studying abroad and accompanying them.
“When I studied abroad, I didn’t use a company like that. I traveled on my own and got familiar with navigating trains and planes; it’s fun for me,” she said. She wanted to give the students, and herself, the best and most unique experience possible. “I’m a big believer in that there’s no one way of doing anything. Everyone brings their expertise and experience to the table, and you can get to Point B through a lot of routes,” Stinchcomb added.
When she moved back to Baltimore after her time in Italy, she had planned to move to Australia and started bartending at Barracudas in the city to save up some money. As the bar stayed open through the coronavirus pandemic, she started taking on more responsibilities there, like marketing and finances. It was around this time, too, that she connected with Wyatt Early, director of Maryland Leaf, who recruited her to write an edibles review for the magazine’s December edition.
After finishing the article and talking to some people about what the industry might have to offer for her, she was inspired to move into an industry job full time and started as a brand rep for Holistic Industries. After wanting to see more tangible results in her work, she pivoted to wholesale and worked as an account manager with companies that include Culta and Alchemist before settling into her current position as an account executive with Green Thumb Industries.
As she began onboarding with her current job in late 2025, Stinchcomb’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Almost overnight, Stinchcomb was thrust into the role of being a caretaker on top of navigating her new job. Sitting and talking with her mom during chemotherapy treatments while multitasking with orders on her laptop was terrifying, she recalled, but in the moment, it felt like it was what she was supposed to be doing. When her mom passed this past February, Stinchcomb continued to show up and work, but admitted it was hard going through each day missing the anchor of parental figures to help guide and reassure her.
“You have to establish that anchor within yourself. You have to take everything they taught you in that time and try to encompass it,” she said. “There’s not a lot of resources out there on being an orphan before 30.”
She added that having a large group of friends, family and co-workers constantly checking in on her and stepping up for her helped her to realize it was OK to be vulnerable and ask for help, even when she felt like they didn’t have to. “I don’t think anyone can get anywhere by themselves, and I think one thing that’s worked for me is having my people,” she said.
While she readily has a small table set up with a bong, dab rig and a couple of jars of flower ready to be consumed, Stinchcomb’s go-to recently has been prerolled joints. Dogwalker-sized prerolls, she said, have been just the right amount of flower for things like walking her dog or taking a breather in between work meetings.
“I’m definitely more of a hybrid smoker; I like a lot of limonene strains,” she said, adding that Afternoon Delight #4 is her current top strain.
With most of her family located near or around Myrtle Beach, Stinchcomb said her goal is to eventually move closer to them while keeping a foot in the industry around the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In addition to her travel commitments, Stinchcomb wants to contribute more to Growing & Going as she enters her 30s. She started the platform that features entries regarding her life story and what she’s learned, combined with navigating the many facets of the Cannabis industry and the plant itself, which she wants to lean into more with her growing industry experience.
“I’d like to take it into, like, a Cannabis consulting direction, with a lifestyle and wellness kind of vibe to it,” she said. These elements naturally go hand in hand. But with these plans to write and travel, she wants to continue showing up as a professional in her field and a symbol of strength among her peers, all while her parents continue to watch over her from an orange sunset.
“I just want to make sure my lifestyle can maintain being able to see friends and still handle my work and work for a reputable company,” Stinchcomb said.
