Culture
Miss Marijuana: Canadian Beauty Queen Alyssa Boston Is on a Mission to End Stigmas
Alyssa Boston is a woman on a mission. The 24-year-old Canadian beauty queen is using her platform to start a conversation on ending stigmas around mental illness, competing in pageants — and cannabis.
While she doesn’t actually smoke weed, Canada’s crowned Miss Universe caused a media uproar when she wore a sparkling cannabis-inspired look during the 2019 Miss Universe competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cannabis Aficionado spoke to her about breaking stigmas, social media and of course, that costume.
CA: How was your Miss Universe experience?
Alyssa Boston: It was an amazing 10 days in Atlanta. My roommate was Miss Israel. She was amazing, we had a really good time.
You caused a media frenzy with your national costume; a shimmery, glittery, beautiful cannabis leaf. Tell me more about that.
Canada doesn’t have a set national costume, so we had to think of something that I wanted to do. We’ve had a Canadian maple tree, a snow angel and a hockey player. When we were deciding on the costume, we wanted it to be more than just 30 seconds on stage — we wanted it to be the whole movement behind it. It’s a huge representation of what’s going on right now in Canada. I thought it was perfect to shine a light on it at Miss Universe.
No one in the history of Miss Universe has ever done anything that controversial. One day, six of us girls were sitting at the dinner table at Miss Universe, all talking about my costume — it was the talk of the town! Everyone had an opinion on it. Miss Columbia loved it. Miss Uruguay was jealous she didn’t think of it first.
Alyssa Boston onstage during Miss Universe. PHOTO | Miss Universe Organization
I bet!
Miss Indonesia was like, ‘Don’t come near me with that costume!’ Because her country would not be OK with it. It’s kind of cool to have that conversation.
Definitely. That’s funny, though. Miss Uruguay…
She was so mad.
Did the people of Canada support it?
For sure the cannabis industry was very supportive of it. We thought the public would be 50/50 about it. But, actually, we saw about 95 percent of people supported it. I had a lot of positive comments, a lot of people thanked me for touching base on it. More people are accepting of cannabis now and were very happy that I was using my voice to spread the message about ending the stigma that surrounds it
How did you come to working with designer Neftali Espinoza?
Neftali is pretty well known in the pageant industry; he’s actually made Canada’s costume for Miss Universe for a couple of years. He does Miss Nicaragua, too. My director is also a good friend of his. The design changed a couple of times, as we wanted to work together with my team and the designer to create something we all liked. I thought it was a good finished product.
You focused your Miss Universe campaign on ending stigmas including mental illness and cannabis. Why is it important that you use your platform to highlight difficult conversations?
I think it’s important to talk about these issues and use my platform for these conversations — especially since Miss Universe is such a high-profile, international pageant. I’ve been competing in pageants for seven years and during that time, I’ve learned what I’m passionate about.
My uncle suffers from schizophrenia, so ever since I was a kid, I’ve been surrounded by mental illness. I always thought it was important to talk about it — especially with social media being so prominent today.
Alyssa Boston repping Canada and cannabis. PHOTO | Miss Universe Organization
You started the #TalkAboutMe movement on social media to spark discussion around mental health. Can you tell me a little more about that?
When I hang out with my uncle in public, a lot of people are really rude to him because they don’t understand that he suffers from mental illness. I don’t think people are understanding and they are not open to accepting that. If someone had a physical disability, they’d be more lenient to help them. But a mental disability is not as apparent to some people and they don’t treat them properly.
It sparked my interested in creating a movement about just talking about what’s going on in your life, especially using social media. Lots of celebrities use hashtags in their movements that open people’s eyes. Competing in Miss Universe means I could reach a greater scale of people to talk about mental illness. With the #TalkAboutMe hashtag, a lot of people have been like messaging me, telling me about their experiences with mental illness and how they want to talk to somebody about it. I wanted to shine a light on the fact it’s OK to not be OK — and that it’s OK to talk about what’s going on here in your life. That is definitely a rising issue that I wanted to use my platform to talk about.
Speaking of celebrities… Some of the biggest celebrity stoners are Canadian; Tommy Chong, Seth Rogen and the Trailer Park Boys. Have any of them reached out to you about cannabis?
I haven’t talked to any of them. But I’m going to an event at a cannabis company in a month and Tommy Chong is going to be there. So I’ll definitely get to meet him there and hopefully, we can talk about some cannabis. David Spade mentioned the costume on his talk show. And Steve Harvey liked it when we were at Miss Universe and he saw my costume.
Alyssa Boston, Miss Canada 2019. PHOTO | Supplied
You recently toured Aphria, Canada’s largest grow facility. How did it happen? Did anything on the tour surprise you?
I want to learn a lot more about the largest cannabis firms operating here in Canada. A friend of mine knew somebody that worked there, so I talked to my team and pitched the idea to Aphria to do a video tour. So, the CEO took us on a tour. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many people worked there. And the smell when you walk in is so strong!
You hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Do you have any plans to launch your own line of cannabis?
I’m very interested in being an entrepreneur. I have a business background, so I’m very interested to learn more about how the cannabis industry went from being illegal to legal. I’m feeling out the industry right now but it’s definitely something I want to look into in the future. For now, I’m just doing as many events as possible, public speaking as much as I can. And hopefully, I meet the right people and create my own line.
Culture
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Culture
Green Street Festival: The World’s Best Cannabis, Food & Music All In One Place
On May 13-14, Green Street Festival will bring the city’s top restaurants, the state’s leading cannabis brands, and the world’s top entertainers to celebrate the cannabis community. The event marks a historic moment: Los Angeles opening its doors to consumer cannabis events.
This year, the event is partnering with the Emerald Cup to bring the 18th annual cannabis competition to Downtown LA. Industry thought leaders and a roll call of who’s who of the cannabis industry and culture will judge the very best from a list of categories.
Rama Mayo, founder and creator of Green Street Festival says the partnership is a convergence of two massive powerhouse entities in the culture of cannabism and the heritage and community of the Emerald Cup will enhance the Green Street experience.
“Cannabis will always be the headliner,” Mayo said in a press release. “There is no greater recognized symbol of excellence in the weed nation than the Emerald Cup Awards and we are thrilled to share the stage at our inaugural event with them in this partnership. Gary, our team, and I could not be more proud to partner with their organization as we bring the best cannabis, food, and music to one place.”
Emerald Cup founder and author, Tim Blake is absolutely thrilled to join the Green Street Festival and lift the awards to the stage of the largest cannabis market in the world, and be a part of this historic moment for Los Angeles.
“This triumphant return of our annual live awards show is our first entrance to Los Angeles and we could not have chosen better partners for this debut,” Blake said. “Rama and his team at Green Street have created a powerful ecosystem and they’ve done a wonderful job in creating a platform of engagement for us to shine. We’re eager to unify our northern and southern communities as we raise the Cup and recognize the best of California Cannabis.”
The ‘Academy Awards of Cannabis’
The California cannabis market is stronger when united and the 2022 Emerald Cup Awards will bridge the gap between the NorCal and SoCal markets, providing more opportunities for farmers and brands and new options for consumers.
The panels include a diverse cast of leading experts, journalists, scientists, activists, celebrities, and cannabis aficionados. Globally recognized as the “Academy Awards of Cannabis,” judges are exclusively hand-selected to test out a variety of cannabis products created by California’s best cultivators, extractors, and movers and shakers, looking to be crowned best in class in their respective categories. This years’ categories include flower, pre-rolls, solventless concentrates, hydrocarbon, cartridges, edibles, alternative cannabinoids, tinctures, and topicals. Additionally, the judges will be looking for winners for other categories including the most innovative product, eco-conscious packaging, and cannabis photography.
The competition entry window is currently open and the application deadline has been extended to Friday, February 11, 2022, at 4:00 pm PST. A full spectrum of cannabis excellence will be chosen based on specific criteria including the smell, taste, look, and the high, carefully judged under strict discretion.
Green Street Festival Lineup
The brainchild of Gary Vaynerchuk & Rama Mayo, Green Street Festival expects over 7,000 attendees with special performances by Juicy J & Friends, Gary Vaynerchuk, Harry Mack (Live) and many more to be announced.
Day one of the fest is a VIP event at the Green Street Building, a 67,000 sq ft cannabis business epicenter complete with a once-in-a-lifetime performance with Harry Mack and Gary Vaynerchuk.
Day two of the festival is at a historic outdoor venue in Downtown Los Angeles featuring a Keynote from Gary Vaynerchuk, plus an incredibly special performance lead by Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist Juicy J. Exclusive food offerings will be available from the city’s best restaurants & chefs including Yeastie Boys, Afters Ice Cream, Gusto Green, Petite Peso, Broad Street Oyster Co., Shrimp Daddy, and Uncle Paulie’s Deli. Contemporary artist Cody Hudson created and established the visual identity of the festival.
Tickets for this inaugural event on May 13th & 14th are available now at GreenStreetFest.com.
Culture
VIBES X Kaya Herb House Collab Launches in Jamaica
Vibes, the rolling paper brand co-founded by entrepreneur and rapper Berner in collaboration with Gnln, announces a collaboration with the Kaya Herb House for the holidays. Featuring lifestyle goods and premium rolling papers, VIBES x Kaya Herb House furthers both brands’ missions to create the ultimate experience for connoisseurs.
VIBES x Kaya Herb House marks the first common project between the two brands, which have a shared goal of educating consumers on a premium smoking experience and creating meaningful experiences around the cannabis lifestyle.
The Kaya Herb House franchise was founded in Jamaica by “Bali” Vaswani, who had established Marley’s Estate coffee brand in the United States. VIBES x Kaya will be available at the Herb House in Kingston, Jamaica, which features the first medicinal Ganja herb house in the Caribbean and offers locally grown herbs and straight-from-the-farm extracts line as well as a taste of world-renowned cuisine and juices at the cafe and pizza restaurant.
“This marks another milestone for the VIBES brand. We are thrilled to partner with such an industry legend, together introducing an authentic experience to Jamaica and bringing attention to the history of the industry in the Caribbean,” says Vanessa Vanjari, Brand Manager of Vibes.
The collaboration features rolling papers, apparel, and accessories for the global wellness traveller, including co-branded hemp king size skinny booklets, tee shirts, and a pizza cutter. The slogan “Build a Vibe” is stamped on the VIBES x Kaya rolling papers, a play on both a popular Jamaican catchphrase and VIBES’ signature “Catch a Vibe.”
Each piece in the collection contains a retro graphic style of a plane that pays homage to the history of cannabis in the Caribbean when smugglers flew cannabis for the black market over the coasts of Jamaica and Florida. Smuggler planes would drop packages into the water, gaining the name “Square Grouper.”
VIBES x Kaya is a month-long collaboration that launches on December 17, 2021 at the Kaya Herb House in Kingston, Jamaica.