Al Capone is a towering name in the business of smoking. For over two decades now, the well-respected brand has delivered consistently and earned more trust among consumers – and cannabis connoisseurs – thanks to their flavorful wraps. In particular with their Leaf Wraps, cannabis smokers can enjoy an especially good, sometimes tasty high.
Al Capone hit the smoking scene in 1996 with their premium cigarillos. In the 28 years since then, it’s almost impossible to go into a respectable smoke shop or liquor store without seeing the brand’s name prominently featured behind the register. When people buy Al Capone, they know they’re getting the good stuff – a natural tobacco leaf hand-rolled and crafted to excellence.
In short, it’s a reliable brand.
Seven years ago, the company expanded with their Al Capone Leaf Wraps. They were meticulously crafted with a slow burn and ease-of-use in mind, ensuring consistency. Moreover, the pre-cut, double leaf layer includes a self-sealing sugar strip, eliminating any concerns. This means you can enjoy your smoke without fretting over your rolling skills; the double-bonded self-stick cellulose/sugar strips ensures a perfectly sealed blunt every time. There is no need to worry about a sloppy or insufficient lick. Simply follow the quick and easy method of 1) Roll, 2) Pull, and 3) Stick. This makes a mellow smoking experience all the more mellow.
The Wraps were originally the only double-bonded self-sealing wraps available on the market, too, so they came out of the gate connecting with smokers immediately. There is nothing flimsy about these Leafs; they’re light yet strong.
There are three distinct flavors to these Leaf Wraps – the Original, Cognac, and Rum. Original for a natural taste. Cognac for soft malty notes. Rum for mellow with hints of fruit. Always fresh without any thick veins, a box of these babies keeps each Wrap in an individual pouch ensuring a consistence in quality and stretchiness. For now obvious reasons, last year all three flavors were on the Top 10 Best Selling Wraps in the United States (MSAi 2023 data).
Courtesy Al Capone
There is not an ounce of artificial sweetness or pesky chemicals, only pure tobacco, and the flavor of the earth. If anyone wants a little extra kick, though, obviously Cognac and Rum is the road to go down. The taste and smell are authentic. Thankfully, never too strong on either front, either. The flavors will not ever overwhelm the taste and smell of the flower. Consider the flavors just stronger as an added bonus – a nice alcoholic cherry on the top, so to speak. At their best, they just make a smoking session fuller and more flavorful. Whatever your flavor of choice, the result is tasteful, not tacky.
Often when you see flavored rolls, well, they lay it on a bit too thick, the result is a bit garish, and it kind of dampens the experience. That is not the case with Al Capone, especially with the original flavor. It’s not remotely bland, just earthy, and smooth.
These flavored Leaf Wraps pair especially well with a tasty beverage or meal. Whatever the experience, a solo smoke session or enjoying a feast with friends, these Leaf Wraps are a low-key enhancer of said experience. Al Capone prides itself on the freedom for smokers to incorporate their products however they want.
“Real, not perfect,” the company boasts.
Courtesy Al Capone
These Leaf Wraps are cared for since day one of their farming. The seeds, the growing, the maintenance, all of it, top-notch across the board. Al Capone purifies their water for the finest growth conditions and only uses all-natural soil. The leaves are then air-cured for the best flavor and color, then hand-picked for the ultimate test of premium quality. By the end of the process, only the best-of-the-best leaves are chosen to hit the market. Hand-picked, mind you.
The above is important for the simple reason that there is a tangibility to an Al Capone Leaf Wrap. As consumers, we know when something is mass produced by a machine or carefully handled by skilled individuals. Sometimes it’s a gut feeling and ya just know when you see it or, in this case, smoke it.
From the inception to the ingestion, Al Capone is more personal for a mass market brand. At such a high commercial level, Al Capone has an independent spirit about them. Whatever the flavor, when smoking one of these Leaf Wraps, the passion is always there behind the construction.
Above all else, it’s just a damn fine way to smoke your cannabis. Roll the REAL way with Al Capone’s All Natural Tobacco Leaf Wraps.
Black Thought was midway through another episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with his band The Roots, a typical Tuesday—at least for him. This time, Fallon was having him freestyle about various audience members for a segment called “Freestylin’ with The Roots.” He rapped off the cuff about a guy who was convinced artificial intelligence is going to ruin the world, an 18-year-old from Tampa, Florida who swore he was an “adult,” and Mark Miller from Indianapolis whose family is competitive about losing weight. Black Thought cracked a few smiles behind his tinted sunglasses and black fedora as the audience roared with laughter, likely unaware of what he’s endured over the last 50 years.
Born Tariq Trotter in Philadelphia, Black Thought suffered a series of tragedies before he even finished high school. His father was murdered before he was a year old, forcing him to grow up with a single mother who battled a crack-cocaine addiction. When he was 6, he accidentally lit his family’s apartment on fire, prompting a visit from the local fire department. His older brother accused the firefighters of pocketing jewelry and destroying some family photos, and a fight ensued. His brother wound up getting arrested, sparking a series of subsequent jail visits. By the time Black Thought got to high school, he was selling crack-cocaine as a means to make money. Once his uncles found out, they shipped him off to Detroit for a new start. When he returned, his mother—still hooked on drugs—went missing. She ultimately turned up at the morgue, having been stabbed to death by a 22-year-old Philly man who lived just a few blocks away from her.
Through all of this, Black Thought found music, more specifically hip-hop. He poured all of his pain, grief, sorrow, love, and every other possible human emotion into his extensive catalog with The Roots as well as his solo work. More recently, he put pen to paper for his first memoir, The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are, which was released in November 2023 and quickly became a New York Times Best Seller. It was a way for him to honor a very conscious decision to be more honest and candid about himself and his journey.
“It was the idea of just getting it out there, which is always a trust fall,” he says. “If there is any transaction, any energy energetic exchange in that fall, right, I feel like it’s still taking place. Even though the story is in the book and the information is there, it focuses on such a specific part of my life and specific relationship dynamics that I know there’s so much more of a story to tell.”
As cathartic as purging negative emotions can be, it’s still no easy task. At one point in the book, Black Thought reflects on finding his mother in a crack den and unsuccessfully trying to pull her out. It was only later he realized he’d developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the entire experience. Somehow, he still managed to carve out a beautiful, fruitful life for himself, the very definition of the “upcycled self.”
“So much happened to me and around me in such a short period of time, and that remains the case,” he admits. “So much so that I can’t even tell you the point at which I became as numb as I am now to loss, which isn’t always healthy… a few years ago, that time still represented the beginning of a self-discovery. I think the pandemic worked in my favor in that way because it gave me time for introspection and to continue to work, but in a different way.”
The world stopped for nearly everyone in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic made its rampage. Artists were suddenly grounded, unable to tour. The concert industry fell to its knees, at the mercy of an invisible monster. But during that period of downtime, Black Thought found therapy and discovered how to become “wise as opposed to wounded.” As he dissects in the book, the arts proved to be his saving grace and helped him digest the horrific events that ultimately shaped him.
“I’ve always talked about how I’ve seen that as my salvation because it presented me with that avenue, that outlet,” he says. “There’s a certain amount of aggression, anger, beef, and all the things associated with it. But I think the biggest jewel for me that I’ve walked away from this process with is the knowledge of the significance of working through the shit.
“As someone who’s always been fiercely private, I don’t know that is always the best policy. You have to talk to someone, right? If you’re not going to go to therapy, and if you don’t have that shoulder to lean on, that person to listen from the right perspective and offer you the right advice, the arts—or any hobby—are great. Mastery of a thing is a great way to work through it. Because I’m able to be selective in the projects that I accept, I try to accept the projects that are going to help me rise to that same challenge. Whether it’s music or a book, it’s all the same sort of thing. It’s using different muscles to serve the same greater good.”
Still, Black Thought had to work through a lot of anger to get to a place of peace, not uncommon when it comes to grief. Again, it was music that provided a lifeline.
“I was definitely angry,” he says. “Because I was so young—I lost my mother between 15 and 16 years old in 11th grade—I believe, even in that, I was mentally mature. But I was young in my years. I discovered Bob Marley, Nina Simone, and got into James Brown really heavily, three artists who had such extensive discographies and who were so dynamically different but all outspoken, profoundly political in their own ways, and that was huge. It helped me get over some of the grief and anger that I felt at that time.”
Even Black Thought was surprised at how well he handled it. After all, he’d made up his mind that if another catastrophic event happened in his life, he’d “go batshit crazy” and “be all the things that people are when they fly off the hinge in dealing with loss.” Fortunately for him, he wasn’t compelled to act out and, instead, focused on the blossoming career of The Roots.
“I’m definitely thankful for the mentorship that I had,” he adds. “I didn’t have a live-in role model, like a father figure in the home, but in the extended community, I had many examples that I’m super thankful for.”
Black Thought turned 50 last year, a number he didn’t necessarily expect to see: “Who at 50 isn’t imprisoned or dead? I feel like there were a couple generations that because of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement, drugs, the War on Drugs, and crack epidemic—there were a couple of generations that were just lost to that. That was my representation. That’s the era that I come from. That’s the place in time that I’m from. So my peers, my classmates, my neighbors, my family members, they all met the same end.”
Despite his mother’s plight, Black Thought hasn’t wrestled with substance abuse and lives by the rule “all things in moderation.” He also believes education is key when addressing drugs and alcohol with the younger generation, but he’s not naive to their pitfalls.
“Everything isn’t for everyone and everybody isn’t going to be able to function under the influence,” he says. “I take long periods of my life where I fast from all things addictive—social media, drugs, alcohol, whatever. Sometimes I go for a year, two years, three years at a time.
“There’s something to be said about having a drink or smoke and then going into the booth or to the drawing board. But when I’m on a cleanse or fasting, I’m productive, just in a different way, and I appreciate the difference. I’m able to with both extremes. But that’s me. And that’s a tolerance that I’ve discovered over 50 years.”
While a lavish “rap lifestyle” often comes with copious amounts of weed, seemingly endless bottles of Moët & Chandon champagne, and more illicit drugs than one can dream of, Black Thought takes a more modest stance.
“I’m never gonna promote drugs or alcohol in that way through my art,” he says. “I’ve never been about impressing that upon the beholder. I think what you do behind closed doors, that’s your business, but I think a greater responsibility comes into play when what you represent in public. It’s been a conscious decision for both Quest[love] and me. I’ve never been big on virtuous profanity. It’s not like I’m not going to curse, right? But I’ve never been big on cursing for no reason where it doesn’t drive a point home. I’ve always been careful what imagery I project and put out there.”
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.
The wait is finally over! The official Kottonnmouth Kings video of 420 2024 is here! Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/your-future-single/1740699038 Art by D-Loc and Joshua Shear of Stoner Way. - ENjOY!
The Michigan horrorcore duo Bio Killaz(Saint Sinna and Klept) returned with an instant classic urban legend inspired EP ‘Bo Peep’. And due to fan demand, Bio Killaz have announced upcoming shows for the Summer of 2024. Including Camp Xul 4! You can peep all the dates Bio Killaz have announced so far, below!
Like any majestic city, you never know what’s happening behind a door in Barcelona, Spain. Someone walking by any given space has no idea what kind of wonderland is on the other side. During Women in Cannabis Presents Self Defense—taught by Gina Contel, Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and black belt, and held during Spannabis 2023—a group of about 30 scrappy women defied stoner stereotypes by learning how to kick ass. After training, they gathered around a Puffco Peak Pro, the “pinnacle of hash technology” for aftercare (the use of topicals is also encouraged) and shared personal pieces of inspiration or, to sound less corny, ways to not only survive in this world as a woman but how to take over.
“The hardest self-defense class you’ll ever take is the first one,” says Chelsea Kossower, vice president of global expansion at Puffco, an acclaimed dab rig company.
Kossower’s job is to travel the world and accelerate hash culture. She also has a side project called Rolladek, a jiu-jitsu content and education platform. Both Rolladek and Women in Cannabis hosted the self-defense event. Women in Cannabis, organized by Giuliana Roldán, is an invite-only movement aimed at fostering a safe and collaborative environment (for all genders) currently operating in nine countries. The Women in Cannabis event comprises two parts: a panel of women from the cannabis industry sharing insights and opportunities for newcomers. The second part is dedicated to a women’s self-defense class, underlining the importance of self-protection skills alongside professional networking and relationship building. The Barcelona event was located at Atos Jiu-Jitsu Barcelona, one of the best jiu-jitsu academies in Europe.
High Times Magazine, April 2024
For Kossower, jiu-jitsu is the first activity that matched her passion for cannabis because of the community. Her resume is intimidating, although she doesn’t like to assign the word “intimidating” to the sport. She explains at first, that when the self-defense class was announced, she received feedback that folks were scared of what they imagined to be intense combat. But she convinced them to attend.
“They had us lined up against a wall, and then one by one we had to go up against [world champion Contel],” describes workout aficionado and hash maker The Dank Duchess, who attended the event last spring. “At first, it’s kind of intimidating. But I gotta say, cannabis always brings us together. Fighting over the course of an hour and learning and being open-minded and open-hearted, it felt really good. It was a good way to end the cannabis trip.”
Duchess was new to self-defense but very familiar with combining cannabis and working out, two topics which, to the uninformed, are strangers, perhaps even characters who shouldn’t meet.
“It’s generally men that give you some shit about it,” Duchess says.
But thanks to science, even that is changing. In a groundbreaking study from January 2024 by the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), researchers found that legal, commercial cannabis positively influences exercise, making it more enjoyable. Focusing on 42 runners, the research delved into participants’ cannabis consumption and its effects on their physical activities. This study, featured in the Sports Medicine journal, suggests an increasing normalization of cannabis use in fitness despite ongoing debates in the sports sector. Laurel Gibson, the study’s lead author and a research fellow at CU’s Center for Health & Neuroscience, Genes & Environment (CUChange), sums up the findings: “Using cannabis before exercising seems to heighten the mood and enjoyment during the workout, regardless of whether THC or CBD is used.”
While the women in last year’s cannabis class aimed at general self-defense, the influence of jiu-jitsu, which emphasizes technique over brute strength, is undeniable. Jiu-jitsu is a martial art that focuses on grappling and ground fighting. While it originated in Japan, jiu-jitsu was later adapted and popularized in Brazil, known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). Jiu-jitsu teaches how smaller people can successfully defend themselves against a larger assailant through technique. Brazilian jiu-jitsu has achieved significant global popularity in the sporting realm and is frequently regarded as a crucial element in mixed martial arts (MMA) training.
“The point of the seminars is to create distance from your attacker. God forbid, you’re past that point; we teach you how to fall properly so you’re not breaking your neck and hitting your head,” Kossower says.
The self-defense class covered what to do if someone grabs your wrist and (God have mercy on them) what to do if someone tries to put their hands around your waist in a club.
“Never are we encouraging people to fight or hurt people,” Kossower says. “We’re simply giving them the tools they need to create distance and get to safety.”
While the self-defense and dabs seminar was a unique, one day class, if attendants decided that they liked the class and would like to explore jiu-jitsu further on their own, it’s a win-win situation.
“It’s mainly to give them a few skills that could potentially save their lives one day,” Kossower says.
According to UN Women, about 736 million women, which is nearly one out of every three, have faced physical and/or sexual violence. Women who have experienced such violence are at a higher risk of suffering from depression and anxiety disorders, not to mention post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a plethora of other health consequences. The majority of such violence comes from former husbands or intimate partners. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Black women in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by such violence.
“I would like to say, yes, I’m Wonder Woman, but sometimes the world is scary,” says Roldán.
Roldán also works with Puffco. Born in Colombia, Roldán has an intimate relationship with cannabis, which she describes as vital in treating her anxiety.
“I’m very into indigenous culture, and I truly love all the ancient plants and all the real medicine that comes from nature,” Roldán says.
For her, such medicine helps with stress by reinforcing her own strength.
“Self-defense makes you feel empowered like, ‘OK, I’m strong, I can do it. I’m not afraid of this situation.’ We empower the women, create a safe space, create networking [opportunities]. We come together because together we are better,” she says, adding how important that is for women in a male-dominant industry.
While Roldán is talking about cannabis, that industry could just as well be combat sports. According to MMA Facts, the audience is predominantly male. For instance, studies have found that MMA audiences are roughly between 75-90% men and 10-25% women. But combat sports are embracing at least one female: the psychoactive cannabis plant.
In January 2021, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced a significant update on its stance on cannabis use among fighters. The leading MMA organization announced a major amendment to its anti-doping policy, indicating that fighters would largely not face penalties for cannabis use. This decision stated that the UFC would no longer concern itself with positive tests for THC, unless there is evidence that a fighter used marijuana deliberately to improve performance.
What most people, both amateur and professionals alike, have come to realize is that cannabis can be immensely beneficial when performing athletic activities.
“Because your brain is relaxing, your emotional state changes,” Roldán describes.
At first, jiu-jitsu was very difficult for Roldán due to mental blockage manifesting as anxiety. There’s overthinking, overthinking, and more overthinking. But as Duchess details, anything that has to do with body movement and getting your mind right and getting your body right is always going to be a good step because those two components work hand in hand. But when the participants add cannabis to self-defense (while it was only officially sanctioned after class, most consumed before and during), in the words of Roldán: “Everything just flows. I believe in myself more. I feel more confident. I also feel more happy.” At the end of the session, seated together, engaged in the millennia-old tradition of puff, puff, pass, the primary emotion described was pride.
The event organizers are currently making plans to bring it to as many other locations and communities as possible. Learning self-defense, paired with dabs, can help you settle into your body. It makes grappling with black belts less intimidating. It teaches women how to physically protect themselves from an attacker. Women like Kossower describe cannabis and jiu-jitsu as the loves of their lives, their two favorite communities, only improved when brought together through community.
But there’s one more desperately important reason for adding dabs to self-defense, whether through your own local community or a Women in Cannabis event: It’s fun. And not just silly fun, but spiritual, transformative, stepping into a secret wonderland kind of fun.
“Jiu-jitsu kills your ego. It allows you to get comfortable being uncomfortable, and it teaches you to be proactive and not reactive. And I think those were the biggest things I was able to take away from the mats and apply in my everyday life,” Kossower says. “And one of the biggest ego killers in the world is also cannabis, right?”
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.
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