Smoke Signals

You ever feel like that scene in the Tarzan movie? You’re washed up on shore, the splinters of a broken ship swirling in ocean waves through your sand-planted hair, that PTSD-drunk captain mumbling “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault.” Yeah, burnout isn’t just for...

Marvin Gaye. He’s smokable, and let’s just lay it on its face, ladies: he’s the finest aphrodisiac in the vinyl sack of stacks.  Capitalism, politics, dish sink stink, not so much. Blame erection dysfunction on election dysfunction, MSNBC killing the mood one hard-on...

Wipe away a steam oval in your living room window with the soft-pleather elbow pad of your organic made-in-Vermont llama sweater. See any winter outside? Yes, it’s okay to vomit internally and wish you were butt-ass naked on a Carribean surfboard mooning dolphins...

Casa Nueva, a restaurant in Southeast Ohio known by locals forever quintessentially as “Casa,” has this fantastic blend of salsa. They simply call it “Mild.” Calling this salsa “Mild” is a culinary understatement. Sure, it isn’t hot, but “Mild” does little to capture...

When we say “People have forgotten about herbs,” we mean it with the same passion, the same shocked awe, as one might muse, for instance: “People have forgotten about JNCOs.” Remember JNCOs – those huge raver pants in the 90s that made your legs look like denim circus...

“Rye, Rye, Rocco Marco Esquandolas Been you to have any spike, man?” Oh yes we do. Because when Phish launches into “Run Like an Antelope,” you know you’re about to take off. It’s the rush of adrenalin van in a jam, a sprinting of vibrant guitar-bounding instinct into...

Life’s a blur – a rocket ship soaring through space-time. All you can do is hold on to your ass, feel the centrifugal force curl your nose hair and wonder what it all means. And if you think too hard, all the meaning slips through your fingers like grains of sand in...

We didn’t name our Amazon Bear Blend after the Earth’s largest, most magnificent rainforest just because it was cool. Featuring over half of the planet’s rainforest, the Amazon speaks to the kind of magic this blend aspires to.  One of our most flavorful blends, our...

Hey you! You on the phone! Yeah, you – the talking ape with that Johnny Bravo Elvis curl, staring at a Buck Rogers’ handheld computer, scrolling cute puppies, political spam-smack, tight pants Tik Tok videos. Are you happy? For the money, you should be. As Americans,...

Our Mintz blend centers on an enchanting herb that invigorates the senses with an aroma that’s downright magical. Like many herbs, Mint grows like a weed – a sensual, sexy, spellbinding weed, but a weed all the same. Plant it anywhere, and it just doesn’t stop. Mint...

“Where is the love to be found? Won’t someone tell me because life, sweet life, must be somewhere to be found, instead of a Concrete Jungle.” Bob Marley lays out the Rastaman’s dilemma thick and on point. Whether you’re living in a square of concrete cement in LA,...

Your Bear Blend care package just arrived in the mail like a care package from your California hippie aunt. You open the tin and breathe in the fresh herbs filled to the brim. They’re so light and fluffy they just seem to bounce with the scent – the aroma of the...

Smell something burning? Could be your lunch, the gig economy, and/or (most likely) Coyote’s tail – lit like a shish kabob marshmallow for a s’more from Hell. Best to inhale and pass to the left. Playing with matches, Coyote lights his fur ablaze because fire is fun...

Open your third eye – see inside the Within.  Transcend the Cerebral Cerebellum of the Mystic Mind, connecting the magical realms that call to us all.  As Radiohead sings:  “Everything in its right place.” “Sucking on a Lemon.” “There are two colors in my head.”...

Listen to your mother – not only the woman who brought you into this world, but the green globe of Gaia who gave birth to the garden of creation.  There is a reason women tend to be more connected to Mother Earth. “That’s right, the women are smarter,” tunes the...

The dream world’s calling to our hidden, inner psyche – it teaches us secrets we need to know. Dreaming is the washing of the unconscious, where desire, fantasy, and fear rinse our mental essence and release us from the toxins of life.  We cannot survive without...

Open a tin of organic Bear Blend. The light fluffy herbs are nature’s perfect picture – the green of chlorophyll blended in an herbal cornucopia. These smoking herbs are the stuff of Middle Earth – the perfect toke for a Hobbit after second or even third breakfast,...

Have you ever heard the expression knock on wood? Ever wonder where it came from? Before cities and cars and the constant background hum of engines and lights buzzing in the distance, people were much more connected to nature — because that is, after all, where they...

It’s a crazy world. As the great and wise bathrobe sage Ferris Bueller once told me: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Here’s a tid-bit of brand new science you might have missed: Weed might just ward off...

Maybe you could get to sleep — if only your inner 8-year-old would settle down and shut the fuck up. But it’s 2 a.m. And that little bastard just snorted crushed-up Smarties off a Pokemon’s butt — guess who's ready to party. Yet you need sleep — physically, mentally,...

“Mr. Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away.” “Paradise,” the John Prine song, might as well have a sequel, starring the Hopi and Navaho Indians.  First, Mr. Peabody hauled away Paradise, “that backwards old town in Western Kentucky, down by the Green River,” in a...

Breathe.  In, Out — In, Out... You’re a son or daughter of the Earth. The Sky believes in you. You’ve got this.  Want in on a little secret? You’re not the only one going nuts spiraling this blue ocean marble around the sun, especially these days. As the Cheshire Cat...

Trust instinct. Intuition is a divining rod. Have faith in what your body tells you is true.  Are herbal cigarettes good for you? That’s a Colt .45 loaded question on the other end of Clint Eastwood. They aren’t water. They aren’t air. The FTC likes to point out they...

Bah humbug? Go ahead. Tie reindeer antlers on your dog. Lie right to little Cindy Lou Who’s face and burglarize her family. Nobody would blame you. Not even a mouse. Because all this Christmas kitsch can sizzle the tatas out of your retinas like Aunt Myrtle’s Rudolph...

Fun Thanksgiving fact! The only time history mentions Pilgrims and turkeys in the same breath is when 16-year-old William Granger was hanged for buggering one. Hate to bust Grandma’s gravy boat, but turkey was not on the First Thanksgiving menu — not unless you’re...

Today is Veteran’s Day. It’s the 11th day of the 11th month. This day feels important for some reason. Why? Here are 11 reasons why we should take some time today to reflect.1) History November 11th, 1918 was the day that the Armstice Agreement was signed ending World...

Life sucks sometimes. Capitalism can kill your mojo like the last few lines of a Tarantino movie script. Screaming babies. Shaved women collaborators. The IRS levies your paycheck like a junior high Zeppelin cover band and hurts your freaking soul.  We’ve all been...

Death is pretty trippy. Lick it — Death will fly you to Mars, Venus, and back again. If the C.I.A. could bottle Death, they’d quit their day jobs, go on tour slinging veggie burritos and “What the Fuck? It’s Only a Buck!” grilled cheese. Sure, they manufacture it like...

​Labor Day — it's not all hotdogs and ketchup. There’s blood on that damn weenie.  Men and women fought and died to make the proverbial Wilco-Woody Guthrie soundtrack to your day off. Enjoy it. The fact of the matter is, Labor Day was earned by sweat, blood, and...

A woman lights up at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, B.C., last year on April 20.  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckIn California, weed’s supposedly legal, at least technically, theoretically, in a “the Universe is actually a donut” sorta way. Cheech and Chong won the War on...

Smell that wacky tobacky. No, not the jolly green ganja. If you read early accounts of white people’s first encounters with tobacco in Pre-Colonial America, the Natives were totally spun off their gourds. Rip-tripping, super-Cali’d frazzled, sizzle jizzled — spun to...

CBD is one of the most popular health and wellness products on the market, and there are a variety of CBD-infused items that are ideal for a summer day. Whether you’re searching for a surprisingly fun way to remain indoors and survive the heat or stay hydrated and...

Hey you! You with the phone! Smile. No, they’re not laughing at you. They’re smiling for you.  We swear. But nobody would ever know it because they’re mosquito-sucking away at their phones. Pucker up, Buttercup. Problem is these days, nobody can see 3 inches beyond...

Good morning. Spark up an herb tree. Sip some coffee, tea or any sacred rite that suits you. Lean back and say “Ahh….” This Memorial Day, remember: You’re not the beginning. You’re a breathing continuation of a grand manifestation. You are your ancestors' dreams. Or...

My name is Anthony Singing Bear. My great-great grandmother was Apache.  I feel deeply connected to a spiritual community of Native American musicians, ceremonialists, and activists.  With that being said, I do not identify as Native American.  I was born and raised...

Happy May Day! Now get naked and make love to your neighbor. It’s tradition. Throw in enough Pagan into the mix, and May Day, otherwise known as the Festival of Beltane, is not exactly your PG rated elementary school party of spring blossoms and flower baskets. Held...

You’re cruising over the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco, windows down, 60 m.p.h., and the entire Pacific Ocean smells like a Phish “Makisupa Policeman” set 1 opener.  It’s 4/20 at 4:20 — that moment every stoner in the Cosmos simultaneously sparks up like...

Close your eyes.  Dig down in, deep inside. We'll wait. Be your mind: Are you spiraling down a rainbow waterslide, cascading along that DNA double helix to the wonder-gasm at the brain base of your spine? If not, you’re doing it wrong. And by “it,” we mean life. Carpe...

God is a stoner, too. On the third day, 20 after 4 in the afternoon, She invented cannabis and bliss, music, melody, and the Here-Ever-After. Seriously. Cannabis is a gateway wonder plant. It does so much shit, you’d think science was stoned off its gourd. Your third...

Certain song lyrics crystalize a raindrop — a rolling truth pebble — synthesizing everything you need to get by, to believe in, “to give me just a little sweetness, just a little sweetness, just a little light.” That lyric from Brent Mydland, whom some would argue was...

This Valentine's Day, Smoke a Peace Pipe With Your Enemies. They miss you.  Why haven't you called? In these down and dreary days of the pandemic, time starts to run together like a Willy Wonka river of COVID snot. No shindigs, few people, nothing to do. You’re caught...

Got an elf scraping the bottom of your cannabis jar in the middle of the night?   Guess what? That elf is you. If all that’s left come morning are a few glittery crystal crumbs too small for a mouse to pack a onie, point fingers all you want — your 3 other...

  Mugwort is a beautiful aromatic flowering plant that is used around the world for its medicinal and health benefits. Named for the Greek moon goddess Artemis, Mugwort refers to more than 200 varieties of plants within the genus Artemisia. There are several...

  Legal Weed's New Jim Crow — Healing Communities   History rhymes like a four letter word.  Let’s break out our history books — turn to the letter F. The early days of Mary Jane prohibition will make you swear like Popeye. Crack open the early 20th Century, when...

CBD is like the TikTok of the cannabis and herbal communities. Everyone’s heard of it, nobody’s got a freakin’ clue what it actually does, and we’re not entirely sure it’s legal in Kansas.  (Just kidding: As of this writing, Kansas is cool with it — so long as it has...

FreeMinds: Herbal Smoke, Institutional Prison & the Freedom Within   “Free your mind, and your ass will follow. The Kingdom of Heaven is within.” Baby, you can say that again: Funkadelic was onto something. (Or maybe on something. Reportedly, that entire album was...

Wormwood’s Absinthe: Is Artemisia an Herbal Cure for Coronavirus?   Could Artemisia wormwood — the main ingredient in absinthe that flies you high as a kite — be used to treat or potentially cure the Coronavirus? The President of Madagascar seems to think so. ...

"The Pipe is us!  The stem is our backbone, the bowl our head, the stone our blood... The opening in the bowl is our mouth, and the smoke rising from it, is our breath, the visible breath of our people.  All of the Great Spirit's Creation, the whole universe, is in...

COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis, but it’s also an incredible opportunity. How herbs can help us reconnect, and remember who we are, what’s really important. Humanity's slowing down. The clouds have parted. Can you see yourself yet? I’m starting to. The other day,...