Happy Hour Tokes

It’s 4:20 somewhere, but not at your desk today. Late meetings, looming deadlines, and family responsibilities mean that decompressing with a big hazy bong rip just won’t fit into your schedule. You know being high as a kite would probably make the day harder, but dang, the ritual of sparking up sure would feel good.

You could shame yourself for seeking stress relief, or overindulge to escape the legit monotony of modern existence, but have you considered other cannabinoids?

Here at Garden Party, people often tell us they love the ritual of smoking a joint but don’t want to wander through daily life totally stoned. We wholeheartedly agree! A big blast-off smoke sesh is fun, but it can make a busy day even more difficult. That’s why we’ve been on a real CBG kick lately.

You’ve likely heard about CBD, the federally legal cannabinoid that can support sleep, pain, and anxiety relief without the intoxicating effects of THC that you’d find in a joint passed around a campfire or sold at a dispensary in a legal state. CBD is one of more than 100 naturally occurring chemical compounds found in all cannabis plants called cannabinoids.

CBG is one of the most recent cannabinoids to sweep through the federally legal cannabis scene. People who consume CBG in a tincture or smoke CBG-rich hemp flower often say they feel alert and clear-headed with an increase in focus and energy.

Early research indicates CBG has the potential to reduce inflammation throughout the body, address symptoms of ADHD, inhibit the growth of some cancerous cells, stimulate appetite, manage glaucoma by reducing intraocular pressure, and reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines. A 2021 patient survey indicated a majority of patients found CBG-dominant products effective in treating their chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia, among other conditions.

CBG For You & Me

One of our favorite ways to savor CBG flower is in a mini joint. Most of the time a few puffs is all we want before digging into a new project or meeting up with friends. That’s why we were especially intrigued by Happy Hour from New York cannabis brand Gossamer. These packs of seven CBG mini joints seemed like an invigorating yet non-intoxicating option for folks who want to relax with a jay and still seize the day.

We thought these joints might be perfect for wake and bake, a late night study sesh, or first date puff—times we seek physical relaxation but want to stay alert so we can remember the good stuff. Of course, we had to try the joints for ourselves. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta Garden Party for the people.

I sparked Gossamer’s CBG joints in a few different settings and experienced uplifting bursts of creativity and focus. The enhanced brainstorming seshes brought fresh ideas and I fully remembered the details of lively conversations the next morning. Taking a 4:20 break still felt indulgent, but with an added mental clarity that made the rest of the evening fully functional and actually quite delightful.

The cute green and gold snap pack of Happy Hour CBG joints earned its place by my laptop and on my coffee table. I didn’t fully understand why until I had a chance to chat with Gossamer co-founder Verena von Pfetten.

The Road of (Hemp-y) Trials

The folks at Gossamer searched high and low for a CBG strain that could take the edge off the day without the fogginess of a typical afternoon sesh. Finding the CBG White strain at Sonoma Hills Farms in California was a true hero’s journey.

Von Pfetten was on a quest to locate a hemp farm that could grow high-quality CBG flower for Gossamer’s new Happy Hour joints. She and her small team diligently sampled strains and reviewed the Certificates of Analysis that verified the potency and purity of each one. After much consideration, they selected a farm and moved into production.

When they received the samples in Gossamer’s packaging, the joints and corresponding COA were not up to their standards. Even though they had invested in packaging and marketing, they decided to pull the entire production run just two weeks before the launch date.

“It was absolutely terrifying,” von Pfetten remembers. “I picked up the phone and called Nathan from Rose Los Angeles, who is a dear friend. I sometimes think of him as like my weed godfather.”

That same afternoon, Nathan Cozzolino connected her with the folks at Sonoma Hills Farm in Northern California. Sonoma Hills uses organic and regenerative farming techniques to produce some of the finest vegetables and cannabis in the region, grown without pesticides under the California sun.

Sonoma Hills’ CBG White strain had floral notes of camomile, vanilla, and peppercorn, plus an impressive terpene profile that includes Bisabolol, B-Caryophyllene, Guiaol, Humelene, Nerolidol, Myrcene.

At long last, Von Pfetten found the CBG flower she was seeking. Gossamer’s mini joints were transformed by the journey and returned home with renewed freedom to live in the lungs of people near and far.

CBG in Asheville and Beyond

Cannabis has the potential to help us live in the moment, neither regretting the past nor anticipating the future. Federally legal cannabinoids like CBG may offer that respite without intoxication so our minds can be open to a myriad of possibilities even in Prohibition states like North Carolina where THC is not legal.

“Sometimes that conversation becomes really binary where people treat hemp products as lesser than,” von Pfetten says as we wind down our conversation about Gossamer’s CBG mini joints. She believes education around hemp-derived products is essential to appreciating the benefits of cannabis in all its forms. “They're not lesser than, they’re equal.”

Let Garden Party be your threshold to exploring federally legal cannabis. We’d love to share our favorite ways to enjoy invigorating CBG, mellow CBD, sleepy CBN, and even mildly intoxicating THCa and solventless Delta 9 tinctures and edibles—all third-party tested by accredited laboratories and vetted by community members just like you and me. 

Let Garden Party be your threshold to exploring federally legal cannabis. We’d love to share our favorite ways to enjoy invigorating CBG, mellow CBD, sleepy CBN, and even mildly intoxicating THCa and solventless Delta 9 tinctures and edibles—all third-party tested by accredited laboratories and vetted by community members just like you and me.



If you’re ready to learn more, stop by the shop to talk about what you’re seeking from plant medicine. We’d love to help guide you on your cannabis journey!

Hemp plant and hemp farm photos courtesy of Sonoma Hills Farms. All other imagery by Sunny Chen for Gossamer.