Watts Up Maine

Sometimes Dudes be like…. “Wasssup maine?”

I tell ‘em …lots of parties and weed and vibes and barbecues.

New England means a lot of things to a lot of people, and for most people in New England, Maine means weed.

Most of the New England states are, for one reason or another, problematic when it comes to cannabis and having cannabis parties and social consumption. Of all the old colonies, the least restrictive is certainly the great state of Maine.

Maine also allows for some amount of psychedelics (usually psilocybin mushrooms) and so as a result people who are looking to experience that sort of thing like to visit Maine, where access is very easy.

Now running a cannabis operation in Maine isn't exactly a blunt walk in the park or anything. The wholesale price of cannabis has dropped dramatically and it’s very difficult to operate a successful cannabis business because of regulations, restrictions, prohibitions, and of course saturation problems.

Not to mention, that’s it’s a highly competitive market and with relatively slim profit margins, and now with a crippling 100% increase in energy costs.

That being said, probably nowhere in the country has it better than the Mainers for cannabis cultivation and consumption.

It’s a state where there’s a high percentage of farms and farmers, and one with local access to valuable ocean derived fertilizers, and humic rich manure fields and with good planning, long enough summers to grow tons of cannabis outdoors.

Maine also has a great scene for folks into jam bands and “EDM” dj’s. There’s no shortage of private-ish summertime get togethers in vacation land.

This past Earth Day, I had made it over to Lisbon Falls for a big event that was happening in town. Among other things it was their annual blues jam and then later in the evening, the word on the street was the homies from Instellar RabbitHole would be spinning some bass heavy jams deep into the night. Even the events organizer, bassist Matt Chourinard, sat in on sets with pretty much everybody, and made running everything look easy.

There were tons of local vendors artists and even food trucks set up when I got there. Also there was a official barbecue bar and grille on site. Kind of a cool biker crowd and everybody was just hanging out having a good time.

It seems wherever you go in New England there are lots of folks blowing glass and making artsy crafts, and so you’re always sure to see interesting glassware under the many ubiquitous vendor tents.

Early on in the day I was smoking blunts and listening to the community blues Open jam, which by the way was incredible. Some really great players, many with beautifully kept antique guitars. By the evening the remaining crowd was more of the younger “EDMephers” and so by dusk the space was totally transformed. The giant video wall and laser machines were in full effect and the bass was pumpin’.

I was able to check in with local promoter Dru Finesse of Art Life Studios , who had come out to support the event. Finesse has had great success in the Portland area and is now moving out making big things happen all of New England I love how the folks here support each other and build off one another.

Finesse had recently thrown the winter wake up weekend ,

where they rented out an entire resort near Sturbridge village in MA, hosting a three day poolside dance party event in February. It was bananas!!!

As a result of all these folks making it happen, many talented and aspiring performers producers and djs are getting some great opportunities to reach huge crowds as well. The whole thing is beautiful.

This particular individual crowd was interesting. On the one sticky hand, you’ve got the older folks, many of whom were here specifically for the blues jam and may or may not be open to the use of cannabis.

(It’s worth mentioning that in Maine cannabis doesn’t have the same stigma as most places as it’s becoming very well known that cannabis is very good for total health and especially elder care.)

On the other hash hand, you have a bunch of younger folks there smoking ganja and getting local food and crafts while waiting for the “big dance party” to get going.

The Earth day event folks had set up laser lights and a video wall with dramatic lighting. …..please keep in mind that all took place in a giant rural parking lot in the middle of unassuming small rustic coastal town.

Many of the locals had come out with small display tables and their own handmade crafts, the majority of which had nothing to do with cannabis. One lady had made cowboy hats out of discarded beer boxes, she had like hundreds of them and people were buying them like hotcakes.