This article is part of a series of historical perspectives about the legal cannabis industry.
Magazine covers and the artists who create them capture a moment in time. As a body of work, they present a historical perspective on people, places, industries, and ideas. Here are some of our favorites, the moments they immortalized, and the story behind the image.
With Enlighten, deceptively homespun Kentuckian Jeremy Jacobs introduced dispensaries and product brands to a whole new marketing paradigm that quickly became a de facto standard: an in-store, interactive digital advertising network. Anthony Mongiello perfectly captured Jacobs’s unique cerebral-country-boy charm. Jacobs sold the business to Weedmaps in 2022.
Mother of Invention November 2015
Jill Amen was a Jill of many trades when she co-founded House of Jane, an early entry in the beverages segment of the industry. Offering infused brew-it-yourself coffees, teas, and hot chocolate, the company generated significant buzz because its products were unique. Photographer Jeff Forney shot Amen against a “green screen,” and Creative Director Angela Derasmo dropped a stylized menu board behind her for the cover image. Amen left HoJ in 2017.
Scandal Sheets February 2016
Former Playmate of the Year Dani Mathers was a rising Hollywood starlet when a social media scandal derailed her career. The issue on which Jeff Forney’s studio shot of her appeared was on the press when news broke she’d been charged with posting covert images of a naked senior citizen in a gym locker room. After a second conviction for a similar shaming incident later in the year, both Mathers and the company she co-founded, CannaPro, disappeared.
To create the lush background for Advanced Nutrients founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael “BigMike” Straumietis, Thomas O’Brien photographed the enthroned icon against a “green screen” and mg Creative Director Angela Derasmo isolated that part of the image and dropped it into a jungle. The horticulture king’s company is a powerhouse, but perhaps even more notable is Straumietis’s devotion to philanthropy. Humanity Heroes, which he founded in 2014 to bring relief to the unhoused in Los Angeles, sponsors operations worldwide. During the pandemic, the organization expanded to deliver hard-to-find protective equipment to first responders.
As with most of mg’s early shoots, photographer Jeff Forney captured Bianca Green, an activist and founder of the nonprofit media platform Spark the Conversation, on location—in this case, her boho-chic Los Angeles bungalow. A former fashion model (as Bianca Barnhill) who hung out with high-profile glitterati including Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, and Rachel Zoe, the “Anna Wintour of Weed” proved equally at home in front of and behind the lens, later producing groundbreaking documentaries The Culture High, Mount Kushmore, and Living the High Life.
A record number of legalization ballot measures arose across the country in 2016, including in unexpected places like deep-red Arkansas and North Dakota. (Both medical measures passed.) A month before the election, mg’s “Pot & Politics” issue featured the first cover illustrated by a notable creative: comic-book and conceptual artist Jason Johnson. Although he’s most well-known for his classic work with the DC and Marvel franchises Generation X, The Flash, Impulse, and Robin, Johnson’s work also has adorned The Source, Maxim, Stuff, and Penthouse.
Photographing multiple people is risky, requiring extra time, patience, just the right atmosphere, and a photographer and crew skilled at putting subjects at ease. Thomas O’Brien’s cover shot featuring the women of Yummi Karma perfectly captured the ebullient, young, and attractive group, and the name of one of the company’s female-focused product lines, High Gorgeous, was a fitting title for the issue. Clockwise from top left: co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Chelsea Kitahara, Chief Communications Officer Alysia Sofios, co-founder and CEO Krystal Kitahara, and Chief Marketing Officer Kymber Ward.
Thomas O’Brien’s shots of teacher, consultant, artisan, and activist Frenchy Cannoli—renowned the world over for his hash-making techniques—captured a man at home in his own skin, despite his disbelief anyone would be interested in photographing him. Humble by nature, he charmed the entire crew with tales about his world travels in never-ending pursuit of knowledge. “I felt like I was in the presence of a wizard,” photographer Thomas O’Brien said. Cannoli passed away in July 2021 due to complications following surgery. He was 64.
Oakland, California, Mayor Willie Brown Jr. dubbed Steve DeAngelo “the father of the legal cannabis industry”—and for good reason. The redoubtable co-founder of Harborside Inc., the Arcview Group, Steep Hill laboratories, and Last Prisoner Project has been an influential force behind more than a few seminal industry moments. Artist, muralist, and product designer David P. Flores’s cover illustration—in the signature style he calls “stained glass”—lent an air of both playfulness and permanence to a source photo by Jamie Soja.
Rube Goldberg’s fantastical machine illustrations have inspired generations of artists and inventors, and one of them stepped up to illustrate a complex topic for mg’s first issue devoted to concentrates. Juvaun “J.J.” Kirby’s pencil sketch depicting the arcane art of extraction continues to fascinate viewers five years later. Kirby is a fan favorite in both Marvel Comics’ and Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars universes; his covers are collectible. During his more than twenty-year career, he also has created notable work for DC Comics, Visionscape, and Warner Bros.
When multi-talented Jim Belushi was ready to step up promotion of Belushi’s Farm, his publicist approached mg about coverage. We were happy to oblige, and James Banasiak’s rugged cover photograph was a first for a trade publication. The profile inside offered readers an uncommonly candid look at a seldom-seen side of the actor, comedian, director, producer, singer, and entrepreneur. Belushi’s latest project, the docuseries Growing Belushi, just concluded its third season for Discovery Channel.
Known to her tribe as @ImCannaBess, Blaise Creative founder Bess Byers continues to be one of the top Instagram influencers working in cannabis. Upbeat, creative, and relaxed in front of James Banasiak’s lens, Byers’ choice of wardrobe made this cover one of the most talked about in mg’s history. We chose the shot because it reflected her playful personality. Unfortunately, the word “stoned” on her T-shirt was perceived by some activists as perpetuating unfair stigma. Yes, we got letters.
Labeling rapper Berner “just another celebrity cashing in on cannabis” would be a mistake. The Cookies co-founder and CEO (born Gilbert Milam Jr.) is a brilliant business tactician, insightful and deliberate about every move he makes. High-profile celebrity and fashion photographer John Russo captured the lifestyle mogul on location inside the storied Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, between sets during a day-long recording session. Founded in 2018, Cookies operates forty-five retail locations in five countries.
One is liable to find all kinds of random thoughts inside the unconventional mind of Canopy Growth Corporation founder and former Chairman and CEO Bruce Linton. Writer Christopher Jones found him to be candid, cerebral, and a bit zany. Canadian photographer Vadim Daniel faced the challenge of capturing all of that on film at Linton’s home. Linton loved the results; in fact, he still uses one of the shots on his personal website. Since leaving Canopy, the unflappable entrepreneur has founded and exited at least three other companies.
Gavin Antill’s animated illustration for 2021’s cultivation issue played on all the pastoral tropes … with a twist. The South Africa native’s genius for creating works that seem simple but actually are slyly complex lends itself to inside jokes and high concepts. The cover perfectly introduced the issue’s content, which addressed challenges facing outdoor legacy farmers and the industry’s growing imperative for sustainable agricultural methods.
By 2021, mg’s semi-annual survey of the top employers in the industry had become an eagerly anticipated event. Even in a world upended by a deadly pandemic and harsh economic realities, cannabis companies proved people are the heart of their business. As an industry, we refused to be cowed, and Cody Muir’s animated cover illustration teemed with vitality. Muir, whose clients include The Washington Post, BBC Science Focus, Adobe, and Politico Europe, is an award-winning illustrator specializing in atmospheric scenes.
Award-winning London-based illustrator and animator Andy Potts created a cover that looks back at readers for an issue revealing the people mg’s team believed would make major impacts across vital areas of the industry during the coming year. Potts’ bold style blending textures, photography, and 3D lent the cover a sense of urgency and purpose. In addition to mg, his clients include Barron’s, Car and Driver, The Economist, the Evening Standard, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
mg’s studio team does everything in its power to ensure all cover shoots go smoothly, even if that means stepping way outside their normal roles. Creative Director Angela Derasmo figuratively donned a maid’s costume after arriving early to find a remote location cluttered and littered with dirty dishes. By the time cover subject B-Real arrived, no one was the wiser. Pursuing one of his first assignments for mg, photographer Josh Sep captured the Cypress Hill frontman and Dr. Greenthumb’s founder and CEO “just being himself.”
Trulieve co-founder and CEO Kim Rivers is one of the most powerful executives in the industry. As one of the few women at the top of a publicly traded corporation, she walks a tightrope between investors, employees, and consumers—in high heels. Smart, savvy, and remarkably relatable, Rivers steered her company to nineteen consecutive quarters of profitability. Photographer Kira Derryberry captured an executive who embodies what data consistently show: Companies led by women often outperform those led by men.
Don’t let the cover fool you: Both of Cann’s co-founders earned master’s degrees in business administration and are Very Serious Businessmen. Otherwise, their infused-beverages company wouldn’t have taken off like a rocket with celebrities, consumers, investors, and the media. But Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson wholeheartedly believe in having fun, and that gives their brand a special resonance with its target market. Photographer Josh Sep captured the vivid, quirky, and proudly queer essence of both the entrepreneurs and their brand.
As artificial intelligence (AI) exploded, mg investigated how the technology is used in the industry today and what innovations may lurk on the horizon. The magazine’s staff decided to test AI’s potential for themselves. For cover designer Manifesto Art, experimentation with Midjourney resulted in a striking image. In fact, most of the images in the issue were products of AI-assisted tools. The editorial team, on the other hand, remains firmly convinced some jobs are still best handled by humans.
