Dope Design: A New Book Explores the Aesthetics and Activism Behind Contemporary Cannabis Culture

Despite global efforts at legalization, marijuana remains a tricky topic: In some places, smoking pot canland folks in jail, with Black folks making up adisproportionate amountof those arrests, while in others it’s part of everyday life. As more states and countries open up to legalizing cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes, a parallel wave of aesthetic innovations has risen to cater to a particular subset of cannabis consumers: well-heeled, design-savvy users who seek and appreciate the wellness benefits of cannabis.

Thanks to legalization efforts and the rise of “Big Bud,” theworldwide market for cannabiswas $10.60 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow to $97.35 billion by 2026. Meanwhile, global demand for marijuana hassurged during the COVID-19 crisis, particularlyfor edibles.

Against this backdrop arrivesHigh on Design(published by Gestalten), a new coffee-table book that highlights many of the top brands and key players now defining the high-end marijuana products industry. These players are launching products that appear more like design pieces than hippie accoutrements.High on Designtakes readers through the history and science behind this controversial plant, while showcasing projects that every design-and-cannabis aficionado will appreciate.

The cover of the soon to be releasedHigh on Design

High on Design, gestalten 2020

The book is more than an exploration of the cannabis lifestyle, it’s a source of inspiration for artisans or impresarios exploring this rapidly growing business. And activists will enjoy it too: Each chapter echoes a cry to review drug prohibition policies and normalize marijuana in an age where demands for social justice are percolating at every level.

Touching upon the essential elements of cannabis culture, the book is filled with images from visually striking cannabis companies. There are the retro-style branding references used byOld Pal—a California-based cannabis purveyor—along with upscale handblown glass pipes like the those produced byLaundrydayand the ceramic bongs created bySummerland,它可以装饰ob的两倍大jects (i.e. flower vases) or the elegantly tasty goodies fromDéfoncé infused edibles.

High on Designalso features herb dispensaries like West Coast leadersMedMenandSerra—which look and feel stylish like boutiques selling perfumes or the latest tech gadgets—along with media publications such asBroccoliandGossamer, two platforms that are redefining the way we write about ganja.

Broccoli Issue 4, cover art by Adrienne Kammerer and Aurelians by Nong Rak, Broccoli Issue 6High on Design, gestalten 2020

This book was born out of a need to place cannabis in a new light—from both a political and a legal perspective, but also in a cultural sense. Whereas cannabis consumers were once stereotyped as lazy stoners andcriminals, today people from all walks of life—from the creative to the entrepreneurial—have rediscovered the plant and its purportedmedicinaland psychological benefits.

Consumers are also beginning to discover the physio-social aspects of marijuana—from the all-importantendocannabinoid system, which can regulate sleep and appetite, to aroma-impactingterpene profiles, to thereligions that consume weedas a sacred ritual to connect with the gods. They’re all chronicled inHigh on Designnext to products and pieces that we may one day soon begin seeing at the next Salone del Mobile or Maison Objet. Long gone are the days of flower-power paraphernalia: The future of weed is here.

Preorder now; official launch September 8, 2020. For more information, follow@gestaltenand @rodrigueztarditi.