Nice Times with Mennlay and Lauren ✨
Alexa Stark tee from Broccoli's In Bloom festival, vintage Hawaiian quilted pillow from her grandma, and Shinji, one of her multiple cats. Photographed by Anja Charbonneau.
It’ll come as no surprise that Broccoli Mag is one of our favorite publications (they have a mushroom insta, so, perfection). In their latest venture, Broccoli Talk, Broccoli Mag graces Spotify playlists with a bi-weekly podcast that explores the world of weed, hosted by "your weed BFFs" Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey and Lauren Yoshiko.
Mennlay (yes, first name basis with these two), who wrote a book that’s a Venn diagram of our greatest interests, The Art of Weed Butter, lives in Mexico City. Doing everything from writing to founding Cents Sin Fronteras, a pop-up dinner series “supporting migrant folx at the borderlands,” Mennlay has spent the last 14 years as an interdisciplinary cannabis creative. Lauren Yoshiko is the mind behind some of your favorite articles for publications like Rolling Stone, Forbes and more. A freelance writer, editor and creative, Lauren is based in Portland. If you haven't listened to Broccoli Talk, we recommend starting with Episode 2 where Lauren and Mennlay recount what it was like to harvest weed as women in both pre-and-post legalization markets. Allergies, hilarity and revelations ensue.
Spotted at the vanity: Lauren’s ring collection, a bud-sized keychain from Seoul, the Quill CBD pen, a Barbari Herbal Spliff, MAKE Marine Lip Repair, on vintage pieces found around Portland.
We asked Mennlay and Lauren what makes them feel nice, their weed experiences and, of course, their favorite munchies.
Mennlay's tray: rolling papers by Flower by Edie Parker, pipes by Laundry Day, tray and lighter by VerdeVie.
Sign/Pronoun/Location:
Mennlay: Double Gemini/ She/Her/Mexico City, Mexico
Lauren: Pisces/She/Her/Portland, OR
What are you proud about right now?
Lauren: Broccoli Talk! Not just getting to co-host, but getting to do it in the purest, most DIY way with the Broccoli crew.
Mennlay: The youth's ability to spearhead most and all of the changes we see happening in the world. Not proud of them using vapes, tho.
What are you proud about right now?
Lauren: Broccoli Talk! Not just getting to co-host, but getting to do it in the purest, most DIY way with the Broccoli crew.
Mennlay: The youth's ability to spearhead most and all of the changes we see happening in the world. Not proud of them using vapes, tho.
What does “wellness” mean to you?
Mennlay: Rather than wellness, I subscribe to my ancestral knowledge. In a non-performative and natural way, I tap into ancestral knowledge from the matriarchs in my family who have shown me how to care for my body, in line with my specific needs and DNA. Ancestral knowledge can also come from plants and herbs that have a long history of keeping humans healthy.
Lauren: It can mean setting aside an evening to make a 4-course meal for one, or a bath and a sheet mask, but sometimes it’s giving myself a reality check and refusing an assignment because I'm stretched too thin, or I haven’t seen girlfriends in too long.
What was your first experience with weed?
Mennlay: My first experience with weed was when I was 14-years-old, outside of a roller-skating ring in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I smoked a blunt with a much older guy who later doubled as my dealer and "play" boyfriend. He and I eventually broke up but weed and I are still together.
Lauren: I think, technically, my first time smoking was around 15, out of my cousin’s homemade bong that involved some hollowed-out bamboo and a lot of electrical tape. But it wasn’t until the first week of college, smoking a joint along and getting all reflective, that I really enjoyed it for the first time, rather than smoking because my friends were.
What do you like using? Any favorite brands?
Lauren: After a long stint of spliffdom, I have to admit I'm a bong girl. A simple, straight-shot glass bong with a filter in the downstem. I think I have a Grav piece right now. I miss the days of group outings to head shops in college (I went to UC Santa Cruz, that was the equivalent of brunch for us), so I love any excuse to go somewhere local, smell incense, and play with all the bowlpieces.
Mennlay: Vintage Jesus has epic vintage pieces cherry-picked and perfectly curated from Mexico. All of the material in their new line, Les Jesus, is also made from vintage and classic made in Mexican fabrics. I'm here for functional and sustainable brands; like Genusee Eyewear that makes eyeglasses from recycled flint water bottles, or 100% recycled cotton sweatsuits by EVERYBODY.WOLRD, and well-designed smoke wear by Laundry Day. By and large, I'm striving to buy less and re-purpose more. What does "wellness" mean to you?
It means back to basics. Because I work for Lulu Lemon I have so many opinions, but it really means from the earth. For how I take care of myself, I take herbal supplements. That goes back to how I was raised and it’s about looking to the earth and movement. The industry has become so whitewashed and when these learnings and techniques come from indigenous and Black cultures it’s frustrating to see. Wellness is access, education and tradition. Blend that with a therapist ensuring you have downtime.
Time is my legit answer and recognizing when you need to step away and breathe and take a look at what’s happening.
To me wellness isn’t an ointment, it’s mental with mental fixing the physical.
What skincare products do you swear by?
Mennlay: I earn Mexican pesos so you won’t catch me in these streets buying expensive overly hyped skincare products. But I swear by Ghanian-imported shea butter. I massage it in my skin and hair. It’s also become my favorite base for cannabis-infused topicals.
Lauren: This is not a very exciting answer, but a super simple, affordable line called Face Reality. It’s referred through dermatologists, but most of the basic line can be ordered online. The Calming Toner and Hydrabalance are both aloe vera-based, and feel like the bare necessities without anything extra. When I go a morning without the Hydrabalance, it's like wearing jeans without panties.
Spotted at the vanity: Lauren’s ring collection, a bud-sized keychain from Seoul, the Quill CBD pen, a Barbari Herbal Spliff, MAKE Marine Lip Repair, on vintage pieces found around Portland.
What do you wish people understood about weed?
Mennlay: We cannot continue to launch boring-ass whitewashed weed brands on the backs of black and brown bodies who've built this industry–without implementing strong initiatives that address this head-on.
Lauren: Nothing is black or white; sativa or indica. Your favorite strain will have wildly different effects depending on a hundred different variables. You have to explore and experiment until you find out what works for you. So long as you shop by grower, processer, or transparent manufacturer—don’t be duped by packaging.
What do you admire most in your friends?
Lauren: I admire them for the way they’ve already mentored, hired, promoted, and vouched for others, thriving brighter as they help other womyn thrive.
Mennlay: Their generosity–with their time, fairness, humor, good taste, and support. I’ve been yearning for more personal time to turn inward. It’s been good to have friends who understand that we all need personal time and space to generate the energy it takes to be a good friend. Especially in this crazy world.
Favorite munchies?
Lauren: A salty tie between sesame seed-y Korean seaweed and homemade popcorn.
Mennlay: 1. Soda water 2. Gummy candies. They’re called gomitas here in Mexico.If you're not feeling nice, what do you do?
What's the advice you want to listen to more?
Lauren: Pack your lunch.
Mennlay: I think it would behoove us to collectively sit all the way down–talk less–halt from giving advice, and just work on ourselves.
If you’re not feeling nice, what do you do?
Mennlay: A nap often helps.
Lauren: Getting lost in a very good movie. Either a stunning drama that makes me cry or an extremely smart and fucked up psychological thriller too twisty to take my eyes off of.