The other day I had the opportunity to visit the Galenas grow facility in Akron. I had an excellent time talking to the tour guide and asking questions!
For example, I found out the reason the Artifacts jars are kind of sticky on the outside is because of the ink-intensive, layered printing process used in-house to make the labels. I also found out that the weed that Hobbits and wizards smoke in The Lord of the Rings is called Galenas, which is what the company is named after.
While I was hanging out in the break room, one of the employees appreciated my Alestorm shirt and told me he was a huge fan of the band!
During the tour I wasn’t able to find out if Galenas will be moving up to eighths instead of tenths, but I am sure it will happen at some point. However, the rep confirmed that they intentionally weigh their tenths to 3 grams in order to avoid selling slim sacks. I appreciate that, as there have been too many times where I’ve weighed a bag of legal weed only to find I bought less bud than I paid for.
While being guided through the Galenas grow facility I was shown many plants in various stages of growth and processing. The best part of the tour was hanging out amongst the plants with mature buds. They all looked and smelled out-of-this-world, including the colorful Electric Peanut Butter Cookies and stunning Street Tartz, but my favorite was called The Bridge.
The Bridge not only had striking stalks but it smelled of fresh, creamy terpinolene. There was a sharpness to the scent that overwhelmed my senses.
Terpinolene is among my favorite terpenes for smell, taste and effect, so the next day while at a dispensary, I felt compelled to purchase a tenth of The Bridge to sample for the site. It weighed 2.97 grams and featured a high amount of CBGa, which is a cannabinoid I usually don’t see in high amounts when shopping for flower. I associate CBG more with gummies than flower.
This particular batch of The Bridge was harvested on April 20th, 2026!
The Bridge from Galenas
According to the packaging, The Bridge’s lineage is Street Guru x 1987. When I broke open the sack, it smelled sweet, sharp and slightly piney. The terpinolene grew tough with this tree. If you are someone who hates terpinolene, you may want to tread with caution while crossing The Bridge.
The bud reflected light and medium green hues and had lots of jagged pistils along with plenty of THCa-containing trichomes. It was sticky and dense yet gave a nice squeeze. There was minimal stemmage. When handling and smoking Galenas flower, you experience living proof that they use living soil and no pesticides while growing their cannabis.
The packaging featured the Galenas wizards crossing a bridge while walking towards a series of fantastic castle-like structures. I was told by the Galenas rep that it usually takes many tries and rejections before the Ohio Division of Cannabis Control approves their artwork for production.
The Bridge bud broke up beautifully. There was no dust or depression as a side effect of running this stuff through a grinder. It packed up nicely in my High Intentions glass chalice. My fingers were stickified as a result of handling this stuff.
The Bridge packed
While The Bridge was burning I had a wonderful walk. With each step of my stride I grew higher and higher. The burn quality left nothing to desire and the ash color got whiter and whiter. The taste peeled back my face, which is why I smoked every crumb and left nothing to waste.
The effects were sativa-leaning. I was beaming and dreaming up ideas for this review. I felt a heady high, so inspiring and true. My stomach ache shrunk and my goals were in view.
Some people have told me they’ve seen batches of the Bridge that have contained even higher amounts of terpinolene than the batch I sampled for this article.
Burnt Bridge
I gave The Bridge from Galenas a 9/10 for taste, 3/10 for harshness, 8/10 for strength, 8/10 for smell strength and 90 minutes for length of medical effects.
Total THC 22.40%, total CBD 00.05%, delta-9 THC 00.61%, CBDa 00.06%, CBGa 2.02%.
Terps (mg/g): Terpinolene 5.06, s-Limonene 1.86, TransβFarnesene 1.3, β-Caryophyllene 1.22, β-Pinene 1.21, β-Myrcene1.17, Linalool 1.14. All seven listed terps are over 1 mg/g, which in my opinion is some pretty high terp content.
Harvested 04/20/2026, tested 05/27/2026 by North Coast, packaged 06/02/2026, expires 04/19/2027.
I would like to personally thank you for visiting the site, reading the articles and providing feedback (and weed to review!). You all inspire me to continue forward with new articles and strain reviews.
While growing up, I would read High Times, Cannabis Culture and Weed World magazines all the time. They would sell them to me at corner stores and smoke shops even though I wasn’t 18. I would study every page, every article, every photo and absorb each issue front to back. I was astonished at the fact a publication like this could exist even though weed wasn’t legal. How did they get away with it? Freedom of the press protected by the First Amendment.
Now that weed is legal in Ohio I can openly talk and write about the subject that I have been interested in for so many years. I have my own version of High Times magazine, and I have a dedicated group of readers and followers that enjoy each article and look forward to the next. It is a dream come true.
I have given away thousands of Bill’s Bud Blog stickers to countless stoners across multiple states. During Rosin Fest 2025 at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds I gave a random guy a sticker who then said he works for King City Gardens and already had the sticker in his truck!
The Northeast Ohio Rosin Fest took place in Berea on June 7th, 2025.
In Akron I once gave a sticker to a guy who happened to work at the Canton Bojangles. He said “Where have I seen this sticker before…oh yeah! My manager at Bojangles has a few of these hanging in his office!” I remembered visiting Bojangles a few months prior and giving some stickers to the manager, so it’s hilarious that he put them in his office and his employees see them daily.
One guy told me he put the sticker on his hard hat at work. His boss saw it and made some sort of snarky comment, and now his boss knows he is a stoner. The guy kept the sticker on his hard hat despite the heckling.
His boss eventually asked him “Can you pass a drug test?” The guy said he doesn’t give a fuck what the boss says because he is in a union and if they fire him he will have another job the next day. This guy is great! I appreciate his danked-out dedication and intrepid interpretation of reefer repercussions.
Another man said he had a Bill’s Bug Blog sticker on his hard hat as well. His boss liked it and said “Just don’t smoke on the clock.” The guy’s response was “When I am on break, I am off the clock!”
A seven-foot man that I gave a sticker to said he also intended to put it on his work hard hat. I’ve had many people stick my slaps up at concert venues, bars and restaurants. Lots of readers have told me they put the stickers on their laptops. One girl collects them in her sticker book.
I’ve had musicians tell me they put Bill’s Bud Blog stickers on their guitars, guitar cases and other musical gear. A girl told me she put the sticker on her vinyl record player. There have been fans that have added my slaps to their notebooks, desks and sticker walls.
There was even one girl who said she put the stickers on her mirror. Water bottles have also been a popular destination for my stickers, and a hard-working individual told me he put the sticker on his work toolbox.
Once I gave a guy a sticker and he said “Ohhh, okay! You are who I got these stickers from. I have them on my car dashboard but couldn’t remember where I got them. I must have been blasted!” He told me the past weekend he had been at the Ledges for Dead Fest. I am sure he was blasted!
One guy told me he couldn’t wait to put the Bill’s Bud Blog sticker on his boat. Another said he was going to put the sticker on his kayak paddle. He told me “Wow, I am talking to the Bill from Bill’s Bud Blog.”
I have had multiple people tell me they have the stickers in their cannabis grow rooms and on their grow tents. I love it! What a perfect place for a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker.
Once I gave someone a sticker and he said “Oh yeah! I know this site. I have a friend who is a huge fan!” I’ve had several people show me that they’ve stuck Bill’s Bud Blog stickers on their cell phones! A few others have told me they put the stickers on their video game consoles.
My friend Amber has the Bill’s Bud Blog seal of approval on her Xbox!
A Cleveland Heights Amplify employee told me she put the Bill’s Bud Blog stickers on her work locker! I’ve also had a few other industry individuals tell me similar stories.
The second time I visited the Northfield Citizen dispensary, the budtender told me Klutch made her take the Bill’s Bud Blog stickers off of her locker because they weren’t Klutch-branded!
After the Klutch employee told me this story I gave her several more stickers and she literally jumped for joy and did a happy dance. She was ecstatic.
I’ve had headshops such as High Intentions, Puff n’ Stuff, Hippie Daze, Happi Daze, Cloud 9, Herb Hub, Full of Smoke, Euphoria, Midnight Oasis, Vapor Town, Souzza, Super Lit, Flower City and Quonset Hut put my stickers up on their checkout counters, windows, front doors, freebie tables and community bulletin boards. At Station300 bowling alley in Akron you’ll find Bill’s Bud Blog stickers on their pinball cork board! Thank you all so much.
Some people even collect Bill’s Bud Blog stickers like they would collect POGs or Pokémon. I had a woman named Panda approach me with a small satchel filled with every single Bill’s Bud Blog sticker I have ever produced. To know that my stickers and website mean that much to her is an absolute honor. She even started giving out stickers of her own to other people because she was inspired by my work. Incredible!
One of my favorite gifts from a blog reader is this 3D-printed Pokémon! My glass Pokéball fits right in its tail. My list of weed reviews is like my personal Pokédex, or should I say Smokédex!
A man in a very bright orange shirt told me he appreciated the info on the site and that he tells people about it who are looking to learn about terpenes and Ohio cannabis. Another guy told me his kids just love the Bill’s Bud Blog stickers. I hope they’re over 21!
I had a coworker come up to me and tell me that his customer met me at Rosin Fest. The guy was a hash judge at the event. He said Bill’s Bud Blog is awesome!
There was a time where I met a woman who loved to hike. She walks hundreds of miles on trails across America. She said she intended to put the Bill’s Bud Blog sticker on her walking stick! I wonder what types of terrain that sticker has seen since then. I also wonder what types of places my sticker has seen from the guy who put it on his motorcycle helmet!
I once recognized the friendly owner of Awaken Bake bakery in Hudson. I had been to her establishment in the past and saw her picture on the wall, that’s how I knew who she was. I gave her some stickers and a few weeks later she told me she loves reading Bill’s Bug Blog.
One day I gave a woman a sticker and she was instantly surprised. She said “I have one of your stickers on my fridge at home!” It was pretty funny because up until that moment she didn’t realize I was Bill from Bill’s Bud Blog.
When I was the first customer through the door at Solon Botanist’s grand opening, I gave the manager a sticker about an hour before the doors opened. When I walked in to buy my weed she told me she put the sticker on her employee bulletin board and wrote one of my poems on the employee whiteboard! That was a fun day…thank you!
An enthusiastic couple once told me they couldn’t wait to slap up multiple Bill’s Bud Blog stickers all over town. A bouncer from the Ledges told me he loves the stickers and he also enjoys a band that I like, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. I found out about this band through my coworker Michele.
I’ve had people tell me they think I should expand the site with sponsorships, monetization and YouTube videos. One guy told me he couldn’t wait to give the sticker to his wife because she was very interested in learning about terpenes and Ohio cannabis products. He was very thankful.
My brother hands out stickers wherever he goes, both local and out of state. My dad has a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker on his work tow motor. My mom has a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker on her work desk. To think that my parents would be okay with me using marijuana was once an absolute pipe dream. It was actually my mom who suggested to me that I pursue a career in the legal cannabis industry because she knew it would be something that I’d love and enjoy.
Once while I was in Bloom’s parking lot I randomly saw a car from Georgia that had a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker on it! Amazing.
Bill’s Bud Blog 2 inch sticker on a Georgia vehicle
I am truly overjoyed every time someone comes up to me and tells me they bought a cannabis product based on my review! This has happened quite a bit, with Cookies Blue Raz and Old Pal’s UFOG being just two examples.
I’ve made friends through this website that I would have never otherwise met. Because of this, I want to take the time to thank you all for everything you’ve done for me in regards to support and inspiration.
I also would like to thank Bloom for allowing me to give out stickers and for being so encouraging. If it wasn’t for Bloom there would be no Bill’s Bud Blog, as it was my coworkers who initially motivated me to write weed reviews. It was my manager who allowed me to hand out stickers to get my name out there. Thank you!
I will continue to smoke, learn and churn out new articles. I also have more “adventure” stories to come. I intended to have a new “Hashlips” Harry Hughes album out by 4/20/2026 but I have to push it back to 7/10/2026. I can’t wait for you all to hear it! Until then, all you need to do is embody the spirit of 420/710/24/7!
Marijuana freedom is under attack with Ohio Senate Bill 56. This bill seeks to to increase criminalization of responsible marijuana users in opposition to what Ohio residents voted for in November 2023.
SB 56 would criminalize cannabis that hasn’t been homegrown by your own self or licensed by the Division of Cannabis Control. It would eliminate hemp shops.
SB 56 would make you a criminal if you stored your dried-out store-bought weed in a jar with a humidity packet, because it wouldn’t be in the original packaging. SB 56 would make you a criminal if you didn’t have your sealed cannabis product in the trunk or behind the farthest back seat when you drive. How would this affect legal marijuana drive-thrus?
SB 56 would remove legal protections in regards to cannabis for organ transplants, child custody cases and professional licensing. SB 56 would make it a misdemeanor offense to smoke a joint on an outdoor bar patio alongside tobacco smokers. It would even be a misdemeanor to smoke or vape cannabis at a rented home if your landlord complied.
The Ohio Cannabis Coalition (also known as OHCANN), a lobbyist group comprised of big marijuana businesses, have come out publicly to support SB 56, as this would force consumers to buy weed from them or else become a criminal. Multi-state cannabis companies also seek to eliminate Level-3 cultivation, which was approved by voters in November 2023.
The governor also desires to allocate recreational marijuana tax revenue to support police and jails, which is the opposite of what we voted for in November 2023.
Read a summary of the proposed changes at MPP.ORG.
Sign the petition against SB 56 before March 20th at Herb Hub at2517 Mogadore Road in Akron and also at the following locations:
Advertising disclosure: I do not have a material connection to this business. This is not a paid endorsement.
Folded between Rockne’s Pub and Frank’s Place on Merriman Road is Akron’s headiest glass shop, High Intentions. For the past several years this has been my go-to spot for glass and gear. They carry a wide selection of essential stoner accessories, such as dab equipment, rolling papers and Ohio-made pipes.
They don’t feature cheaply-made glass or smoking utensils here. Everything sold at High Intentions is top-notch. They also sell gear through their website and Instagram. If you order through the site and can’t pick up your stuff in person, be sure to use coupon code FREESHIPPING on shopping carts over $100.
Heady glassOhio-made dab rigsCarb caps for quarts bangers (dab nails)Chillums
When you enter the store, the staff always greets you and asks what you’re looking for. There’s usually some sort of sports on the TV and there was a time when a dog named Layla greeted me and shared a toy. It’s always a welcoming environment inside of the shop.
This dog gave me a toy when I entered the headshop.
Among the items sold at High Intentions are rolling papers of all brands and sizes, blunt wraps, Glob Mops to clean dab nails and Puffco chambers, lighters, torches, butane cans, hemp wick, 510 batteries, isopropyl alcohol, glass pendants, glass marbles, glass screens (which can be hard to find elsewhere), American-made glass pieces and dab rigs from nationally known artists, locally-blown Ohio glass (spoons, chillums, water pipes, rigs, pendants, terp pearls), tube-style bongs, Fatboy glass (good production pieces), Toro glass (good production pieces), all of the latest Puffco products including Peak, Proxy and Pivot devices, Puffco custom glass attachments, Highly Educated quartz bangers (dab nails for rigs), dabbers and extract tools, carb caps, terp pearls (for swiveling oil onto the walls of your nail to avoid pooling), terp slurper nails (longer bangers that increase airflow and oil distribution), terp pillars (they act like terp pearls for slurper nails that have longer drop down buckets), slurper marbles, slurper sets, Glob Mop Slurper Mops (longer, bendier Glob Mops without pointy tips, they are designed for slurper nails), control tower nails, Terpometers (to dial in temperatures on dab nails), storage cases for weed and hash, rolling trays, Pelican cases (for dab rigs, bongs and pipes), jewelry, necklaces, pendant cords, hemp-derived THC chocolate, vapes, Flower Mill grinders of all sizes, Elbo ashtrays, Pokémon cards and assorted snacks. I have even received free stickers with small purchases and free dab mats with larger purchases.
TerpometerLookah Bear 510 batteries are available at High IntentionsThere’s a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker behind the High Intentions checkout counter!
You’ll have a great time marveling at their selection of marbles, terp pearls and slurper sets. The Mario marbles are made by Micro’s Workshop. These pictures don’t do them justice. You have to see the way the light cuts through the glass to truly admire the art.
Marvelous marblesMarvelous marblesMarvelous marblesMany magnificent marblesSlurper sets and terp pearlsMarvelous marblesMarvelous marblesMarvelous marblesMarvelous marblesSupreme slurper setsGlass pendantsMats for dab rigs, bongs and glass pipsSmall, medium and large Flower Mill grindersYou’ll find lots of blunt wraps and rolling papers
High Intentions is always doing what they can to assist their community. For example, they organize food and clothing drives in order to help those in need.
The shop is known for hosting all sorts of events, get-togethers and art shows. I attended an event for local glass artist Peter Boyle, who was showcasing some amazing glass marbles that needed to be seen in person to truly be appreciated.
Peter Boyle marblesPeter Boyle marblesPeter Boyle marbles
High Intentions once hosted an event with famous glass flameworker Steve Sizelove from Richmond, Indiana. Sizelove rigs are unique works of functional art that often sell for thousands of dollars.
I was disappointed that I had to miss the Sherbet sesh in June 2024.
This past December they hosted a holiday glass show that included a bunch of talented artists.
Some of the get-togethers take place outside of the store. High Intentions hosts memorable events such as river floats and nature hikes. Some of these functions are in collaboration with my favorite Columbus headshop, Headie’s Hideout.
High Intentions and Headies Hideout host an annual river float each summer!What could be better than a high hike?
Mike Shelbo (Instagram, official site), who appeared on the Netflix show Blown Away, is an artist I’ve always followed. He’s best known to me for his glass goblin pendants.
Mike Shelbo glass goblin under UV lightMike Shelbo glass goblin under sunlight
The Fizzer is a signature piece made by Mike Shelbo. The Fizzer’s price point puts it out of reach for most smokers.
This Fizzer was made by Mike Shelbo himself and costs thousands of dollars.
The Jebb/Shelbo 10mm female Fizzer rig is a production version of the more expensive Fizzer produced by Shelbo. “Production pieces” are glass rigs, bongs or pipes that are produced in larger quantities than specialized, intricate one-off works of art that sell for thousands.
Jebb/Shelbo 10mm female Fizzer production pieces are available at High Intentions. Shelbo’s shop assistant Jebb made these production Fizzers and Shelbo made the eyeballs that are on them. My friend purchased the one with the blue and yellow eye. It hits like a 14mm rig!
Jebb/Shelbo 10mm female Fizzer rigsThis is the Jebb/Shelbo 10mm female Fizzer rig my friend bought.Shelbo glass eyeballShelbo glass eyeballShelbo glass eyeballShelbo glass eyeballShelbo glass eyeball
Maybe I will see you at a High Intentions event sometime in 2026! I’d like to thank my brother Kenny for helping me with the research and details in this article!
They use hand-stamped bags just like Fat Hippy Records.Keep an eye out for sales around 4/20 and Black Friday.High Intentions is located on the corner of Merriman and West Market in Akron, Ohio, in Highland Square.
There’s a grow shop in Akron called Indoor Gardens that offers a cannabis-growing class. Upon completion of the course, the instructors give each student a few cuttings in order to start their own small garden. A blog reader took the Indoor Gardens class and gave me a sample of his hybrid Cherry Zoap cut. Thank you for the weed!
Cherry Zoap hybrid
My sample of Cherry Zoap weighed 2.0 grams. The bud had a very sweet and fruity smell to it. The scent definitely gave me cherry vibes.
The nugs were trimmed nicely, with no visible stems, sugar leaves or leafy material. They were bright green in color with tiny, curly orange pistils that stuck close to the bud. Shiny trichomes were visible both on the outside and inside of the flower.
The nugs were far from dry. They gave a very nice squeeze and did not make a crunching sound while doing so. Flakes did not fall off while breaking the bud apart with my fingers, which is not something you can always say with dispensary weed.
For example, I recently bought a tenth of Jack Le’Pew from the Pure Ohio Wellness “Locally Grown” brand. The bud was dry as bone.
The ideal properties of the fresh, homegrown Cherry Zoap carried over to my grinder. When shredded through the Santa Cruz Shredder, or mashed though the Flower Mill, the Cherry Zoap held its own and behaved as expected. It didn’t turn to a powdery dust like some of the dryer strains I sample.
Cherry Zoap packedCherry Zoap punched
The Cherry Zoap burned at about a medium speed and ashed very light. I could tell it was flushed properly by both the ash color and taste. I didn’t taste any earth, dirt or nutrients.
There was an almost candy-like sweetness to the flavor. Alongside that, I could slightly detect the Zoap’s gassy, gluey properties. The top terpenes were probably limonene, myrcene, caryophyllene and maybe some ocimene or humulene. The smoke was not harsh and did not make me cough or produce phlegm.
The medical effects were pretty chill but I did seem to get sort of a sativa-like head buzz. This strain did not make me anywhere near sleepy, but I felt unmistakable body relaxation and pain relief. It also took away a nagging headache that was driving me crazy. The Cherry Zoap was excellent for use during morning and mid-day house chores.
I gave the homegrown Cherry Zoap hybrid a 7/10 for taste, 3/10 for harshness, 7/10 for strength, 6/10 for smell strength and 60 to 90 minutes for length of medical effects. Thanks again to the contributor for the excellent sample! May your thumb become greener with each harvest.
August 22nd, 2025 was a historic day for the city of Massillon, Ohio. It was the first day of the high school football season, and anybody who knows anything about Massillon knows the city holds a special place in football history. The people of Massillon love football!
More importantly, this was the city’s first day with a legal cannabis store. There is a Story Cannabis location coming to Massillon sometime soon, but Bloom beat them out to be the first dispensary in the city.
The sign looks nice!
Despite having a late night the previous evening, I woke up early and parked in Bloom’s spacious strip mall parking lot right at 7:00 am. The store was set to open at 8:00 am. I was the first one in line. At the front door there was a guy putting up signage on the windows. I asked him, “Do you work for Bloom?”
He responded, “No, I’m just the sign guy.” I said “Well, hello sign guy!” He finished affixing the signage, said goodbye and walked off. After that, a few customers got in line, probably around 7:10 am.
There was a sense of excitement and joy in the air as I spoke with the Massillon locals. One of the customers had some interesting stories about their several years of experience in the Ohio cannabis industry! Another passionate consumer, wearing a Massillon Tigers hoodie, explained to me about how much this day meant to them and the city.
They told me about how sick they were of smoke shops selling harsh, ineffective Delta-8 vapes and low-THC hemp flower. Those stores are everywhere in Massillon, even right next to the new Bloom! The responsible consumer had waited a lifetime for their home town to get a legal cannabis dispensary.
Despite being able to get zips of fire for $175 from their buddy, the Tigers fan loved how Bloom offered so many different choices and options. They told me they were going to try some 92 Cookies from Buckeye and look around at some terpene profiles to find some other flower options.
There were a few overjoyed Massillon residents showing me images on their phone of what they planned to order and asking my opinion. One customer was interested in Airo pods. I explained to them the difference between the live resin and distillate pods. I recommended live resin. We also discussed details about 510 carts and terpenes.
A few of the Massillon Bloom employees stepped outside to greet the crowd. I knew a few of them from the Akron Bloom store! One of the Massillon Bloom employees, Aaron, was someone I worked with a few years ago at Ohio Cannabis Company! It was a nice surprise seeing him. I knew I would see him again at some point, but I didn’t know it would be then!
Finally the doors opened, and I clapped and cheered as I walked into the spacious, well-lit showroom. The employees welcomed me. There was no specific check-in room. You just checked in with your ID right on the showroom floor.
After checking in, my budtender was none other than Aaron, who was also the budtender for my first-ever legal cannabis purchase which took place at Ohio Cannabis Company in 2023.
While I was the first customer through the door and to check in, the customer behind me had an online preorder. Since their order was all ready to go, they were the first one to make a purchase from Bloom Massillon. I was the second purchaser, but the first to place a walk-in order. I selected a Sweetscape Live Resin 510 cart from Buckeye, since I had yet to try Buckeye’s live resin.
After the purchase I thanked everyone, said my goodbyes, and headed home. I had an excellent time this morning at Bloom’s grand opening in Massillon! However, this was not the first dispensary grand opening I recently attended.
A few weeks ago I was in the Solon area and got word that a new Botanist location would be opening the next morning. It was short notice, but I thought to myself, “What if I could be the first one to make a purchase from their store?” It would take determination, dedication and a will to wake with the roosters, but I decided it was worth it.
On the morning of July 28th, 2025, I cracked open a can of coffee, hopped in the car, and got to Botanist a little over an hour before opening time. When I got there, the check-in employee told me it was cool to hang out in my car. They would make sure I was the first customer to walk through the door.
As I sat in my car, a police officer kept driving past the parking lot and looking at me. I thought to myself about how state, national and worldwide weed laws have changed over the last few decades. While Ohio’s legal cannabis laws and marketplaces are far from perfect, we’re lucky to live in these unique times. These are the times Ohioans have been patiently waiting for!
A Botanist regional manager walked past the car and I struck up a conversation with them. After noticing my industry badge, they asked a little bit about me and my experience in the industry. We chatted for a bit, I gave them a Bill’s Bud Blog sticker and they headed inside.
I was the first customer in line with coffee in hand on July 28th, 2025 at Solon Botanist’s grand opening.
A few minutes before 10:00 am, the check-in employee told me it was cool to step outside of the car and form a line. The guy next to me in line recognized that my car air freshener was fashioned in the likeness of the pro wrestler Earthquake. My brother had got me the air freshener for my birthday. I talked about old-school wrestling with the customer until the doors opened!
While checking in at the front desk I once again saw the regional manager from earlier. They told me that they had already read all of the poems on Bill’s Bud Blog! They had even pinned my sticker on the breakroom bulletin board and wrote one of my poems on their company whiteboard! I wish I could remember which poem they said it was.
All of the showroom floor budtenders were friendly and accommodating. There was a sense of exhilaration to the showroom. Everyone was ecstatic. I ended up getting a gram of Farkas Farms Super B hybrid bubble hash and I was indeed the first customer to make a purchase.
The budtender at the checkout counter looked familiar. They told me they used to work at Story in Cleveland. That must have been where I saw them.
A few weeks later when I went back to Solon Botanist, the first thing they said to me when I hit the showroom floor was “You look familiar!” I feel like I’ll always have a connection to that dispensary since I had such a great experience being the first one to exchange money across the counter.
During that second visit I learned about another new dispensary in Solon called Verilife. I had been to Verilife’s Hillsboro location and got an impressive $80 half ounce of Cantucci Cookies from their brand called Matter (spelled matter. with a lowercase m and a period at the end). It’s nice to see more Ohio dispensaries popping up! There are more to come in 2025 and beyond!
If you’d like to feel the feeling of being the first customer through a dispensary door, keep your eyes peeled for announcements about shops opening in your area. Since Ohio dispensaries can’t legally advertise, you’ll have to rely on word-of-mouth or internet sources.
Mustard Seed is a large grocery store and sit-down restaurant at 867 West Market Street in Akron. Local musicians perform on the upstairs stage quite often. I was once there when the band Time Cat played a David Bowie tribute set. It was awesome!
On Saturday, December 21st, 2024, Euphoria Pleasant performed their second-ever live show. It took place at Mustard Seed! The band played twelve songs for over one and a half hours.
Euphoria Pleasant – Live at Mustard Seed in Akron, Ohio (12/21/2024) Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes 16 seconds 213mb MP3 download (.zip file)
Track list:
Deep Waters
Grazing the Sun
Think Tank
Chameleon
Desert Storms
Descended from High Places
Ebb and Flow
Raisins and Sun
Swung and Smooth
Deep Waters (Second Playthrough)
Wavy Improv
Grazing the Sun (Second Playthrough)
Euphoria Pleasant is: Guitar – Berhane Selassie Okantah Bass – Mike Fiander Drums – Noah Powell
In Akron you’ll find a bowling alley called Station300, formerly known as Stonehedge. In addition to countless bowling lanes they have an equal number of modern and classic pinball machines available to play.
Station300 Bowling in Akron, Ohio (Image from Google Maps)
My brother Kenny and I have been visiting the place for years to play pinball. Not only do they always have a wide selection of machines but they have deals where you’ll get three games for two dollars. Not many other places do that in an era where the average price of a pinball game is one dollar per player.
There is a huge selection of pinball machines at Station300. (Image from Google Maps)
While grippin’ the flippers at Station300 (I still want to call it Stonehedge) you never know who you’ll meet or what they’ll say. We once met some guy with his wife, I think his name was Adam. He was really good at pinball, I couldn’t believe how easy he made it seem to get a ridiculous score. He told us we needed to check out this place called Vaporosity in Sharon, Pennsylvania near the Ohio border.
Vaporosity sells nicotine vape juice and accessories along with a wide array of used Blu-Ray disks, DVDs and video games. They also house a massive gallery of pinball machines. When we finally found the time to do so, my brother Kenny and I made the trek out to Vaporosity to see what it was all about.
We decided that on the way there we would stop at a record store near Youngstown called Fat Hippy Records.
The shop is owned by music enthusiast Zac Younkins from Brookfield, Ohio. At Fat Hippy you’ll find a huge selection of vinyl records, cassettes, CDs and novelties, the likes of which are rarely seen these days. Available genres include rock, pop, punk, ska, metal, doom, desert, sludge, jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, rap, R&B, comedy, spoken, reggae, dancehall, world, traditional, folk, country and others.
Walking into Fat Hippy Records and talking to Zac was like linking back up with an old friend. I had never met the guy before, but we seemed to connect on a number of levels. We talked about movies, our music collecting hobbies, Pyle cassette decks and the upcoming Kool Keith concert at the Westside Bowl.
Zac told me about his Bandcamp fundraising project called the Fat Hippy Records Anniversary Compilation. It’s a yearly release featuring all-new tracks from artists like Kool Keith, Illogic, MC Homeless, Jazzy Lion Man and many others. All proceeds generated from the compilation’s sales are donated to the National Endowment for the Arts to keep art education in schools.
I thumbed through records for nearly an hour. I felt like I had made several scratches upon the surface, but there were hours left of digging to do in order to get through it all. I zipped on over to my favorite section, the stoner/doom metal records.
Stoner/doom metal records have the coolest album covers. This one is for Distorted Folklore by the band Orbiter.Heavy Trip’s Liquid Planet is a newly-released Canadian stoner rock record.
I have seen several great shows at Youngstown’s Westside Bowl, including Daikaiju, Miesha and the Spanks, Conan and most recently Bongzilla. On the vinyl rack sat Bongzilla’s newest album, Dab City. I hadn’t heard it yet, so I grabbed it and took it to the register.
On the way to the checkout counter I stopped at the hair metal cassette section. It had been too long since I’d taken a chance on a band that I’ve never heard before. Would the gamble pay off? Standing near the front of the display was the 1990 debut release from Nelson.
The three dollar risk ended up paying off tremendously. The cassette was excellent! Unearthing unique gems like this is the reason why I love the genre of rare hair. I even contacted my buddy Hair Metal Matt to ask if he’d ever heard the album. He was more than familiar with it and expressed his appreciation for the fact I owned the release on cassette!
During the checkout process, Zac was enthusiastic about the fact he uses hand-stamped paper bags when selling vinyl records. He told a story of visiting trendy shops in SoHo neighborhoods and witnessing them hand-stamping their takeout bags. He then told me he’d give out free Bill’s Bud Blog and “Hashlips” Harry Hughes stickers to customers!
Here’s the Fat Hippy Records hand-stamped paper bag.
My brother and I enjoyed our stay at Fat Hippy Records but it was time to drive a few minutes across the PA border to play some pinball.
Vaporosity in Sharon, PA (Image from Google Maps)
We walked into Vaporosity to a laid-back, calm atmosphere. The two employees were off in the corner watching a DVD movie, intensely discussing current plot points and their various storyline implications. I got the vibe that the guys who work here smoke vapes and watch movies all day, pulling from the thousands of used discs sitting on the shelves.
The pinball tables were located in a large room to the left of the vape shop. Most of the machines were turned off until you asked an employee to flip it on for you. All of the tables were operated on coin drop, there were no silly scan cards or loyalty programs to deal with.
Here are several of the machines you’ll get to play at Vaporosity. (Image from Google Maps)
One nice aspect of Vaporosity’s gallery is that they house some hard-to-find releases. We played a few of the lesser-seen tables such as Earthshaker, Houdini and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth featuring David Bowie.
Another thing I found unique about Vaporosity is the fact that vaping is allowed while playing pinball. At most arcades you have to sneak outdoors or into some sort of a broom closet to rip your portable vaporizer, but not at Vaporosity. They also have a bunch of rare vinyl and music memorabilia on display, including a unique collection of every physical release Lana Del Ray has ever produced.
On the way out we expressed our gratitude to the staff for their hospitality. We bought a used copy of Mortal Kombat 11 for Nintendo Switch, hopped in the car and headed home. Later on I ended up buying a Pyle cassette deck like Zac had recommended. I used it to listen to the Nelson tape! All had come full circle.
Wonderfest is an annual street festival which recognizes the uniqueness of Akron’s West Hill Neighborhood. The day-long celebration features music, food trucks, handmade craft vendors and art workshops.
This year was the third annual gathering but my first time attending. I was there to see Euphoria Pleasant, a new instrumental jam band which showcases the talented Berhane Selassie Okantah (Instagram) on guitar. This was to be their first live performance as a group.
I parked a few streets over from Oakdale Avenue where the festival took place. The vendors and artists were still setting up their booths, so I walked around and talked to a few locals.
A glassblower approached me while I admired his vases and plates. He told me that he liked my glass pendant. I asked him if he makes any pendants or pipes. Through a grimaced expression he replied “No.” He invited me to the free glass blowing class later that day but I had to decline due to work commitments.
My alien pendant from Ghost Glass, given to me by my brother Kenny.
When the food trucks opened I went to the taco vendor. I bought three tacos for ten dollars. The meat choices were chicken or beef. I wrestled with this decision in my head for several moments and ultimately went with beef.
There was nowhere to sit and eat, so I walked back to my car (the carfeteria). Upon glancing at the tacos, before even taking a single bite, I realized I should have chose the chicken option. Hunger was the deciding factor in my choice to move forward and consume the cuisine.
With a belly full of beef I walked towards the beer garden where the concert was to take place. It was an open lawn with a stage and seating area. It was a great place to hold an outdoor concert! There was nobody sitting at the check-in table so I walked into the garden and took a seat near the front of the stage.
The performance was perfect and the weather was wonderful.
A few minutes later a woman walked up to me and politely said “Excuse me, this beer garden area is 21 and over only. You will need a wristband to sit here.” As I pulled my ID out of my wallet to prove my age, two unsupervised children ran past us, laughing while waving sticks. She didn’t bat an eye at their presence, which I thought was odd. She put a wristband on my wrist and walked away.
When Euphoria Pleasant began to play I walked towards the front of the stage. I went into the concert not really knowing what to expect and I liked what I heard. The musical style was melodic, bluesy and relaxed, which was a perfect soundtrack for the blissful 70 degree Saturday afternoon.
I can’t wait to see these guys again.
The vibes were pleasant and they truly made me feel euphoric when combined with the Roach disposable, which I puffed during the performance. The sound reminded me of a Jimi Hendrix CD I used to listen to all the time called Morning Symphony Ideas. After attending this concert I’ve heavily gotten back into Hendrix.
Berhane on guitar!
The bass player, Mike Fiander, laid down a solid foundation for Berhane to groove upon. Noah Powell, the drummer, was truly amazing. He reminded me of prog rock greats such as Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy.
Noah added unique personality to the tunes while he toyed with timing and smashed satisfying symbol splashes. He wore a shirt for the band Periphery. I checked this band out after the show and enjoyed their sound! I can see how Noah draws inspiration from prog rock and I’m certain he will continue his musical journey with confidence and creative conviction.
The most intricate and well-crafted tune was Descended from High Places. All three musicians shined bright on this one, showcasing their unique talents and abilities in complete unison. The song took me on a roller coaster journey that left me in awe and truly established the band as one to watch out for. The drumming was varied and nonstop. The bass boomed and bridged the barrier between the drums and Berhane’s guitar, which told a tale of treachery and triumph.
Even more shocking was the story of how the song was written. When I asked Berhane a few days later about the track, he said they wrote the tune in one take during band practice. It spontaneously formed like it was meant to happen, almost as if the notes had been descended upon the musicians from a high place within their collective consciousness.
Euphoria Pleasant plans on being active throughout 2025, so look forward to more music in the future.
The band doesn’t have a website at this time but I will update this article when that changes. For now you can enjoy Euphoria Pleasant’s 2024 Akron Wonderfest performance by downloading or streaming below.
Euphoria Pleasant Live at Akron Wonderfest 2024 Saturday, October 5th, 2024 at 12:15 pm Runtime: 39 minutes and 17 seconds
Setlist: 1. Ebb and Flow 2. The Nameless Jam 3. Descended from High Places 4. You Might Already Know 5. 10/5 Vibes 6. Four Minutes
