Berner Talks Wiz Khalifa Partnership, Cookies Expansion, And Healing With Cannabis

There is no such thing as a single cannabis brand as well-known Cookies. It has dispensaries, lounges, and life-style shops in 4 international locations, 17 markets each medical and leisure, with a complete of 40 storefronts. Cookies was named one in every of America’s Hottest Brands of 2021 by AdAge, and was the one hashish firm to make the lower.

Cookies would be the unique residence to the Wiz Khalifa cannabis brand called Khalifa Kush, which launches on Friday, January 28, 2022, on the Cookies Maywood location. Khalifa Kush has been accessible on the Nevada market for some time now, however has been highly-anticipated to enter California’s market. Wiz Khalifa can be in look as a “visitor budtender” for its launch at Cookies Maywood, so it’s positive to be a scene. Cookies storefronts throughout the state of California will carry Khalifa Kush starting on Saturday, January 29, 2022.

The very first Cookies storefront in Canada is launching this weekend. Cookies Toronto is the model’s flagship in our northern neighbors, by way of a partnership with Gage Cannabis. The model is continually making strikes, because of its founder, Berner. Since 2010, the entrepreneur and rapper constructed the model from humble beginnings within the Bay Space to a worldwide life-style model. Considered one of his co-founders and authentic Cookies Fam grower Jai is among the many most prolific geneticists within the state. A few of Cookies hottest strains grown in the present day embrace Cereal Milk, Gary Payton, Pancakes, Grenadine, London Pound Cake, and Candy Rozay.

I spoke with Berner on the unique launch of the Khalifa Kush model at Cookies in California, Berner and Khalifa’s longstanding friendship that developed right into a hashish partnership, his pleasure for brand new areas internationally, and the way he’s therapeutic with hashish as he goes by way of chemotherapy therapies. 

First off, how are you? I do know you’ve been going by way of therapy for most cancers and I’m so blown away by your braveness, sheer energy, and honesty on social going by way of chemotherapy.

Berner: I’m feeling lots higher, yesterday and the day earlier than had been extraordinarily robust. I’m studying the way in which the chemotherapy cycles work, day 7, 8, 9, are often not your buddy. That’s when your white blood cell depend is tremendous low. At this time I awakened feeling good, I’m constructive. Simply blessed.

Has hashish helped in your therapeutic course of with the chemo therapy? How has your relationship with weed modified and developed?

Appreciating nonetheless, irrespective of how leisure it’s, how a lot of a drugs it’s. How a lot it actually brings individuals collectively. I used to be watching this loopy clip of my journey to Jamaica with Damian Marley, reflecting on how weed actually brings individuals collectively. As I become old, I’ve been working with this plant for 20, 21 years now, I’m actually excited to nonetheless see that it’s nonetheless doing what it’s purported to do. Therapeutic, serving to individuals, uniting individuals.

This Khalifa Kush partnership launch in California is superb, congrats. How lengthy have you ever been companions or hashish collaborators with Wiz?

I am going method again with Wiz. Our friendship developed off of weed, which once more, I’m grateful for. It brings individuals collectively from all totally different walks of life. We’ve been down with one another for some time now, I believe I met him in 2009. We bonded over the herb immediately. His model launching in California has been a very long time coming. He took his time, and didn’t rush something.

Does Wiz Khalifa’s model align with Cookies?

It simply aligns by way of our friendship, bond, and historical past. I bear in mind once I first introduced Wiz his batch of Khalifa Kush again within the day, and we named it KK as a result of that was his. He discovered a kush that he preferred from the Bay space, it was my job to at all times be sure he had it. I’d drop every thing I used to be doing to verify he obtained his KK in a well timed style. He mentioned, ‘that is mine, I like this shit.’ I’d write KK on the bag. Via historical past, a very long time of being smoking buddies, it simply aligns completely.

I noticed a Cookies opening in Toronto this weekend, congrats. What number of international locations is the Cookies model in? How does it really feel to be a global hashish model.

It’s completely loopy, it’s mind-blowing, I can’t even imagine it. One individual from San Francisco was in a position to contact the entire world by way of hashish, music, and clothes. It’s fairly humbling. It truly makes what I’m going by way of slightly simpler. God forbid one thing goes the mistaken method, not less than I do know I did one thing that folks dream of, proper? I imagine we’re in 4 international locations. Canada is an excellent essential one for us so I couldn’t be extra proud about that.

Due to COVID, I truly nonetheless haven’t been in a position to go go to our Barcelona location. Proper when Barcelona opened up, that’s after they locked down Spain, Spain had its points. I dream day by day about going to my lounge in Barcelona, getting a milkshake, smoking a blunt with some individuals from Eire. Worldwide stoner vibes.

Do you might have your sights set on one other metropolis/nation for 2022 that you could trace to the Forbes readers?

Yeah, the U.Ok. Slowly however absolutely, they’re shifting ahead. We’ll most likely have to begin off with a CBD life-style retailer, that turns right into a medical pharmacy kind vibe, that turns right into a leisure retailer. We’re planning for that for positive. New York’s going to be dope, as nicely, I’m tremendous enthusiastic about New York.

I noticed you’re on this superb lineup for The Smoker’s Club Fest in April. How does it really feel to be performing/again on stage after the previous few years?

Hell yeah, I did some performances lately after COVID. I did my corporations Christmas social gathering, I did Rolling Loud, I did some exhibits in LA. I did some fairly massive festivals. It felt nice. The Smoker’s Membership Fest goes to be a great time. You bought Wiz on there, it’s an excellent highly effective lineup. You bought Child Cudi, ASAP Rocky, to be alongside these names, it will likely be nice. Particularly getting carried out with chemo remedy, alongside the top of March, April. It’ll most likely be my first present shortly so I can’t fucking wait.

Music and weed: does hashish assist your creativity and move when writing new music? 

Yeah, when you ever have a look at any of the studio footage from my periods, or any of the collaborative albums we do, you’ll see there’s extra weed in that room than something. Lots of of jars, all totally different flavors. Once I did that collaboration album Foreign money, we appeared on the ashtray one evening, there have been 33 roaches within the ashtray, we thought fuck, that is loopy. We obtained so excessive, we don’t bear in mind making that album, and it ended up one in every of our greatest.

We smoke one pressure that will get your coronary heart pounding tremendous exhausting, it adjustments the temper. By the top of the evening, you get burnt out, so we chill out, smoke one thing with a bit deeper vibes. It takes extra time for me to pack my weed than the rest: stuff to divulge to individuals who need bud, the stuff I’m not keen to offer away, suggestions, papers, grinders, it helps the creativity a lot. All of the artists adore it, I adore it as a result of they get to expertise one thing they’ve by no means skilled.

Do you might have a favourite pressure (Cookies, or Khalifa Kush) that you simply prefer to smoke proper now

My favourite pressure from Cookies proper now’s the Bernie Hana Butter. It’s tasty, robust, euphoric, it smells good within the air. It’s a very refreshing excessive. I like that. My favourite pressure from the Khalifa Kush firm is the collaboration now we have collectively known as Child Powder, it’s supposed to return out in April, I could push slightly bit to get it out earlier than, but it surely’s robust as hell. We had a good time naming it, we laughed our asses off. When Mike Eps smacks that dude within the film that nug is as frosty. The nug appeared prefer it was lined in child powder.

While you go to Benihana, I hear individuals say ‘further garlic butter.’ First, I known as it Benihana Butter, somebody hit me on the cellphone saying they obtained that title so I simply modified it to Bernie Hana Butter.