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I was managing a bar in Maple Valley-- The Valley Taphouse- when the owners decided to take on their well-deserved retirement. I had recently moved to Auburn and was already a customer of the Stash Box when I submitted a resume. I was lucky enough to have my resume catch the attention of the owner and founder, James Blankenship, who called me in for an interview and immediately picked up on the traits that easily translate from bartender to budtender. I started 'cocktailing' strains to pair flavors and effects and my passion and appreciation for cannabis blossomed from there. You'd be amazed how many full length documentaries about cannabis there are for free on YouTube and how many you can watch while just packing bowl after bowl. Tazzy chops it up with Nikki at the StashBox <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: Weed + Music = <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong>. What does the statement <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> mean to you and how do you express it in your everyday life if any? Stash Box: The statement <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> to me is inclusive in the most real sense. Music has a unique power to bring people together in ways few other things in existence really can and in an honest sense- - not just a superficial one. Sure, you show up with a bottle to a party and you'll make friends, but smoke a bowl and talk about your favorite album and that friend will probably be a bit more memorable than whatever blur or blackout you stumble into. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely earned the nickname Smokahontas and I love to smoke to get high, but it doesn't hurt that it keeps me level and sane too. The industry is happy to "get your face melted off" as one of my sunniest budtenders likes to put it, but the cannabis community is extending and including people that aren't just looking for that. For example, CBD's changed my life after I started using strains like Pennywise and Harlequin to mellow out anxiety, topicals are a climbing market because of people discovering the benefits beyond the psychoactive effects; people who never would have even stepped into a cannabis dispensary otherwise. <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: Some people may look at those who smoke pot as unmotivated, a bad person or just someone who is doing nothing with their life...how do you feel about that and what is your message to those that may disapprove or who are still not very accepting of the Stoner community? Stash Box: Anytime you put a blanket label over a whole demographic you set yourself up to be disproved. Are there lazy stoners? Sure. There are also honest lawyers, liberal rednecks, and lazy non-cannabis smokers. It's near impossible to pin-point with absolute certainty how cannabis might affect someone, between everybody's brain chemistry being different and the different traits each strain presents, not to mention how frequent the use is. The most motivated individual might get couch-locked from a bowl, but for me smoking a good sativa joint like OG Chem gets me hyped to do the dishes and conquer the world. Everybody's gonna have their preconceived notions, but the goal is live your life despite those notions. Some of the most driven and motivated people I have ever met are the people in the cannabis industry who smoke every day, all day. <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: Tell us how you got started in the Cannabis Industry. Any positive experiences you'd like to share? <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: In your opinion, what makes the Cannabis culture unique and where do you see it going in the next 5-10 years? Stash Box: The people are what make the cannabis culture unique. I actually didn't even start smoking until pretty late compared to most other smokers I know, but I was always hanging out with the 'stoners' and 'burnouts' and often grouped in with being a cannabis smoker because of it. Truth be told these were the people that were the most accepting and least exhausting to be around. They had other things to talk about besides reality shows and clothing brands. They talked about music, comics, art, design, and adventure. What this crowd had to say was more supportive and less judgmental than what I had experienced being around other people, people that didn't smoke. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the cannabis industry doesn't have superficial or judgmental people, or that smoking pot makes you some artistic sort of elite. Smoking cannabis isn't a prerequisite for being in some way enlightened, but there is some correlation between cannabis and an open mind. I can't imagine where this industry and culture will be in the next 5-10 years. The Washington Post actually published an article comparing the recreational cannabis market to tripling the size of the NFL by 2020 and that's not even something that's out of reach. Our store and others have seen steady growth in revenue (2016 was the year of the super increase of volume) and the amount of that going to taxes that go back to the state isn't something going unnoticed by other states on the fence about legalization, I'm sure. The propaganda seems to be dying off. "Reefer madness" is more than a movie title or a joke, there's actual workplaces that permit the use of cannabis during work hours now. I carded my grandma when she bought some of our product to help her sleep, and just yesterday another family member of mine who hasn't smoked in decades came in and purchased a topical that significantly relieved his back pain. He has already let me know he will be back in tomorrow to purchase some more. <strong>Hemp</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: Tell us more about the Stash Box. What sets your business apart from other dispensaries? Stash Box: The amount of high-end, top of the line, branded, and mass marketed product is in no short supply in the industry. We have a selection of those products, but our focus remains on what our customers can get by maximizing their dollar amount. We stay stocked with inexpensive grams, eighths, pre-rolls, dabs, but the majority of our product we try to keep would be the stuff that you smoke and you can't believe you didn't have to pay more for it. Our customers aren't Bill Gates, they're average people looking for that after work bowl or joint to help them unwind or the wake and bake they can rely on to get up and sip on some coffee with. The Stash Box strives to remain accessible with our products and prices. We don't 7