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Different leaf: CONTRIBUTORS

John W. Arvanitis

is a writer, gamer, and ragdoll cat owner based in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Instead of offering more biographical details, they insist you follow Trans Asylum Support Seekers Network on Instagram. This border abolition group supporting trans and gender-nonconforming people seeking asylum in Western Massachusetts could use your support right now: @transasylumsupport

Jackie Bryant

is a San Diego-based journalist who has written about cannabis for Forbes, The Dales Report, Uproxx, Sierra magazine, Voice of San Diego, the San Diego Union-Tribune, California Leaf, Healthline, Playboy, San Diego Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Eater, and many other publications. She writes a newsletter about cannabis culture called Cannabitch and hosts a podcast by the same name.

Nathan Frontiero

writes and lives in western Massachusetts. His work covers arts and culture, branding and design, politics, and mental health. He has been a juror, panelist, or selection committee member for several film festivals around New England and beyond since 2017. He records mushy piano and synth music as Full Body Butterflies

Mark Gurarie

is the author of a full-length poetry collection, Everybody's Automat (The Operating System, 2016), and his writing has appeared in The Culture Crush, Sink Review, Men’s Health, The Rumpus, and Publishers Weekly. A writer, a copywriter, and an adjunct professor, he splits his time between Florence, Massachusetts, and Brooklyn, New York, and plays bass guitar in New York–based indie-rock band Galapagos Now!.

Marty Klein

an Easthampton-based artist/naturalist/educator, was the first person in Massachusetts to give public talks about growing cannabis at home. Besides all things cannabis, his passions include foraging for wild mushrooms, open space and farmland protection, and ESL tutoring. His scanography can be seen at martykleinart.com and scannabisart.com.

Janet Reynolds

is an award-winning lifelong writer and editor as well as a lifelong fan of cannabis. In other words, writing and editing Different Leaf merges three of her favorite things into one happy moment. Who says dreams can’t come true?

Brit Smith

is a news writer and podcaster who has been focused on the New England cannabis scene since 2017. While majoring in biological anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, she studied the historical cultural relationship between humans and marijuana and wrote extensively on medical cannabis research around the world. She is also the host of Different Leaf’s podcast.

Jiaqi (Jackie) Wang

is a Chinese-born, Los Angeles-based illustrator and animator. She is a plant addict living in sunny Los Angeles, California. Her work revolves around imagination about daily life, diversities, and colors. She prefers working with geometric shapes and building narratives and poetic feeling in her drawing. She moves around a lot, but these experiences and memories are her inspiration. Follow her on Instagram: @jq.wan

Warren Bobrow

has been a TV engineer, a dishwasher, and a chef. He worked in banking for 20 years before reinventing himself, becoming a six-time author, barback, and master mixologist. He is a former rum judge and boutique spirits brand ambassador. Warren has enjoyed the bemusing qualities of cannabis since 1972 and now works in the cannabis industry full time.

Joanna Chattman

lives and works out of Greenfield, Massachusetts. She studied photography at Parsons School of Design with her first official foray into the industry as a stylist working with Bergdorf Goodman. Creating and collaborating on photographic projects is how she connects with the world around her while combining her love of camera work and her passion for, and experience with, production. chattmanphotography.com

Rowen Gray

is a New England transplant, raised in the desert and formed by the lush magic of the Pacific Northwest. Her interests include feeling feelings, tasty weed, serial killers, science fiction, and being a tender friend. You will most likely find her not returning your text messages, blasting My Favorite Murder, or lounging with her dog-son, Whalebone.

Colin Hanner

is a freelance writer and editor, the husband of Laura Scherb (also on this page), and the father of two cats. You can follow him on Twitter (@ColinHanner), where he occasionally posts things that are probably less funny than he thinks they are.

Daniel Lee

is a portrait, lifestyle, and product photographer based in the Bay Area, specializing in the cannabis industry. He’s worked with brands such as The Emerald Cup, Potli, Permanent Holiday, and Vitae Glass, and has been published for his cannabis work in Dim Dam Dom and Bob Cut magazines. danyolsan.com

Santiago Rodriguez Tarditi

is a political scientist with a record in the media industry (i.e., Monocle, Faena, Univision, and gestalten). He’s the editor of High on Design: The New Cannabis Culture, holds a 200-hour Hatha yoga teacher training certification and a certificate in plant-based nutrition, and is a member of the Miami Beach Sustainability Committee.

Paul Specht

is a portrait and wedding photographer who developed his love of photography when his father gave him his first 110 camera. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst to pursue a BFA in printmaking before graduating from the New England School of Photography. He currently resides in the Pioneer Valley with his husband, Eric, and their dog, Roxie. paulspecht.com

Debbie Way

has been writing and editing magazines in print and online for more than 20 years. Despite having graduated from a college notoriously full of stoners, she only started using cannabis regularly in the last five years. A couple of hilarious-only-in-hindsight experiences have made her swear off edibles—for now, at least.

Laurène Boglio

is a French art director & illustrator who lives and works in Northampton, Massachusetts. She leads the creative helm of celebrated illustrated film magazine Little White Lies, and works independently across a diverse range of media, for an eclectic mix of clients—from the Guardian to Taylor Swift. boglio.com

Emily Eizen

is a queer multimedia artist working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, photography, modeling, and performance. Her ‘60s psychedelic-inspired works showcase the beauty, freedom, and diversity Eizen considers essential to establishing equity in the cannabis space and beyond. emilyeizen.com

Lindsay MaHarry

writes about cannabis and creates video content, including the product review show Hot Tokes. She splits her time between Los Angeles, Tijuana, and Ojai, California. Follow her on Instagram @_oystergirl_

Eli Atticus Jager

is a writer, strategist, designer, and photographer living in Burlington, Vermont. With years of experience in the cannabis industry from black-market farms to blockchain-based compliance startups, he brings a unique perspective to the documentation of the perpetually shifting landscape with words and images.

Maria Loreto

is a critic, a writer, and an editor. Born in Venezuela, she studied film criticism in Miami and is now based in New York. She has experience writing about books, movies, TV, art, and weed. She is a freelancer and the lifestyle editor at The Fresh Toast. 

Laura Scherb

is a food photographer, stylist, and recipe developer in Chicago, where she lives with her husband, Colin, and two neurotic cats. You can find her on Instagram at @pageandplatestudio.

Shaleen Title

is an attorney and a distinguished fellow at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. As CEO of the crowdfunded policy project Parabola Center, she coauthored 2021 model federal amendments focusing on people rather than profits. She previously served as an inaugural marijuana commissioner in Massachusetts.

WRITE FOR US

If you are a freelancer with an interest in cannabis who would like to contribute to our editorial content, check out our website for more information or reach out to us at editorial@differentleaf.com. One of our long-term missions is to ensure our coverage of cannabis is inclusive of diversity in the subjects we write about as well as the writers, photographers, and illustrators who create our editorial content. We are actively looking for freelancers from diverse backgrounds for assignments. 

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