Author Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey’s favorite weed products

In 2005, Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey first began growing cannabis in California. Since then it has touched every part of her life. It was a source of income, medicine, practice, art and research. Aggrey is the author of The Art of Weed Butter and co-founder of hemp and herbal brand Xula.

In 2016 she moved to Mexico City where she researched the connections between cannabis, food and Mexico’s African diaspora.

“All of these subjects are subjects that I have explored, either indirectly or directly, over the past few years,” Aggrey told me. “As someone who has been legally in the cannabis space for about 17 years and lives here in Mexico… In a very conceptual way, my research has helped me endure, understand, and appreciate my life as a black woman here in Mexico.”

She also founded Cenas Sin Fronteras, “a charity dinner project for blacks and browns in the frontiers” in Mexico City Music and Meetings, Cenas Sin Fronteras was conceived as an ongoing series of dinners exploring the invisible and visible lines, that connect us.

The story behind Xula

Xula is a colloquial Mexican term. “For us, Xula is defined as chilled, intelligent, cute, balanced – feeling good in your own skin. That’s what we want to create in the lives of those who use our products,” said Aggrey.

Early on, Aggrey and her co-founder Karina Primelles grew hemp on a family-owned farm in the Latgawa, Upland Takelma, and Cow Creek Umpqua Territories of southern Oregon.

Primelles and Aggrey founded Xula “out of respect and understanding… for the plant and plant medicine. We have realized the devastating lack of products specifically designed to care for our bodies – bodies with uterus, vaginas, bodies with periods. The severe lack of representation of Black people and Latinas like us has also prompted us to build something not just for ourselves but for our communities.

Here are the five weed products Aggrey can’t live without.

Homegrown organic cannabis

“My personal grow and cured stash of every cannabis strain – whether THC or CBD dominant – is my number one cannabis must-have. There is nothing easier and more powerful than growing your own organically, whether it’s cannabis or any herb or plant.”

oof! (Moon + Womb) Tincture of Xula

The Xula uff! Tincture contains 500 milligrams of CBD and 100 milligrams of CBG, along with passionflower, mugwort, and other herbs. “We made the herbs specifically to help relieve menstrual cramps, menstrual back pain, and relieve the pain of other ailments associated with problems like endometriosis or fibromyalgia.”

Broccoli Magazine

Broccoli Magazine is run by an all-female team, and Aggrey hosts her podcast with friend and co-editor Lauren Yoshiko. “It’s the best way as a cannabis creative and professional to stay informed and up to date with the art, trends, peers and the development of the cannabis space.”

Airplane Mode smoking blend by Barbari

“[Airplane Mode] is the most delicious and fragrant addition I add to my home grown herb in a joint. I’m the kind of person that gets activated by weed at times, so incorporating other herbs to induce more calm is my jam.”

Barbari was founded in 2016 by Meryl Montgomery and Valarie Sakota. It started with a herbal spliff – the marriage of cannabis with things like jasmine, sage and raspberry.

Membership in the Floret Coalition

“The Floret Coalition is an anti-racist collective of over 130 cannabis and cannabis-related brands raising funds and awareness for vetted organizations that prioritize the needs of Black, Latino and Indigenous communities.”

In its first year, Floret Coalition members donated over $120,000 to numerous organizations including My Sistah’s House, which helps provide safe housing for the LGBTQ community in Memphis, Tennessee.

In addition to Agrey, the board of directors of the Floret Coalition includes Kassia Graham, director of community and strategy at Cannaclusive, home of cannabis business resource database InclusiveBase, and Maya Shaw, a cannabis attorney in Richmond, Virginia.

Photo courtesy of Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey