Master Hashishin and cannabis teacher Frenchy Cannoli have died

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Cannabis activist, educator and renowned hash maker Frenchy Cannoli has sadly passed away, according to a social media post by his wife Kimberly.

“It is with deep, heartbreaking sadness that I share with you over the complications of an operation that Frenchy left on Sunday. [July 18th]“Wrote Kimberly, AKA Madame Cannoli. “⁠I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you personally. That seemed like the best way to let you know directly from me. “

Frenchy was born in 1956 in the Mediterranean city of Nice in France. During the 1960s, most Europeans in this region used cannabis in the form of high quality hashish imported from Morocco or Asia. Frenchy fell in love with hashish as a teenager and those early experiences inspired him to travel the world to expand his knowledge.

“I always wanted to travel as a child,” Frenchy told MERRY JANE in 2019. “When I smoked my first spliff, I smelled and tasted and experienced parts of the world that I wanted to visit. And I couldn’t wait to be 18 and travel. And I’ve dedicated my first 18 years of adult life to traveling. That’s all I’ve done. “

Cannoli led a nomadic lifestyle for nearly two decades, traveling to India, Morocco, Nepal, and Pakistan to learn about each region’s unique tradition of hashish production. In India, Frenchy lived in caves with hashmakers in the Parvati Valley for eight full growing seasons. During this time, the young nomad learned how traditional farmers massage the resin from living cannabis plants and roll it into balls or logs called charas.

After years of traveling, Cannoli finally settled in Northern California with his family just as the Golden State was legalizing medical cannabis. During the “gray market” years of Prop. 215, California’s loose medical marijuana law, Frenchy began making hashish and shaped it into the shape of the popular Italian dessert that eventually became part of his nickname.

“People call the French on the left and Frenchy on the right. So I’ve been called Frenchy for a long time, ”he said to MERRY JANE. “And then, when I was pressing my resin back then, I put it into cannoli shape. And that got some friends to love it very much and I thought, oh, wow, Frenchy Cannoli, it’s perfect. And actually I’m half Italian, half French anyway. My roots are also Italian. “

Eventually, Cannoli moved its business into the state’s fully legal adult market. And while most legal cannabis companies focus on modern concentrates like BHO and wax, Frenchy and his wife continued to produce hash in traditional ways.

“You have whole generations of young Americans, probably all under 40” [years-old]who don’t even know what traditional hashish is, ”explained Kimberly MERRY JANE. “I can’t tell you how many people come over today and I say, ‘We made traditional hash.’ And they say, ‘Oh, that’s nice. What is it?'”

Instead of saving all of his experience for his personal use and profit, Cannoli set up a Youtube channel to share his knowledge with cannabis lovers around the world. In 2015, he also started running a series of workshops called “Lost Art of the Hashishin” to help people make their own top-notch hash.

“It’s not about being the best,” said Frenchy. “It means sharing my years of knowledge about something that has been really valuable all my life. You can move the game forward with the next generation. I want you to be better than me. It’s like the goal of all of these people I teach. I will take care of you until you are bigger and better than me. That’s what I really want. “

In an Instagram post, Kimberly asked friends to share happy photos of herself with her husband. “His death was unexpected and leaves a gaping emotional hole in his family where his smile and energy used to fill us so completely,” she wrote. “I think what we all appreciated so much about Frenchy was his authenticity and passion. I would be very comforted to see his face shine with a smile now. “