All images courtesy of #JeffSesh
It just got a whole lot easier to get stoned with Jeff Sessions. No, the U.S. Attorney General hasn't traded his federal status for a free dab booth at the Emerald Cup or admitted the glaring errors in his prohibitionist posturing. But thanks to one group of ingenuitive stoners, you can now twist up a joint with one of General Jeff's "Old Rebel" Session Papers — novelty rolling papers emblazoned with a cartoonish, doobie-puffing portrait of the anti-cannabis Attorney General on every pack.
Like most of the cannabis community, the team behind #JeffSesh — a group of friends who met in college and wish to remain anonymous — watched in equal parts shock and horror when Attorney General Sessions announced in January that he had rescinded the Cole Memo and would potentially be exposing state-legal cannabis operators to the whims of federal law enforcement. But instead of passively waiting for the day when Trump might eventually fire Sessions, which is a rumored possibility, these entrepreneurial stoners decided to fight back with humor.
"We are activists, pranksters, and entrepreneurs at heart, and we've all seen loved ones cope with the insanity of outdated policies," a #JeffSesh spokesman told MERRY JANE. "Satire is a force for social change and one of the highest uses of the First Amendment."
Once the idea was set, and after some successful product testing with friends and family, the team crafted a prototype, sourced 200 hand-folded packs of rolling papers from a small manufacturer, and decided it was time to let the internet in on the joke. The crew set up social media pages and a website, offering General Jeff's rollies for $5 a pack, with 10% of the profits donated to a legalization organization at the end of each month.
"We're shipping to small towns, big cities, and everywhere in between," #JeffSesh told MERRY JANE. "Have we found one thing America agrees on coast to coast?"
After only two weeks of viral marketing, the first run of hand-folded papers sold out, leaving the merry pranksters both amazed that their products had actually taken off and hungry to influence more activism-fueled smoke sessions. It's no surprise the papers were a hit, though, as other jokesters have had equal success taking shots at the prohibition-friendly Trump administration. Who could forget the Donald Trump bongs that were being sold in the midst of the 2016 election?
Now, only a month and half after the first Old Rebel's Session Paper was smoked, the #JeffSesh squad has moved their production to a professional co-packer, offered wholesale shipments to smoke shops around the country, and made plans for additional #JeffSesh products, including stickers and clothing. And while the entrepreneurial activists are no doubt using some of their profits to buy their own bud, the group is also getting ready to make their first charitable donation at the end of March, when they'll send a check to the legalization advocacy nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance.
"We chose to start with Drug Policy Alliance for the month of March because DPA takes a broad aim at the War on Drugs and the outdated mentality of its remaining officers, like our Attorney General," the #JeffSesh representative told MERRY JANE, noting that the group has not informed the DPA of their project or impending donation. "We want to surprise them with a check."
As for any legal threats about defamation of character from the nation's top cop, the #JeffSesh spokesperson we talked to said that they haven't heard a peep, and don't expect to any time soon.
"We believe freedom of expression is protected under the First Amendment and think the Attorney General would be the first person to agree with that."
You can buy a pack of General Jeff's "Old Rebel's" Rolling Papers exclusively through the #JeffSesh website here.
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