躾 Discipline
We do not rush nature.
We refine it.
Like stone shaped by water.
Like steel shaped by hand.
Every leaf is guided.
Every cure is watched.
Every harvest is measured against yesterday.
Mastery is not declared.
It is practiced.
謙 Humility
Our story starts long before legalization. Long before hipster budtenders, corporate snake salesmen and colourful packaging saturated the Canadian cannabis market. A time when the Smoke & Sativa team had little money for smoke and a lot less for sativa. A group of rebellious teenagers were skipping school & burning roaches in what could adequately be referred to as the wild west — Gastown, Vancouver.
Do not go by my humble beginnings. Be wary of my enormous vision.— Manoj Arora
Home to the Amsterdam Café and the infamous Gastown Riots, this neighbourhood in Downtown Vancouver was the epicenter of alternative cannabis culture in Canada. They say that where you’re from doesn’t define who you are, but for this group of rebellious misfits, raised between the glass towers of the Financial District and the chaotic concrete of the Downtown Eastside, it meant one thing — move different, think louder, and never wait for permission.
We were a young, diverse collective of pothead programmers, spray-painting stoners and elevated entrepreneurs. Different in every way, but united by one thing... the love of the plant (and a mutual appreciation for Bob Marley).
Each founding member of Smoke & Sativa has contributed generously to the process. Ziploc bags, BlackBerry group chats and paint cans set the foundation for Canada's most iconic e-commerce cannabis brand.
Today, the old neighbourhood looks a lot different than it did in the early 2000's. Upscale cocktail bars have replaced back-alley dispensaries and the bohemian vibes got gentrified. What was once passed hand to hand beneath brick facades and flickering streetlights now sits behind tempered glass and compliance stickers. The smoke still rises — but it doesn’t feel the same.
The hardships that I encountered in the past will help me succeed in the future.— Philip Emeagwali
忍耐 Perserverance
The sleek, modern Smoke & Sativa e-commerce platform wasn’t always so sophisticated. The only trucks we possessed carried the weight of a skateboard deck and a group of teenage friends, high as hell and hellbent on carving out a name in the most competitive cannabis market north of California.
