Ah, the Bay Area–I truly love it out here. With its iconic landscapes, multi-ethnic food collages and Fellini-esque nightlife, you honestly cannot find an area as rich in paradise and preservation.

We’ve also got a pot culture that is uniquely ours. We’re not your glassy-eyed, Croc wearing, questionably-washed-type of stoners out here–we are the folks turning the image of a cannabis smoker on its head, lifting embargo’s on the spaces where pot smokers can access and create equity in industries that at one time jailed its users of color en masse.

Check below for 6 Bay Area Stoners you need to start following on social media. Hey, it never hurts to make a new smoking buddy:

Luna Stower

When you write about cannabis you often get to meet some pretty awesome and influential people. Being one of Jetty Extract’s most visible and informed ambassadors, Luna Stower has brought credibility to an industry still finding its footing. Not only that her mere presence as a woman in a white-male dominated industry carves future avenues for others.

Born, raised & based outside of Oakland, CA (the epicenter of the Bay Area cannabis industry), Luna is a home-grown advocate, committed to assisting local & state communities in implementing safe, accessible Cannabis to its residents. Through her tireless advocacy, she has become a vital force in cultivating community.  It’s through this work she has amassed a vast network of cannabis professionals, many of whom call on her when success is guaranteed.  You can follow her IG @luna_stower.

Siobhan Danger Darwish

I met Siobhan at a local cannabis-themed gallery opening last year and spent the greater half of the evening trying to pronounce her name in the event that we met again. And it was during our next interaction that I realized apart from having a name like an 80’s action hero, she kind of was one in real life.

Having over 30 years of cultivation experience under her belt, Siobhan was one of the first family of cultivators in the state of California to sell to medical marijuana dispensaries. Her family farm–aptly named Blessed Coast Farms–received the first cannabis cultivation permit in the state of California in 2016. She has been featured in a myriad of cannabis cultivation and business publications. Most recently she has positioned herself as the gatekeeper of TheGrowSisters Multimedia Educational Platform, created to invoke a closer connection to cannabis consumers through authenticity and trust. You can follow her IG @grow.sisters.

Smokie Arce

We’ve featured Smokie extensively on KushCA. She’s a longtime friend, talented artist and all-around wacky spirit that only the Bay can breed. She’s recently begun making headwinds leading Puff, Puff, Pass Paint at Oakland’s Cannabis Creative. A Puerto Rican native, Chicago Cockney, New York knife-wielder and all-around Bay Area baddie, Smokie paints her views on life through words and her brush. Check out her cannabis-inspired artwork on her IG @smokie.arce.

Kéme Chambers

Being an Executive Assistant at Jetty Extracts surely has its perks, but you wouldn’t know that speaking to Kéme Chambers. One of the most down to earth individuals on this list, Kéme’s visibility as an African-American female in the Bay Area’s increasingly diverse (yet overwhelmingly homogenized) cannabis industry aims to ensure an equitable future for the industry and world at large. She does this through a myriad of different modes, most notably through her work on the California Cannabis Industry Association’s Diversity Inclusion and Social Equity committee.

Most recently Kéme founded a workshop for graduating Oaksterdam students to learn about process and operations in the cannabis manufacturing business. By the end of 2019, she will have taught over 150 students in their desired fields. You can follow her on IG @kemeretoparty.

Disfuckinguy

Man, I love disfuckinguy. No, no, not that guy. Disfuckinguy, over here. You can always find him proudly blazing in public, no matter the place, no matter the time and no matter how quiet it is, disfuckinguy will make it loud up in a spot. Self-proclaimed cannabis enthusiast, gamer, amateur photographer and professional blunt smoking nut buster, disfuckinguy (aka the Flowerdly Lion) is one stoner on social media you can be sure will puff you down and capture it all on celluloid. You can follow him @disfuckinguy.

Ophelia Chong

Small. Different. Yellow (her words, not mine). You might think I’m talking about that growth on your lower back but I’m actually speaking to some much-needed diversity in the cannabis industry. This is why it was crucial, nay, pertinent that I included Ophelia Chong (a self-certified PROUD STONER) on this list, even if I’ve personally never met the woman. And although LA-based, she makes the Bay Area her home whenever she stops in for a visit.

Let’s start by clarifying Ophelia (no relation to Tommy) has her kief coated hands in just about everything. Founder of Stockpot Images, Co-Founder of Green Sky Strategy AND Founder of Asian Americans for Cannabis Education, Ophelia isn’t greedy, just influential. Designer, Photographer, Professor, teacher and entrepreneur, Chongs latest creative venture is as Co-founder along with Brian Quigley (ex CEO of Altria) and Jim McAlpine (New West Summit) at Green Sky Strategy, a company that specializes in data strategy and brand management. You can follow her on IG @opheliaswims.