Keeping it Lit and Light: Funniest Cannabis Headlines of 2020

We can all agree: it has been a hard year. Headlines like “Pizza, Alcohol and Cannabis Sales Skyrocketed During Election” really say it all. We have been exhausted by a global pandemic, depressed by the economy and flustered by politics, so let’s have a few laughs — shall we?

One of the tasks we take on at NisonCo for our PR, Marketing and SEO teams is monitoring daily cannabis, psychedelic, hemp and CBD news. While mostly we fish for upcoming trends, studies we can pull into written pieces and topics clients may want to speak on, sometimes we find a few little nugs of news glory. 

2020 was a doozy, so please peruse these headlines that helped our team at NisonCo belly-laugh our way through. They have been loosely grouped into completely subjective categories for no particular reason — Enjoy!

TRUE CRIME — ALWAYS A GEM

Crime headlines are those we try not to popularize as a cannabis PR agency, but sometimes you have to admire the dedication some folks have to getting their high on. We love a good protest story being in the realm of advocacy marketing ourselves, so the #1 spot goes to this guy:

1. Man arrested for smoking marijuana cigarette in courtroom
2. Smugglers toss chicken wings, marijuana over fence of Mississippi prison
3. Man claims more than a kilogram of cannabis was meant for a (very big) batch of homemade soup

STONER STORIES

The news cycle was here for stoner stories in 2020. Telling tales of brownie-fuelled adventure no longer holds stigma for much of America as more than two-thirds of the country now supports the legalization of cannabis. This year in particular the floodgates opened as bands, actors, politicians and even past presidents spoke openly about cloudy memories. This list could be 50 people long with 50 tales to tell, but we narrowed it to our top three favorite stoner stories of 2020:

1. President Carter Talks About His Son Smoking Marijuana At The White House With Willie Nelson
2. How the Washington Post Came to Publish a Story About Getting High and Seeing “Cats”
3. ‘We were smoking marijuana for breakfast’: The Beatles and the making of Help!

POLITICS — NOT AS USUAL

The realm of politics in America is a prickly pear we intend to stay away from poking. But come on — how can you not get a giggle out of these top three?

1. Watch Mitch McConnell Frolic in a Field of Cannabis
2. Trump Administration Includes Marijuana Comments By Seth Rogen And Other Celebs In a Potential COVID PSA Database (Rogan is vociferous in his dislike of Trump, including his ongoing Twitter torture of Don Jr) 
3. Kanye West wants marijuana to be free, and everyone who has a baby to get ‘a million dollars’ (During his bid for the presidency)

FAKE CBD COMPANIES WENT WILD

This one’s not super funny — but a positively ridiculous number of news stories cropped up in 2020 that featured a basic recipe: A CBD company claims a celebrity endorses them, the celebrity publicly decries any association and sometimes sues. No one was safe from this phony phenomena: the son of Eddie Van Halen  and wife of Kobe Bryant had to call out scams shortly after losing their loved ones earlier in the year. Other celebrities who totally don’t endorse CBD in 2020 include Sir David Attenborough, Clint Eastwood, Olivia Newton-John, Tom Hanks and Dr. Oz.

NOT SURE IF WE SHOULD LAUGH OR NOT

The header says it all for this mishmash category of gasp-worthy guffaws:

1. Michigan Orders Cannabis Recall Over Licked Joints
2. Martha Stewart eats 20 CBD gummies per day
3. Fan asks state for medical marijuana for Browns and Bengals fans
4. Weed-loving parents name daughters Sativa and Indica after marijuana strains

BEST INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

Americans aren’t the only ones getting up to something funny.

1. Drone Drops Hundreds Of Free Bags Of Marijuana In Israel (We told you we love a protest story)
2. Netherlands fights ‘wild peeing’ with hemp-filled public urinals

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

What kind of PR firm would we be if we didn’t include a few of our own favorite humorous posts at the end of the list? Check out these goofy pieces and let us know if you need help crafting some of your own communications, researching trends and topics, or with securing news spots  by contacting us here.

Superstar Stoners We Want on Our Baseball Team (If They Were Dogs)

Victor Says: “Drink this while smokin’ that” – Emerald Farm Tours