Cannabis Culture

What Cannabis Culture does

Cannabis Culture is a privately held Canadian cannabis media and retail company founded in 1994 by Marc Emery in Vancouver, British Columbia. It operates an online activist magazine (CannabisCulture.com) covering cannabis news, politics, activism, growing guides, medical research, and arts and entertainment, alongside a sister video streaming platform (Pot TV) launched in 2000. The company also runs physical retail and experiential locations, including the Cannabis Culture Store and the Cannabis Culture Lounge (a vapor lounge and event venue) on West Hastings Street in Vancouver, and Cannabis Culture Niagara Falls, an Ontario licensed legal cannabis store. Its product portfolio extends to a curated craft cannabis line (Cannabis Culture Collection), a retro gaming lounge (High Score Lounge), and a weekly email newsletter (Cannabis Culture Insider).

The underlying technology is a proprietary digital publishing platform with integrated e-commerce, video streaming, and newsletter distribution, monetized through banner advertising served via the Mantis Ad Network, advertorials, physical retail merchandise, and online store sales. The company transitioned from a print magazine (which peaked at roughly 70,000 copies per issue) to an exclusively online format in March 2009 due to unsustainable printing costs. Its GTM motion is content-led growth, combining editorial SEO, social media, and newsletter with direct-to-consumer retail across a small number of physical locations.

Cannabis Culture serves a diversified audience of cannabis consumers, medical patients, activists, growers, and cannabis brands seeking advertising channels in a restricted mainstream advertising environment. The company is family-influenced, with Jodie Emery currently serving as Publisher; no external institutional investment has been disclosed. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company operates without any recorded funding rounds, patents, certifications, or external awards.

Name

Cannabis Culture

Legal name

Cannabis Culture

Website

https://cannabisculture.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cannabis Culture is a privately held Canadian cannabis media and retail company founded in 1994, operating an online magazine, the Pot TV video platform, and physical retail and lounge locations in Vancouver and Niagara Falls. It serves cannabis consumers, patients, activists, growers, and cannabis brands seeking advertising channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cannabis Media & Retail

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRANAFAG

Cannabis Dispensary + Delivery/Online Pickup (Omnichannel Retail)

Consumer Products & Retail/Tobacco, Alcohol & Cannabis Retail/Cannabis Dispensaries (Adult-Use & Medical)

SECONDARYCRANAHAG

Cannabis Accessories & Smoke Shops (Pipes, Papers, Grinders)

Consumer Products & Retail/Tobacco, Alcohol & Cannabis Retail/Cannabis Specialty Retail (CBD/Hemp & Accessories)

SECONDARYCRANAHAJ

Cannabis Lifestyle & Apparel/Brand Merchandise Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Tobacco, Alcohol & Cannabis Retail/Cannabis Specialty Retail (CBD/Hemp & Accessories)

Keywords

• Cannabis media publishing
• Cannabis retail stores
• Cannabis news coverage
• Cannabis strain reviews
• Cannabis cultivation guides

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Online Advertising: Cannabis Culture Online Magazine generates revenue through banner ad placements on CannabisCulture.com and Pot.tv, managed via Mantis Ad Network. The platform boasts 1 million ad impressions per month. Additionally, advertorials (paid promotional content) are sold directly, with articles remaining on the website permanently for brand visibility.
2. Physical Retail Store: The Cannabis Culture Store at 307 West Hastings St, Vancouver, operates 7 days a week 10am–6pm, selling merchandise and cannabis-related products. The Cannabis Culture Lounge at 303 West Hastings St operates 7 days a week 10am–Midnight, serving as a vapor lounge and events space.
3. Online Store / Mail Order: The CC Online Store and mail order catalogue sell merchandise and cannabis-related products directly to consumers across Canada and internationally, with store credit offered to print subscribers as part of the 2009 transition.
4. Product Reviews and Promotions: Cannabis Culture conducts product reviews and features promotional content for cannabis brands (craft cannabis cultivators, seed companies, product makers). Reviews of strains like Gas Daddy by Nelson Craft Cannabis, Watermelon Hurricane by West Coast Weedery, and Miracle Alien Cookies by Martindale Farms appear on the platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cannabis Culture is a multi-platform cannabis media and retail organization. Its core offering is an online cannabis-focused publication (CannabisCulture.com) covering news, activism, medical research, growing guides, strain reviews, arts, and hemp, complemented by a cannabis video streaming platform (Pot TV). It also operates physical retail experiences including a headshop-style Cannabis Culture Store, a vapor lounge, an Ontario legal cannabis store, and a craft cannabis collection, supported by an online store, mail order, and a weekly newsletter.

Product overview

Cannabis Culture is a multi-platform cannabis media and retail organization consisting of an online magazine (Cannabis Culture Magazine), a video streaming platform (Pot TV), physical retail locations (Cannabis Culture Store and Cannabis Culture Lounge), a retro gaming lounge (High Score Lounge), an email newsletter (Cannabis Culture Insider), a craft cannabis collection, and archived backissues. The company operates primarily from Vancouver, BC with additional locations in Ontario.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cannabis Culture Magazine (Online) An online activist magazine dedicated to marijuana and hemp coverage, providing cannabis news, growing information, political activism content, entertainment, and arts coverage related to cannabis culture. Categories include News, Grow, Activism, Medical, Arts & Entertainment, Hemp, and Blogs.
• Pot TV A cannabis-focused video streaming platform and sister site to CannabisCulture.com featuring shows on marijuana growing, cannabis news, pot-culture events, and entertainment programming. Shares advertising inventory with the main magazine.
• Cannabis Culture Lounge
• Cannabis Culture Store
• Cannabis Culture Niagara Falls
• Cannabis Culture Backissues
• Cannabis Culture Insider (Weekly Newsletter)
• Cannabis Culture Collection
• High Score Lounge
• CC Online Store / Mail Order Catalogue An e-commerce merchandise store and mail-order catalogue accessible via the Cannabis Culture website, selling cannabis-related merchandise and accessories across Canada and internationally, with store-credit redemption supported.
• Online Advertising Placements (Mantis Ad Network & Advertorials)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million ad impressions per month across CannabisCulture.com and Pot.tv (advertising claim)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Mantis Ad NetworkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMantis Ad Network manages and serves all banner advertising on CannabisCulture.com and Pot.tv. This partnership enables personalized and targeted ad placements across the Cannabis Culture digital properties. All banners rotate with other advertisers purchasing placements throughout the websites.
• Pot TV (pot.tv)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPot TV is Cannabis Culture's sister video streaming platform launched in January 2000 as the first cannabis video streaming website online. It features cannabis culture, cultivation, and entertainment content and shares advertising inventory with CannabisCulture.com. The two platforms together form the core Cannabis Culture digital media ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• Weedmaps: Large U.S. cannabis listings and media platform with technology stack for dispensary discovery. A broader incumbent that competes for cannabis brand advertising spend and reader attention.

Direct peers

• Tokyo Smoke: Canadian licensed cannabis retail chain with branded stores and an integrated content/lifestyle platform. Direct comparable to Cannabis Culture's retail and lifestyle-merchandise operations in Canada.
• Fire & Flower: Canadian licensed cannabis retailer operating stores across multiple provinces with a focus on educated retail and content. Direct comparable for the dispensary side of Cannabis Culture's business.
• Leafly: Leading cannabis strain database and media platform with dispensary directory. Directly comparable to Cannabis Culture's strain review and cultivator coverage (The Local Noze), and competes for cannabis-friendly digital ad dollars.
• Spiritleaf: Canadian franchise cannabis retail chain with multi-province footprint. Comparable to Cannabis Culture's dispensary operations and Canadian retail expansion model.
• MERRY JANE: Multi-platform cannabis media company covering news, culture, food, and lifestyle. Comparable content categories (news, activism, arts, cultivation) and similar digital ad-supported revenue model.
• Cannabis Now: U.S. cannabis lifestyle magazine covering news, culture, and products. Closely aligned with Cannabis Culture's editorial mix of activism, arts, and product reviews.
• High Times: Longest-running U.S. cannabis media brand combining editorial content, activism, and live events (Cannabis Cups). Most direct media-side comparable to Cannabis Culture given shared lineage as legacy cannabis publications.

Emerging players

• Hemper: Subscription-based headshop and cannabis accessories brand with strong e-commerce presence. Comparable to the Cannabis Culture Store / CC Online Store headshop retail format and merchandise model.

Regional players

• BC Cannabis Stores: British Columbia government-operated cannabis retail chain. Competes directly with Cannabis Culture's Vancouver retail and Niagara-area dispensary footprint in the same Canadian provinces.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cannabisculture.official
• Xx.com/cannabisculture
• Facebookfacebook.com/CCMagazineOnline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cannabisculture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cannabis Culture