Forget 420. Lume is gearing up for ‘Jenny Kush Day.’

(This story was corrected  to reflect that Jenny Kush Day is on Tuesday, Aug. 31.)

You don’t have to smoke pot to know about the 420 holiday. April 20 is the single biggest day of celebration in marijuana culture. You may have also heard of 710 — a popular but lesser known cannabis commemoration for concentrates and oil products known as “Dab Day” on July 10.

Both can be formally recognized by calling in sick to work, spending a lot of money on weed, getting as ripped as mentally possible and then totally emptying out the refrigerator. And now cannabis enthusiasts have another date to circle on the calendar: Jenny Kush Day on Aug. 31, which is Tuesday.

Amid efforts to mainstream the festivities, Lume Cannabis Co. is rolling out dank deals, handing out a free tattoo session and offering other giveaway goodies to celebrate the life of cannabis activist Jennifer “Jenny Kush” Monson beginning on Saturday, Aug. 28. 

“Jenny Kush is definitely one of our most popular products, and a lot of folks enjoy the products, but they don’t really have any idea that they were all based on Jennifer Monson and her work,” according to a Lume spokeswoman.  “It’s one of our biggest products, but it’s also about the woman and the cannabis advocate who really helped to inspire this whole lineup.”

Monson, who went by the name “Jenny Kush,” was a renowned cannabis activist from North Dakota who moved to Colorado in 2010 and was killed by a drunk driver in 2013. She was a founding member of Moms for Marijuana and helped to start its first chapter in Colorado.

She also reportedly worked as an organizer for Mile High NORML and numerous other groups, in addition to being a frequent fixture at monthly cannabis rallies at the State Capitol and for her “SexPot Radio” podcast that blended together topics like sex, cannabis and politics.

Monson’s car was struck by a drunk driver on the way home from a concert. She left behind a loving partner and four children. Friends remembered her as a gregarious, ornery pistol of a woman with a heart of gold, according to reports in Westword. She was also known as a maternal type with a foul mouth, a somewhat dirty sense of humor and rainbow-colored hair.

“And among Colorado’s cannabis activists, she quickly became known as the girl who got shit done. This wasn’t a hostile takeover, though; it was a labor of love,” William Breaths wrote for Westword, noting that Monson also sat in front of cop cars during the Occupy Denver event.

Monson has since been memorialized at major league cannabis events like the High Times Seattle Cannabis Cup and the Boston Freedom Rally. The latest tribute: The highest-testing marijuana available in Michigan is named her honor and on sale now at Lume Cannabis Co.

The strain was initially bred by Rare Dankness Genetics in Colorado, but many cannabis brands across the country have since added the phenotype to their shelves. And it’s a real hit at Lume.

“As things have evolved in the industry, many brands have picked it up, but a lot of the story behind the strain has been left behind,” a Lume spokeswoman added. “We want people to know how it got here.”

From Saturday through Tuesday (Aug. 28-Aug. 31), all Jenny Kush products — including flower, pre-rolls, vaporizer cartridges and concentrates — will be 20% at every Lume location, including Owosso. A portion of the proceeds will go to support families of those incarcerated for pot-related crimes.

And this isn’t your grandfather’s pipe weed. Lume’s signature Jenny Kush strain is consistently the highest testing strain in Michigan with THC levels that routinely range from 30-34%. One batch tested as high as 36%. THC percentages aren’t everything. But they are something. I’ve been to every pot shop in Greater Lansing and have yet to find a more potent bag of weed.

The live rosin jam is also liquid gold, made only from fresh plants that are plucked, frozen and quickly pressed into a solventless potion of THC goodness that absolutely explodes with citrus terpenes and provides a soothing and uplifting buzz with a long-lasting cerebral head rush.

I’ve gone through two whole jars now; It’s potent as hell and as pure as it comes.

Lume’s weekend of festivities also includes art, music and tattoos — a few of Monson’s other favorite things. Guests who sign up for the loyalty program will have a chance to win two tickets and a VIP experience to see Dead and Company at the DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sept. 10.

A Jenny Kush inspired music playlist will also be included with every purchase that includes an item from the Jenny Kush lineup. Customers will also receive a set of temporary tattoos designed by illustrator and tattoo artist Dawn Smith, as well as a chance to win a five-hour appointment at Harlequin Tattoo in Hamtramck at a mutually agreed upon time next year.

Kyle Kaminski is City Pulse’s managing editor and cannabis enthusiast who has been smoking marijuana just about every day for the last decade. Every week, Kaminski samples some of the best cannabis products available in Greater Lansing, gets real high and writes about them.

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