(Danielle "Miz D" Jackson will be a panelist at the Georgia Straight's upcoming event, Grassroots: An Expo for the Cannabis Curious on April 7 and 8, 2018. Get your tickets now.)

As cannabis continues to permeate mainstream culture, words like stoner and pothead are being pushed aside for classier offerings like cannasseur—and while some Vancouverites might consider themselves worthy of such a title, only a few could lay claim to a relationship with cannabis that resembles Danielle Jackson’s.

Jackson, the self-proclaimed “boomer consumer” better known as Miz D, is celebrating her 40th straight year as a cannabis user this fall.

The day I meet Miz D at her Deep Cove home, reggae music plays in the background as we take a seat on her sun-filled patio. As she sparks up some locally cultivated Diamond Dog, she tells the Straight that even though July 1, 2018, is not too far off, it’s hard to wrap her head around the idea of a legal cannabis market in Canada, especially after using cannabis under prohibition for so long.

A lifelong Vancouverite, Miz D has operated her own luxury cannabis tourism company, DVibz, for the last 13 years. It’s a role that has allowed her to explore every little nook and cranny of the local cannabis industry, while getting to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in cannabis around the world.

“I love to work with people on holiday—they’re so much more open with their minds, and their hearts, and their wallets,” she says with a laugh. “As a travelling cannabis consumer myself, I know the challenges of being able to easily access and enjoy cannabis when you’re away from home.”

Since Miz D’s job is basically to curate the best of Vancouver’s cannabis culture, we knew she’d make an excellent candidate for our cannabis industry insider. Check out her picks in the interview below.

Best Dispensary

The Village Dispensary

206–1540 West 2nd Avenue

“That’s easy, the Village—hands down. I send all my clients there, and I go there myself. There are a lot of really good dispensaries, but I love the Village because they have a great selection of products, they support craft industry, and the staff is really knowledgeable and really welcoming. Plus, I love that it’s a family business, like mine.”

Best Licensed producer

Broken Coast

Ladysmith, B.C.

“I know several LPs, and I don’t particularly use them personally yet, but I see the value in that as well. Really, I think here in B.C., Broken Coast is one of my favourites.”

Aurora

Cremona, Alberta (headquartered in Vancouver)

“I really like Aurora. One of the things I love about them is how they are embracing cannabis in their corporate culture too, because cannabis has a lot to add to corporate culture.”

Best edibles

Budderfly Infusions

Various online retailers and dispensaries

“I’ve been working in this industry for the last 13 years, and 13 years ago, there was not this plethora of products, and they certainly weren’t as easily accessible. I’m so glad that there are so many people making so many wonderful things now, so the edibles that I like for myself are Budderfly Infusions. They’re gourmet vegan chocolates, which I love because they’re organic, but also because anyone can have them! They’re good, they’re effective, they’re made with love, and you can sense it.”

Best Cannabis-friendly doctor

“I love Dr. Dave Hepburn from Victoria. I’ve worked with him a bit, I really love talking with him and interviewing him, because he’s so articulate and funny. He’s super knowledgeable, and of course he’s my age! Haha.” Note: Hepburn is retired but an active speaker and educator in the cannabis realm.

Best outdoor spot to enjoy a toke

“For the last six years, I lived really close to the Plaza of Nations, and I loved to walk the seawall with my dog, Buddha. There’s a little park that’s right beside the Edgewater Casino, overlooking the Aquabus station there, and it doesn’t have a name, at least I couldn’t find it—so I just call it Joint Point, and that’s where I love to smoke pot downtown. Now that I’ve relocated to Deep Cove, I’m a homebody. I love to just be in the garden, or in my yard, or in the pool, and I love that. That’s real freedom, when you’re in a place where no one’s looking at you funny or criticizing you. It’s a kind of liberation that a lot of people don’t experience.”

Best urban spot spark up a vape

New Amsterdam Café

301 West Hastings Street

“When I had a downtown office and had a business meeting with someone who I knew was another consumer, my favourite place to meet them would be the New Amsterdam Café, downstairs in the lounge. First of all, it’s quiet in the middle of the day, there’s hardly anyone in there. Second, the staff is amazing, and third, they have awesome snacks. If you haven’t tried their pie of the day and ice cream, it’s really good. Great stoner food, I love it.”

Best restaurant for postsession munchies

Calabash Bistro

428 Carrall Street

“Pretty much any food that you like is going to be enhanced by cannabis, but my favourite place to go is Calabash. The food is so good and so flavourful, and when it’s enhanced with cannabis, it’s amazing. It’s totally an experience, and it’s so community-oriented.”

Best glass blower

Daniel Vargas

Arte Vargas

“Hands down, Daniel Vargas. He’s originally from Mexico, and he runs the family business out of Maple Ridge.” Note: Vargas does not post his cannabis glasswork online, but his bongs are available at the Village Dispensary.

Best head shop

Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture

307 West Hastings Street

“The place that I do frequent the most is Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture. I love going down there because it’s the only time I ever see cats, really, haha, and I take my tours through it. I don’t buy a lot of stuff, but I do go there if I’m looking for a gift.”

Best hemp product

Natera Hemp Protein Powder

Various locations

“I love, love, love the protein powder, and I use one called Natera. I love that you can get it at places like Body Energy Club. A hemp protein shake, especially for someone like myself who doesn’t like to eat breakfast but knows the value of it, is great. I like two tablespoons of hemp protein powder, a tablespoon of hemp oil, a cup of almond milk, and, because I like things sweet, a tablespoon of honey—and that gives me five hours of really healthy good energy.”

Favourite way to use cannabis

“One, because I’m old-school, and two, because I have a medical condition that requires immediate acute treatment, smoking is my preferred method. I like joints and I roll them with hemp filters and papers. I do also like my water bong, but I love chocolate: dark, bittersweet chocolate. It’s an amazing carrier for cannabis, and they go incredibly well together.”

Favourite cannabis activist

“Cheryl Rose from the Hayley Rose Foundation. She found herself faced with this impossible situation with a child that’s affected by such a serious condition, and really just wanted to improve that child’s quality of life, and had to go to the black market in order to find something that would help. When people have to champion something like that, they begin to understand the unethical and preposterous point of prohibition.”

Best outdoor activity to do with a buzz

“For me, because I’m basically lazy at heart—haha—walking is my favourite. I love to walk. You see so much, and you get to meet people and smile at them, and see them look shocked!”

Best place to explore while baked

Value Village

Various locations

“It’s actually a ritual for me, something that I go and intentionally do, and that is to go shopping and exploring at Value Village. I go, I smoke a joint (or part of one) outside, I put my headphones and my reggae music on, and then I just go inside and take my time and see what finds me.”

Best advice you ever got/gave about cannabis

“Use with intention.”