Jimi DevineJust in time for politically active cannabis enthusiasts to kick off a new president in style, Chelsea Handler’s America is Back Kit is ready to help you celebrate inauguration day.
While some celebrities have gone in the “build their own” brand direction, Handler, as she’s done in the past, has collected an assortment of cannabis products she’s using across a spread of companies. She previously teamed up with Sweet Leaf on a kit to go with the launch of her HBO special. 
People may not actually realize how intertwined politics is with her cannabis adventure. Nearly two years ago, when she first started dabbling her toes in the industry after an intensive research period she shared with the world via her Instagram, Handler would call the trump administration taking the reins a big part of her move to using more cannabis.
While launching a previous collaboration with Canndescent in February 2019, Handler told the L.A. crowd she didn’t want to drink when she was angry, so she began dabbling in vapes and edibles. “I couldn’t deal with everything. I just needed to take a timeout, and Netflix has always been really, really good to artists in saying whatever. Let me take some time off and really think about what I want to do next because I don’t think it’s this.”
Handler would reveal on The View a few months later a combination of an extreme reaction to Trump taking office and other personal stuff had her in going to therapy, but at the time she told the L.A. cannabis industry crowd in attendance at The Montalbán she generally thought pot was a better look than popping Xanax at her age.
The relief that cannabis provided helped Handler get back to working on New York Times bestsellers and HBO specials, each of them a wild endeavor in their own right. Then, when Handler dropped her Evolution special in October, she had her first kit to go with it.
For her inauguration collection, the only product returning from her last kit is the CANN Beverages. I think it’s safe to say she enjoys them. The rest of the America is Back Kit features Pure Beauty prerolls, Garden Society chocolates, a Sundae School mask, inside a branded tote with a lighter. The kit hit shelves late last week in celebration of the presidential inauguration on January 20.
If a new president isn’t hype enough for you, 100% of proceeds from the kit will be donated to Cage-Free Repair, a cannabis reform nonprofit helping the cannabis industry and its consumers repair harms of the War on Drugs. Cage-Free Repair is a National Expungement Week partner and helped with organizing the original incarnation of the event that held 40 events in over 30 cities across the United States in 2020.
National Expungement Week is credited with leading 298 people to record clearing and sealing, with organizers saying the resulting public benefit is over $3 million. Los Angeles has been one of the most active communities in the nation for National Expungement Week since its inception.
“We’ll all have a lot to celebrate on January 20 – not the least of which is the launch of my new kit: “America is Back,” Hander said when announcing the kit. “I curated a fun collection of uplifting cannabis products from brands who share my values, designed to celebrate President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the most diverse cabinet in history. 100% of the proceeds will support the important work of a great organization: Cage-Free Repair. Feeling good has never felt so good!”
Local partner Sweet Flower, now on to their second kit with Handler, are excited to help her kick off the Biden administration according to Chief Marketing Officer Kiana Anvaripour
“We are thrilled to partner with like-minded dispensary The Apothecarium and Chelsea Handler for the second time, to launch this unique and timely Kit,” Anvaripour said. “Chelsea is such a champion for the cannabis industry and has helped educate and destigmatize the community; thus, we thought there would be no better time to launch this program celebrating America, the inauguration with 100% of proceeds going to a great cause, Cage-Free Repair.”
For Cage-Free Repair, the resources will help them to continue to change peoples’ lives while working to diversify the cannabis industry.
“Cage-Free Repair appreciates the awareness being raised by Sweet Flower, Chelsea Handler, Apothecarium, and the other companies involved in this promotion, and we encourage all cannabis companies to show a sustained commitment to racial equity in the cannabis industry, as well as community-led efforts to heal from the devastating effects of our government’s decades-long War on Drugs,” said Andrew Epstein, co-founder of Cage-Free Repair.
The America is Back Kit will retail for $85. It’s exclusively available at Sweet Flower shops in Los Angeles and The Apothecarium’s Bay Area locations. Sweet Flower’s four retail locations in Westwood, Melrose, Downtown and Studio City will all have them available in the shop or via curbside pickup and delivery through www.sweetflower.com.
In the Bay Area, you can get the kit at The Apothecarium’s locations in The Castro, SF’s Marina District, SF SOMA, Berkeley and Capitola.
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