Home Sweet (Fruity, Floral, Earthy) Home

This piece was co-authored with Amanya Maloba of Women.Weed.Wifi and was initially published in the 25th Issue of Terpenes and Testing Magazine published in 2021 and is being shared for educational purposes on this blog. Please cite as Bone, CB and Maloba, Amanya “Home Sweet (Fruity, Floral, Earthy)” Terpenes & Testing Magazine. Jan./Feb. 2021, Volume 4: Issue 25: pp. 14-17.”

Scent is tied to memory, as we know, but it is also tied to ancestral roots and connections with specific lands, plants, and herbs. As a brand that makes wellness products for and by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), the scent of our products is an essential part of our development and not an afterthought. Smell alone can begin the healing process by triggering ancestral memories [1], and once the other properties of the ingredients are integrated, the effects are amplified.

The nose knows. It knows where it comes from, what has healed it in the past, what is needed in the present. It’s safe to deduce that, if it worked for your ancestors, it may work for you currently as their cellular descendant. Building bridges from historic and traditional cannabis applications to modern use invokes the idea that entheogenic and culturally specific practices may provide insights into particular regimes of care for different individuals.

Many traditions depend on scent as a catalyst for transformation. During birth, smelling essential oils such as lavender and peppermint through a diffuser or on a washcloth work to relax and refresh the birthing person. [2] The same sedative properties in lavender can be found in cannabis cultivars like Kosher Kush and LA Confidential via the terpenoid called linalool. The delicate aroma of linalool instantly settles me into sedation and relaxation.

Sacred practices like burning incense such as copal, sage, different resins, or Palo Santo use the scent and the smoke itself to cleanse spaces and people. The same can be said for the practice of rolling and smoking a blunt in communion. The terpenes of the flower mix with the sweet smell of tobacco, another sacred plant, to form familiar circles of openness and trust.

Some ingredients such as shea butter unify members of the African diaspora as Black people across the globe traditionally turn to it for its nourishing properties. Though there are many different hydrating butters and oils, this one ties us to the lands of West Africa where many of us departed from. Despite violent removal from our lands, we have remembered what healed and comforted us since before colonization through trusting our nose and skin.

The nose can also minimize differences between BIPOC. For example, ingredients like coconut oil and mango seed butter unite many seemingly different peoples. Women. Weed.WiFi co-founders, Amanya Maloba and Janice Ibarra are from Kenya and The Philippines respectively, but both use coconut oil, mango seed butter, and other byproducts as integral parts of their health and beauty routines. The tastes and smells of home, in this case coconut and mango, are not only familiar snacks but ancestral medicine. Recognition of the historical development of various identities is a must in developing conscious and intentional products that reflect the lived experiences of end users. [3]

In addition to Cosmically Charged Beauty, other cannabis brands made by and for BIPOC include Xula CBD, Karmic Bath, and The Hollingsworth Hemp Company, and each integrate preferred smells of their respective cultures into the effectiveness of their products. Combined with formulas engineered to embrace the physiological differences of BIPOC bodies, these companies and their products demonstrate what intentional formulation looks like.

Sensory experiences like smell and taste inform much of the cannabis experience. Terpene profiles characteristic of cannabis chemovars are often associated with specific effects and experiences. However, the anecdotal and benchtop approach to establishing these claims risks ignoring different tastes, particularly those within marginalized communities. Smell is an important part of identity formation and retention; it connects people to places and is integral in the formation of memory and meaning. [4] Women.Weed.Wifi translate their connections through the smells of their products. Smell is associated with geographic location, implying specific cultural attitudes and preferences across spaces. [5] Certain groups have drastically higher levels of distaste for cilantro [6], which is why its prevalence as a staple herb varies from place to place.

Understanding the sociocultural connections between smell and experience is fundamental to effective treatment development. Individual exposure and familiarity with scents plays a role in BIPOC individuals’ receptiveness to this. Given the presence of terpenes in a wide class of consumer goods, there is good reason to believe most consumers already have an embedded preference before trying cannabis. [7] Formulators must acknowledge this phenomenon if they intend to create products that resonate with diverse groups of individuals. Representation matters, especially when different groups have different preferences. Our cannabis research needs to become more representative [8], and we should look at how race impacts consumer experience of cannabis at the very least.

Beyond smell, however, there are practical considerations to how terpenes affect different bodies. We know that cannabinoids influence hormones [9,10] and that different races have different hormonal predispositions. The lack of randomized controlled trials of cannabinoid efficacy in the general population as well as the dearth of research on specific subgroups has serious repercussions. Representation in the research and product development phase is critical to developing products that work and resonate with specific groups. For instance, topicals and products applied to the skin have profound differences depending on factors like age, melanin, and disease. [11]

One serious consideration that manufacturers must weigh is the relationship between different terpenes and melanin. Black skin, in all its beauty, is different from skin containing less melanin. One documented interaction that receives little attention is how geranic acids have depigmenting effects. [12] Linoleic and gallic acids have similar effects, indicating that consideration should be given to multiple compounds found in cannabis in the context of the complicated history of skin whitening treatments. [13] As a class of compounds known as tyrosinase inhibitors that contribute to demelanization, extra attention must be given when formulating to ensure unintended effects do not occur.

Though many companies treat scent as a strictly cosmetic decision, it is imperative to consider that smell facilitates healing by triggering ancestral memories. Furthermore, certain demographics of people have predilections for specific plants and herbs that are traditionally more prevalent in their homelands. As brands in the cannabis space aim to call themselves inclusive, it’s important to not only consider things such as hiring practices and equity, but also be culturally inclusive when it comes to the ingredients in their products.

References

[1] Eastman Q. Mice can inherit learned sensitivity to a smell. Emory University website. published December 2, 2013; accessed December 17, 2020.

[2] Vaziri F, Shiravani M, Najib FS, Pourahmad S, Salehi A, Yazdanpanahi Z. Effect of lavender oil aroma in the early hours of postpartum period on maternal pains, fatigue, and mood: a randomized clinical trial. Int J Prev Med. 2017;8:29.

[3] Boateng L, Ansong R, Owusu WB, Steiner-Asiedu M. Coconut oil and palm oil’s role in nutrition, health, and national development: a review. Ghana Med J. 2016;50(3):189-196.

[4] Cerulo KA. Scents and sensibility: olfaction, sensemaking, and meaning attribution. American Sociological Review. 2018;83(2):361-389.

[5] Oleszkiewicz A, Alizadeh R, Altundag A, et al. Global study of variability in olfactory sensitivity. Behav Neurosci. 2020;134(5):394-406.

[6] Mauer L, El-Sohemy A. Prevalence of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) disliking among different ethnocultural groups. Flavour. 2012;1(8).

[7] Ferdenzi C, Joussain P, Digard B, Luneau L, Djordjevic J, Bensafi M. Individual differences in verbal and non-verbal affective responses to smells: influence of odor label across cultures. Chem Senses. 2017;42(1):37-46.

[8] Corbett, J. Scents of identity: organisation studies and the cultural conundrum of the nose. Culture and Organization. 2006;12(3):221-232.

[9] Struik D, Sanna F, Fattore L. The modulating role of sex and anabolic-androgenic steroid hormones in cannabinoid sensitivity. Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12:249.

[10] Ranganathan M, Braley G, Pittman B, et al. The effects of cannabinoids on serum cortisol and prolactin in humans. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009;203(4):737-744.

[11] Cole PD, Hatef DA, Taylor S, Bullocks JM. Skin care in ethnic populations. Semin Plast Surg. 2009;23(3):168-172.

[12] Choi SY. Inhibitory effects of geranic acid derivatives on melanin biosynthesis. J Cosmet Sci. 2012;63(6):351-358.

[13] Benn EK, Alexis A, Mohamed N, Wang YH, Khan IA, Liu B. Skin bleaching and dermatologic health of African and Afro-Caribbean populations in the US: new directions for methodologically rigorous, multidisciplinary, and culturally sensitive research. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2016;6(4):453- 459.