Potent Histories

Cultivating Queer Cannabis Narratives in the Digital-Analog Archive

How do we document the stories that are often erased/censored?

Join Cannabis Club for an interactive workshop exploring the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity, cannabis culture, and the art of the archive both digital and analog.

Drawing from our model of community building, we begin with a communal meal to foster connection before diving into a critical examination of how we tell our stories. We will contrast the rapid, censored landscape of digital content against the enduring power of physical media, discussing how each medium shapes our understanding of queer/trans life and cannabis history. By assessing the cannabis materials within the ONE archives at the USC Library and leveraging the expertise of the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) sector, we will investigate how we can move beyond mere consumption to become active stewards/cultivators of our own histories.

In the second half of the program, participants will transition from dialogue to creation, crafting handmade materials that document personal narratives of cannabis experience and self-discovery. What we create will serve as a living archive and as a reminder of the necessity of primary source documentation when preserving authentic queer and trans realities.

Following the event, participants will be invited to contribute their work to a limited-edition zine, a collaborative project that merges traditional zine-making with data visualization to memorialize our collective experience. Whether you are here to share a story, analyze the trends, or curate a memory, join us in building a record that is as bold, diverse, and potent as our history.