Tips for Hosting a Microdose Mixer

Rediscovering commonality among your friend group after you’ve made a drastic life change isn’t always easy, especially when those relationships were built around alcohol. As I am nearly four years of being Cali sober, I’ve been forced to ideate new ways of socializing beyond instructing friends to pull up to spark up. Something had to give. My latest idea: Host a Microdose Mixer. Why? Well, why not? Cannabis is a community, and I’ve always been one to let my friends know about products I enjoy microdosing. 

Pulling off such a simple yet general idea in two weeks requires semi-serious planning and outsourced support. As a writer in the cannabis space for the same amount of time since divorcing alcohol, I’ve learned a thing or two about microdosing THC and CBD. The most important lesson is that everyone’s body reacts differently. Understanding that, it was imperative to offer various consumption methods at my event, especially considering some invitees don’t even touch the herb. 

The key to planning a last-minute gathering for people all over the cannabis consumption scale lies in a checklist and recruiting family members and friends for help. I had to ask myself, “What do I want my people to take from this event?” For many of them, rolling up is the only method of consumption they know, and the source of the strains they roll up is an entirely different story. My guests deserve to be introduced to new, reliable products and experiences and damn it, that’s what I was going to do. 

Two Weeks Before Event: Who all is Coming?

Knowing how many people you wish to invite is crucial for planning any event. Before considering which microdosed products to feature at the function, I needed to think about who would come. This is where budgeting first comes to play. Be realistic with how many people you’re willing to accommodate. Twenty-five guests were reasonable enough for me, considering I needed snacks, drinks, tinctures, and flower to make this a proper mixer. 

Next, figure out where you’re hosting everyone. I knew my one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment would be alright, but it wouldn’t capture the vibe I was going for. My walls are also super thin, and I didn’t want my guests to hear screaming children as they were toking. As I’ve mentioned, cannabis is a community. If you’re around enough, you make a few friends. I hurried to a local 420-friendly coffee shop called Drip Cafe and asked the owner if I could use the space on the date of choice. They often throw events, so it was no surprise when the owner, Mitch, said yes, sharing his enthusiasm for introducing more people to the space. “This is why we have this spot, to serve the 420 community.” 

Once the date, time, and spot are secured, start working on those invites. 

Canva became my best friend. I quickly drafted a flier with a save-the-date, giving my guests an idea of what to expect. Once I confirmed an event location, I created an Eventbrite to keep track of yeses and nos. I immediately sent those to my list of intended attendees, then moved on to the next planning stage.

One Week Until the Event: What’s Good With The Goodies?

It’s one thing to plan what you will serve at your event. It’s another to envision it. 

Planning out a layout for the show’s flow was essential in deciding how I would introduce these different methods to my guests. Cannabis has already grown to be overwhelming, and the last thing I wanted was for my event to be another exhausting space. I had to know my audience.

Microdosing can apply to many things: herbs, tinctures, and edibles. I first had to consider brands I liked and felt my people would appreciate. My friends and family often tell me about their struggles to quit smoking, drinking or both. Some of them shared an interest in microdosing infused gummies during the day. Others desired a tincture to help with sleep or menstrual pain. This was the perfect opportunity to share these flavorful alternate methods.  

I took inventory of what I already had, so my to-do checklist wouldn’t feel so overwhelming. I quickly scanned my apartment and realized that I already had non-alcoholic drinks from Dhos Spirits to make mocktails, digestible CBD tinctures from FLWR CITY to infuse those mocktails, a Studenglass so my folks could microdose flower via gravity bong and a case of micro-infused drinks from CANN. A good friend from Tempo also sent over four flavors of CBD-infused crackers to try, which I was excited to do since I’ve never had an infused snack. The options were Chili Limon, Salt & Vinegar, Truffle Parmesan, and Buffalo Cheddar, with each cracker containing about 5mg of CBD and 5mg of THC. See? Community comes through. I also purchased these mini chalkboard signs from Amazon because although I wasn’t sure what I would feature exactly, I knew I would have to be prepared to identify them to my guests––no matter how I decided to set them up. 

Five Days Until the Event: Making the Menu

Once you have an idea of the types of products you’d want to feature, create a menu so that guests can know the details of what they’re consuming.

I knew that since the cafe was doing this off the strength of community, I needed to do the same, so there was no need to curate an elaborate food menu since the cafe has its own, along with alcoholic drinks for my friends who still wanted to indulge. I enlisted the help of my sister Christine the Charcuterie Queen, to make a board worthy of all the world’s munchies, a task she took on proudly. The snacks and dippings on the board were not infused; however, you could microdose the jams and honey. 

For the mocktails, my friend Shaloma Wagstaffe, a mixologist in her past life, helped me create unique drinks based on the Dhos Spirits flavor profiles. We worked with their juniper berries, floral citrus, and bitter rhubarb flavors to develop drinks highlighting their distinctive notes. To keep on the theme of a “microdose mixer,” we then named the drinks after strains that share a similar profile. 

I had a couple of cases of CANN, which included about twelve drinks, each infused with about 2mg of THC and 4mg of CBD. I typed each of those flavors up on a cutesy template in Canva and decided to serve those drinks with cups, bartender-style, rather than hand out full cans. 

Four Days Until the Event: Rechecking the Checklist

Now that a place is reserved, the invites are out, and the menu is made, you must reference your checklist for anything you might forget. 

At this point, I just needed to ensure the plates and napkins were on theme. I also knew I needed the juices for the mocktails Shaloma and I came up with. Christine and I took a trip to Trader Joe’s and spent about $80 for enough meat, cheese, and grapes for two charcuterie boards, one for each side of the bar the food would be on.

The Day Before the Event: Last-Minute Pick-Ups

A printer can help to change an entire aesthetic. 

One day before the event, I still needed to print out the 4×6 menus I had made on Canva. I placed those in the two 4×6 picture frames I purchased from Target. I also printed out 25 copies of a “Microdose Mood Check” list I created to gauge how my folks were feeling about the event. Feedback is not just welcome but encouraged. I made sure I had toothpicks for the charcuterie. I picked up three containers to make the mocktails from 5Below. I then messaged the cafe owner to express my excitement for the event the next day and ensure we were still rolling. 

My friend Dyani created a playlist since I’m too broke for a DJ, and she agreed to pick me up to help me bring the supplies to the event the next day. My checklist was complete. 

The Day of the Event: It’s Microdose Time

With the event set to start at 6 pm, I made sure to be at the venue by 5 pm to set up. I wanted to be there earlier; however, it’s an actual establishment, and I wanted to respect their time. 

Christine came over to help me bring all the products down from my apartment to load into Dyani’s car, and off we went. Shaloma met us at the cafe so we could make the drinks fresh and set up the bar area. My sister began assembling the charcuterie, setting up two boards beside the drink station. Next, we set up the Studenglass Gravity Bong for flower at the far end of the bar. 

A friend (who asked not to be named) donated different strains of flower that I included on a menu. They also had a QR code on top of the canister so guests could participate in weed grading, a process where cannabis is graded by how it looks, smells, and feels. I set that up next to the gravity bong to introduce that method and prevent people from sullying the strains with harmful additives such as fronto. (I’m people.)

With the setup complete, we now wait. I channeled my inner field of dreams mantra as I took deep breaths and reminded myself, “If you build it, they will come.” And they did! Guests began filing into the cafe’s speakeasy lounge area, greeted by me, and were given instructions on how to grade the flower. One friend Nyjer especially loved the Garlic Parmesan Tempo and said, “The crackers were very tasty and light. The drinks were amazing. I’m not really into infused drinks, but those were tasty and made very well.” 

Party’s Done, Clean It Up

After thanking my friends and family for coming, I reminded them to embrace and support places like the local cafe that encourage community gatherings. My sister, Dyani, and I then began cleaning up the area, which wasn’t much since I was picking up after guests throughout the night. I packed everything back up within 25 minutes. The consensus of the night was that everyone was feeling nice and relaxed. Until the next mixer, folks!