Weed + Ink; bud.com sponsors country’s largest tattoo expo

Weed? Tattoos? Yes please!

The leading national tattoo expo and online cannabis provider have partnered to bring legal cannabinoids and creative, healing vibes to Country’s largest tattoo arts expo.

Bud.com has become the exclusive cannabis and hemp sponsor of the Villain Arts Tattoo Expo, which will host over 400k visitors and enthusiasts across 24 US Cities including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans. Villain Arts expos have been running since 1999, the sponsorship kicks off April 1 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The multi-year arrangement will allow bud.com to serve attendees based on legality and regulation in each host city- whether medical, recreational, or both. For events in States with no access or cannabis regulation in place, bud.com will promote and sell federally legal wellness products and alternative cannabinoids permitted through the 2018 US Farm Bill, while educating and engaging with consumers.

"bud.com is excited to partner with Troy and his Team, to continue and extend our brand across the country at a pivotal time." says bud.com CEO Dean Arbit. "People are out, masks are off and we’re stoked to be activating at events featuring legendary tattoo artists in major cities all over the country."

The use of tattoos has a long history which goes back to 2000 B.C. Throughout history, tattoos have been used as religious symbols, amulets for protection, status symbols, group identification, body adornments, and statements of love. Cannabis too has been used throughout history for physical and spiritual healing. In modern times weed and tattoos were both relegated to the fringes of society- associated with prison, criminals, and antisocial behavior. Fast forward to 2022, the tides of social acceptance have shifted; weed and tats are the center of progressive self expression and are pillars of pop culture. There are world leaders who’ve smoked weed, gotten tattoos, or both (see Justin Trudeau).

weed & tats = <3

Cannabis and hemp have long been associated with body art. Fans of the counterculture often enjoy both, and especially together: a good toke can help ease the anxiety or pain around a session, and might make those tattoo photos vibrate just slightly. And there are a number of skin creams and treatments with cannabinoids like CBD and THC that may reduce skin irritation and promote healing. And of course cannabis has long been a favorite theme for body art:

An attendee at the Chicago VillainArts Tattoo Expo got herself an inked image of Elon Musk smoking a joint on the Joe Rogan show.

Ultimately it comes back to the bud: many folks enjoy smoking a bit of the cannabis flower. Now due to innovations in both botany and legislation, bud.com can offer legal psychoactive cannabis hemp flower products for sale at the VillainArts tattoo show floor. The bud.com booth will be loaded with sacks of glistening nugs, baggies of infused gummies, convenient beverages, ready-for-action prerolls, and more, with friendly guides to help you buy on the spot. These products for sale at the VillainArts feature delta-8 THC and HHC compounds, both of which are psychoactive but tend to be less mentally busy than regular pot. So you can enjoy a bit of dank-smelling flower and then walk the VillainArts tattoo show floor and have your mind blown by the range of body art-making under way.

Saying High at the Leading Nationwide Tattoo Arts Festival

The VillainArts tattoo expo brings hundreds of artists together for a rare chance to see some of the most talented at work on some of the most creative pieces today. Hosted by veteran tattoo artist Troy Timple and his talented team, the festival brings people together around tattoos in cities across the country.

Timple started work with American tattoo legend Philadelphia Eddie in 1993. Traveling to early tattoo conventions with Eddie in the mid-1990s, Timple saw that tattooing could appeal to more than just biker dudes. He saw photorealistic black and white body art and color realism tattoos. At these events he could learn techniques, new needle configurations, pigment loading strategies with other folks who were all working together to help make tattooing explode in popularity.

Now Timple and his team carry on this tradition building tattoo community, running VillainArts Tattoo Arts Expo since 1999. You can find these artists and fans at over two dozen cities across the United States each year: find the schedule and more on VillainArts.com.

"bud.com is stoked to have a chance to help tattoo-loving adults get high," says bud.com CEO Dean Arbit with a grin. "We have sent weed to every city on the VillainArts tattoo circuit. Now we're hooking you up live."