Arend Richard - Co-founder of WeedTube, a platform to educate and freely talk about cannabis and how to use it.  He is a digital media influencer who has pioneered the cannabis movement through high-end lifestyle video production. As one of the first cannabis lifestyle influencers, Arend has turned an industry on its head, allowing social network influencers to shape the future of media and public opinion around cannabis.

Since its inception, WeedTube has grown to become a vibrant and engaged community of millions of cannabis enthusiasts. Today, it is the largest alternative to YouTube for cannabis content creators. As co-founder and creative director, Arend is responsible for creative direction, brand standards, and advertiser relations. Additionally, Arend has founded Canna4Climate, an effort by the stoners to make the earth greener. Where he is changing the perception of the stoner on 4/21, and every day thereafter.

In a closed  interview with  Arend was asked about his role in the current cannabis industry and he mentioned ‘In life, I believe my goal is to change the perception of what it means to be a stoner to the rest of the world who may look at cannabis consumers with a judgmental eye.’

It's time for a change, time to legitimize a stoner identity that is free from the burden of the past. It's time to embrace the image and roll out a campaign that promotes both legal freedom and respectfulness in our local communities. 

Arend has grown the network from a single video account to thousands of accounts and millions of views while building lasting relationships with cannabis influencers and companies. Arend wants to help more people who have been directly or indirectly affected by the stigma of cannabis, by providing them a platform to share their stories and collaborate with like-minded people.

Following the YouTube cannabis marketing ban back in March 2018, Arend’s channel was deleted with over 190,000 subscribers. With this, he teamed up with a like-minded community of influential content creators and launched WeedTube as a safe house for cannabis enthusiasts. To date, WeedTube has evolved into the home for curated cannabis content, and the platform has grown to a family of more than 20,000. 

With the social purge on the legal cannabis industry, Arend has taken another initiative to fight for cannabis censorship on the social media platforms, with a petition they have started against Instagram to ensure fair and equal opportunity in the cannabis growing industry, as they demand better regulation and policies from Instagram. The petition calls upon 1,000,000 signatures requesting Instagram Rules and Regulation Community to join a roundtable discussion with enthusiasts and influencers in the cannabis industry to update their policies and regulations around legal cannabis content to provide fair and equal opportunity to our rapidly growing industry. The cannabis industry has offered an array of opportunities to small and large businesses across the country, opening up new jobs, creating a massive economy, and raking in billions of dollars. However, with the rise in the popularity of cannabis, federal agencies should attempt to regulate content and advertising on all forms of social media. 

Arend once mentioned cannabis’ positive impact on his life, as he was born with a blood cell disease, mastocytosis, and one histamine per day took over his 8+ pills per day to regulate his digestive system. And furthermore explained his depressive and frustrating mindset has been changed to outlook transform into something entirely more productive.

That’s not all Arend has up his sleeve, though. Arend Richard is a proud Colorado native and member of the LGBTQ community. He is a great creative novel writer too. Representing one of the largest and most influential LGBTQ communities in the United States, he has written a sci-fi book series ‘Being Found’ and ‘Finding Home’ that are prominently LGBT. He wrote this book intending to have a fun, funny, and feel-good story that anyone can enjoy. 

With his unparalleled drive for the cannabis industry to grow and encourage environmental clean-up, he tends to navigate the industry; Richard has managed to implement creative development strategies that left YouTube in the dust. His background as a stoner has helped establish a stronghold within the industry, and the trust with other enthusiasts and cannabis content creators has only become a bonus for him in achieving his vision.

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