A group of Jewish professionals are building a community that brings together cannabis and Judaism.

Jews in Weed was originally founded by Jordan Isenstadt and Adriana Kertzer in New York City, with the support of Shelby Poole, Stu Zakim, Mitch Kulick, and David Kushner. Having been in the public relations space professionally, Isenstadt noticed that when recreational cannabis became legal in New York, there were a lot of Jewish people in that industry.

“Over the years, I certainly noticed, just being a Jewish New Yorker, that there’s a lot of Jewish people in the weed industry, but I never really thought that much of it necessarily,” said Isenstadt.

Then, following the events of Oct. 7, 2023, Isenstadt and other Jewish professionals in the cannabis industry found themselves longing for community, particularly in the wake of rising antisemitic discourse.

“It became very apparent to me in the days afterward as I heard various denunciations from corporate America and other kinds of industries, I felt like there was a real silence in the cannabis community,” said Isenstadt. “I think for a lot of us, it was kind of surprising or shocking, and I felt like a need to bring Jews in the cannabis community together and just try to find avenues to build some community where it seemed like there wasn’t.”

Jews in Weed held their first call over Zoom on a Friday at 4:20 p.m., a tradition that would continue weekly to connect industry professionals together from across the state. Kimberly Tanami, Founder and CEO of HPI Canna, told amNewYork that after moving from a Jewish neighborhood in Queens to Upstate New York, it was harder to find a sense of community.

“I moved upstate in 2020, and that landscape really changed for me. I have to travel over an hour just to go food shopping, and there’s no Jewish schools up here, and the Jewish community is pretty much non-existent,” said Tanami. “I’m in upstate New York, I’m lacking a sense of community, and then in the Jewish cannabis space, it’s just nice that they created one.”

For Isenstadt and Tanami, the connection between Judaism and cannabis was one that made sense, particularly on the spiritual side of Judaism.

“In cannabis, you experience a space of no judgment, and it’s kind of like New York City. New York City is very ethnocentric and everybody kind of melts and jives with each other really well. Well, in the cannabis space, you see that tenfold, and that’s very similar when it comes to the spirit of Judaism,” said Tanami. “In order to be successful in your spiritual endeavors, if you treat everyone the same as you would want people to treat yourself, you have successfully achieved everything that God tells you. My point is in cannabis, you experience that, a place of no judgment and everyone’s kind of feeling equal, and it’s the same concept when it comes to Jews who really are beholden to the spirit of the Torah.”

“I don’t wanna speak for all Jewish households, but I do feel like there is an openness in Jewish homes and households, and cannabis consumption is something that is sometimes an open topic,” said Isenstadt. “In some households, whether that kind of impacts the religious aspect, I can’t necessarily speak for everyone, but certainly cannabis has, for me anyway, been very spiritual.”

As time went on, the group continued to build momentum, with more and more professionals in the industry joining in, with some meetings having as many as 80 people joining in. The calls kept up weekly for about five to six months, eventually phasing out, but new opportunities were unfolding for Jews in Weed.

In late 2023, Jews in Weed started to venture into the event space, holding a Hanukkah event at the now-closed THC NYC in Soho. Isenstadt learned about an opportunity to bring Jews in Weed to MJBizCon, a multi-day cannabis convention held in December. After connecting with a cannabis lawyer (Mitch Kulick), Isenstadt helped to develop the organization’s first Bagel Bash.

As the name suggests, the Bagel Bash invited convention goers to come to the gathering, have a bagel and network together over some breakfast. And even though they were hotel bagels, the event drew out 200 people.

“it was an amazing, real lightning-in-a-bottle kind of moment just to bring all these people together, super raw; the world still felt very unstable, particularly for Jews in America. I’d never necessarily been involved in something like this. Usually, I’m planning events for other people or clients and sort of doing them and sort of being the most visible person,” said Isenstadt. “It was kind of a new experience for me.”

After a hiatus in 2024, Jews in Weed relaunched with another Bagel Bash at that year’s MJBizCon, bringing out 300 people. The group has also held a handful of events including a Bagel Bash in Boston and a Purim Party in New York City at Culture House NYC, a legal dispensary in Midtown.

On the horizon, Jews in Weed is looking to host more events, particularly around the holidays Rosh Hashanah and Lag BaOmer. For both Isenstadt and Tanami, the importance of having Jews in Weed now is just as strong as it was when it first started because it is helping to break down additional barriers around Judaism and cannabis in general.

“A lot of the turnout is not only Jewish people that come to these events, and this is an opportunity for us to educate people on what Judaism is and to kind of break down some of the stigmas that relate to a lot of the discrimination that we encounter,” said Tanami. “It serves not only as community support, but it’s also an educational component introducing people to the beauty of Judaism.”

You can follow the latest from Jews in Weed by following them on Instagram @jews_in_weed.