As a teen in Cincinnati, singer/pianist Carolyn Alexander realized what many other musicians know; that cannabis can help with creativity, focus, and performance anxiety. In 2016, Carolyn started selling her homemade infused baked goods at local gigs while studying at the world-class Berklee College of Music in Boston, and she learned just how many other musicians agreed that weed enhances music both on and off stage.

Carolyn's vegan THC treats were immediately in high demand with her fellow music lovers, and @loudgirlgoodies was born. Seven years later, Carolyn is now baking above-ground in Taunton, Massachusetts, and her cookies are selling out again - this time on dispensary shelves. And she's still using cannabis to inspire new songs and get comfortable in front of a crowd.

In this episode, host Brit Smith goes on the road to join Carolyn in the kitchen and talks about how using cannabis changes her relationship with music, from writing to listening to performing. Then they discuss the history of jazz and cannabis, and how the War on Drugs was designed in part as a way for the US government to suppress Black people from communing joyfully in jazz clubs in the 1930s.

Carolyn also talks about the different experiences of smoking and eating edibles as a musician, the creative benefits of both using and taking breaks from weed and how she finds cannabis best works to help her get in the zone when she composes music. Finally, Brit tries some @loudgirlgoodies chocolate chip cookies and heads to Somerville to hear Carolyn play with her new band The Morning Kind.

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