Joint Effort: Cannabis and comedy take the stage in support of tornado relief
When tornadoes tore through North St. Louis this spring, they left behind more than physical damage. In their wake, a coalition of local organizers, cannabis advocates, and community members are joining together to provide support with laughter, food, and collective care.
On Thursday, August 21, A Joint Effort: Dinner & Cannabis Comedy Fundraiser for Tornado Relief will take place at Atomic by JAMO on Manchester in The Grove, a consumption-friendly venue in St. Louis.
Organized by A Joint Effort, a collaboration between community-focused cannabis organizations including CannaBeeBee, Kalisto House, St. Louis Cannabis Club, The Cola Lounge, and WeCann, the event blends cannabis culture, comedy, and grassroots action. Proceeds will go toward recovery efforts for North St. Louis neighborhoods impacted by the spring tornadoes, with funds benefiting Black Men Build STL.
Headlining the event is cannabis icon, activist, and comedian Ngaio Bealum, known for Cooking on High on Netflix and decades of cannabis culture and advocacy. Bealum will be joined by local favorites and award-winning comics from the St. Louis area, including Precious J, Tonerio Brown, Kyle Williams, and more.
What can you expect?
“Food, dinner, and weed. Those are the first three things,” Bealum chuckled. “We’ve got some really good local comics. I might even have some new jokes that you haven’t seen online. Fingers crossed.”
“This is my first time headlining in St. Louis, and I’m super excited about that,” he said. “But more than that, it’s just good for the community to come together, man. That’s one of the beautiful things about cannabis. It brings people from all different walks of life together so that we can hang out and support each other.”
Bealum said the roots of cannabis advocacy have always been grounded in justice and care.
“Cannabis legalization started as a social justice issue. That’s how I got into it. You wanted to keep people from going to jail. It helped people survive during the AIDS crisis. Somewhere along the line, some folks forgot that. This show is about remembering.”
Dinner will be provided by Food Magic, with herbal mixology curated by Barpothecary. Attendees will also enjoy access to a curated bud bar hosted by community educators and ambassadors from St. Louis Cannabis Club.
One of the event’s organizers, Abrahama Keys of WeCann, said the goal is to create a space where people can feel good while doing good.
“We’re bringing together laughter, food, and community because that’s what heals. We want people to come out and feel seen, to feel held, and to feel like they’re a part of something bigger.”
Keys said the cannabis community has a unique role in stepping up where other systems fall short.
“We’ve been showing up for each other for years. Whether it was in the legacy market or the regulated space, it’s always been about people helping people. That’s the heart of this.”
She also emphasized the importance of support from established operators in making the event possible.
“SWADE, SINSE, Timeless, Grön, and Robust came on board to help make this real. That support means we can focus on doing this right for the people who need it most.”
For Keys, and others, seeing cannabis companies and brands give back to communities is a way of briding the gap in culture and capitalism.
The fundraiser is a project of GatewayToCannabis, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit powered by member organizations. The group’s mission is to uplift cannabis, culture, and community by supporting equity, education, healing, and celebration within the emerging cannabis space.
“We didn’t want to wait for the city to act. We wanted to respond ourselves,” said Brennan England, founder of St. Louis Cannabis Club and the Missouri Chapter President of Minorities for Medical Marijuana. “When the tornado hit, it impacted some of the most disenfranchised people in our city. Communities already suffering from disinvestment were left with almost no support.”
England said the event is not only a fundraiser, but also a reminder of what the cannabis community can accomplish when it comes together.
“This isn’t just a show. It’s an example of what our community can do when we unite around a shared cause. We’re not just celebrating. We’re rebuilding.”
General admission tickets are still available here, but VIP tickets are already sold out.
The event is 21+ and BYOC.
