The Founder of BLUNTO joined us to discuss his journey and the creation of the popular new game for Cannabis enthusiasts.


Please share a little bit about who you are, your background and how you ended up in the Cannabis Industry.

Hi, my name is Josh Foxx and I am a ganjapreneur.  My background was actually in physical training, but while attending a party my freshman year at college, I noticed that we were only playing drinking games, which is great for people who like alcohol, but there really wasn’t anything for those who smoked marijuana.

The best ideas are the simplest, right?  Having only an Uno deck and a few rolled up blunts laying around, I creatively combined the two. After some carefully made up house rules – BLUNTO was born!

What started as a small game soon became a big hit and everyone from all over campus started showing up for parties.  I realized that not only was this fun – it was social, and a great way to gamify marijuana smoking which was now becoming legalized recreationally in a variety of states.  I patented the game so everyone could play and have a BLUNTO game at home!

Tell us about the initial vision for your company and how, if applicable, you have had to pivot as the world has changed. 

The initial concept for BLUNTO was to gamify marijuana smoking and make it more sociable at parties.  When COVID-19 hit, it was an interesting time for BLUNTO.  We had a game that definitely helped to ease the boredom of quarantine, but it involved passing/sharing blunts.  We immediately created a set of rules specific to quarantine and playing via Zoom and we are now working on an app version so people can play remotely with friends. 

Education has been a big part of silencing the stigma associated with marijuana.   While we have a long way to go, have you seen any improvements in this regard?  How can it be improved?

Overall there has been a big improvement in how people are being educated about marijuana – separated and free from the stoner stereotypes. 

The biggest difference to me, either in creating the change or reflecting the change, has been in how it is portrayed in the media.  From news media to reality shows, sitcoms to films, they are now showing a more mainstream, less cliche version of what it means to use marijuana, and touting the positive, medicinal reasons to use cannabis.  

There is plenty of room for improvement, however.  Until it is voted for and legalized across all 50 states and prisoners are released who are jailed simply for marijuana charges, it is not a fully educated society.  Slowly but surely we will get there. 

How important is having an entertainment outlet, like BLUNTO, to cannabis users during this unique time in our country?

It keeps all of us from becoming that stereotypical stoner sitting at home alone, hitting a bong and not really being social during this time.  BLUNTO encourages groups of friends to hop on ZOOM, light up a blunt and have some fun together!  It can help improve your mood if nothing else! 

Let’s talk marketing. Since traditional advertising in the industry isn’t available, will your product be affected by this or do you have an advantage since you aren’t actually a cannabis company?

In most respects we are lucky that we fall under the realm of games or entertainment and can utilize some different marketing avenues than a traditional cannabis company could.  On the flip side, Facebook and social media advertising is still difficult for us as they do consider us a cannabis company.  It does affect our product in that obviously social media is where our audience is spending their time, but we find ways around it – like influencer marketing and podcasts and such that help us reach our plant loving friends. 

Please tell us something that concerns you in the overall cannabis industry and something that excites you.  

What concerns me is legality.  While I believe it should be legalized everywhere, many do not and that could affect our business in the future.  However what excites me is also the legality.  As more and more states legalize our opportunity to expand and grow our business is infinite! 

Where can people learn more about BLUNTO?

 Www.bluntocards.com

Instagram.com/Bluntocards (IG @Bluntocards)

Facebook.com/Blunto (FB @Blunto)