Luc Carlin built his media career on direct experience inside the cannabis industry. After working in medical and recreational cannabis, he turned to documenting the culture, brands and business strategies shaping it.
2010–2015: Seattle's Medical Cannabis Scene
Luc Carlin (@LMCxLUC) entered the cannabis industry at 13 years old. According to the original nuggnotes account, he worked in Seattle's unregulated medical cannabis shops. The caption identifies 2010–2015 as the period associated with his early experiences. Carlin describes the environment as a "Wild West", comparing it with contemporary New York City's cannabis scene. The experience exposed him to an industry operating before Washington's recreational market had fully developed.
Washington's Early Recreational Market
Carlin later entered Washington's emerging recreational cannabis industry. The original account identifies Space Weed (@spaceweedusa) among the legacy and licensed brands connected to that period. Working in both medical and recreational environments gave him a perspective on the differences between the two markets. This experience later informed his media coverage of the industry's development.
2018: Marketing Director at CannaGenesis
In 2018, Carlin became Marketing Director at CannaGenesis. The company is described in the caption as a Tier 3 producer. The position gave him direct experience with cannabis marketing, branding and business operations. It also helped establish the professional background he later brought to his documentaries and industry coverage.
2019: Launching High Design Media
In 2019, Carlin launched High Design Media (@HIGHDESIGNMEDIA). The original account identifies it as a YouTube series focused on:
Cannabis branding.
Cannabis culture.
Business strategy.
Rather than limiting the series to product reviews, Carlin examined how cannabis companies developed their identities, products and audiences.
Nearly 1,000 Videos in the First Year
Carlin adopted an unusually high-volume publishing schedule. According to the caption, he posted approximately three videos per day. During the first year, he produced nearly 1,000 uploads. His coverage included:
Cannabis news.
Cultural developments.
Industry moves.
The original account credits that consistent output with helping him build an audience of more than 155,000. That audience included traditional-market operators, budtenders, brand owners and creatives.
Documenting Cookies, Jungle Boys and Connected
LMC profiled several prominent California cannabis brands. The original account specifically names:
Cookies (@cookiessf).
Jungle Boys (@jungleboys).
Connected (@connected.california).
His work examined brand strategy and the cultural impact of these companies. The caption also identifies interviews featuring:
Berner (@Berner415).
Ivan.
Dope as Yola (@dope.as.yola).
These interviews helped connect Carlin's analysis with people directly involved in the industry.
Cali Plug, The Ten Co and Backpack Boyz
LMC's coverage extended to additional cannabis brands and personalities. The original account identifies:
Cali Plug (@CaliPlug).
The Ten Co (@_thetenco).
Backpack Boyz (@officialBackpackboyz).
@gettinghighwithshow.
@yunglb_litt.
The caption describes his work as examining how these brands developed their strategies and cultural positions.
2021 Onward: Building the LMC Network
Beginning in 2021, Carlin expanded into a multi-channel content network. The original account identifies five distinct projects.
LMC: Cannabis news, strategy and legalization.
High Design (@high.x.design): Long-form brand documentaries.
LMC Reports: Analysis and industry trends.
Retro Tech (@retro_t_e_c_h): Media and technology nostalgia.
Trap Trees: Stories from the traditional cannabis market.
Each project focused on a different part of the broader media operation. Together, they allowed Carlin to cover contemporary business developments alongside historical and cultural stories.
Texas, New York and Colombia
Carlin's documentary work expanded beyond Washington and California. The original account identifies coverage in:
Texas.
New York.
Colombia.
The caption also references additional locations. His work connected legal cannabis businesses with underground markets and communities across different regions.
Helping the Little Guy Win
The original account describes Carlin's approach as combining a filmmaker's perspective with a grassroots outlook. Through @lmc.luc, he blends journalism, cultural documentation and education. The caption preserves his stated objective:
"I want to help the little guy win."
That philosophy reflects his interest in documenting smaller operators alongside established cannabis brands.
The Spray Pack Documentary
At the time of the original account, Carlin had just released The Spray Pack Documentary. The film examined spray packs, described in the caption as one of cannabis culture's most polarizing products. The original story anticipated that the documentary would generate significant discussion.
Building a Cannabis Media Archive
LMC's development began with Carlin's teenage experiences in Seattle's medical cannabis scene and continued through Washington's recreational market, CannaGenesis, and High Design Media. His nearly 1,000 first-year uploads helped establish an audience exceeding 155,000. The later LMC Network expanded his work into documentaries, news, analysis, technology nostalgia and traditional-market stories. The original account presents Carlin's mission as documenting cannabis culture while helping smaller operators win.
Sources
Nugg Notes. "Documenting the Culture: How LMC Became Weed's Storyteller." Instagram, May 6, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJU1cLsSmEJ/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
Leafly Canada. "High Design by LMC: Discover YouTube's best cannabis documentaries." Leafly, January 27, 2023. https://www.leafly.ca/news/lifestyle/high-design-by-lmc-discover-youtubes-best-cannabis-documentaries
Verifies Luc Carlin as founder of High Design and the LMC YouTube channel, launched in 2019, covering cannabis culture history and brand business strategy; documentaries on Cookies and Compound Genetics; 16 hours of interviews with Jungle Boys co-founder Ivan; coverage of Berner, Jungle Boys and Backpack Boyz; and a best-performing episode on Runtz' Yung LB.
Leafly Canada. "High Design by LMC: Discover YouTube's best cannabis documentaries." Leafly, January 27, 2023. https://www.leafly.ca/news/lifestyle/high-design-by-lmc-discover-youtubes-best-cannabis-documentaries
Verifies the early-career claims in Carlin's own words — he worked in Seattle's medical dispensaries when he was in high school, in the "Wild West Days" he compares to New York now — and that his work took him to New York City and Colombia.
Leafly Canada. "High Design by LMC: Discover YouTube's best cannabis documentaries." Leafly, January 27, 2023. https://www.leafly.ca/news/lifestyle/high-design-by-lmc-discover-youtubes-best-cannabis-documentaries
Verifies that in 2018 Carlin held the Director of Marketing role at CannaGenesis, a Washington I-502 Tier 3 cannabis producer-processor, and that he resolved to upload three videos per day, a strategy which helped him complete nearly 1,000 videos by the end of that year; it also verifies the "little guy" quote in fuller form: "So my guiding light really is to help the little guy win by providing information."
Michael Mejer. "Episode 90: Luc Carlin, Founder, High Design." A Mejer Journey (podcast), via Listen Notes, March 14, 2024. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/a-mejer-journey/episode-90-luc-carlin-6GxLXWaVN1h/
Verifies Carlin's bio — over six years of experience in the legal cannabis industry and 10+ years in the medical/traditional market — and that his LMC channel covered some of the biggest names in the business, such as Cookies and Jungle Boys.
ThoughtLeaders. "LMC YouTube stats, analytics, and sponsorship insights." ThoughtLeaders, accessed November 2, 2026. https://app.thoughtleaders.io/youtube/lmc-2
Verifies LMC first started uploading YouTube videos on November 23, 2019, and now has 157K subscribers and 20M total channel views, supporting the post's 155K+ audience claim.
LMC (Luc Carlin). "LMC — YouTube channel page." YouTube, accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMG4miM6b2OpTCASAXfnBDg
The channel description and video catalog verify the documentaries on Berner and the Cookies empire, Ivan and the Jungle Boys, Backpack Boyz, Runtz and Yung LB, and Cali Plug, plus the Spray Packs documentary, listed as "Spray Packs: The Weed Slowly Killing Us (Documentary)."
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