Jimi Devine's career developed through direct involvement in cannabis culture rather than journalism alone. His early activism, experience purchasing cannabis for Berkeley's Cannabis Buyers Club and close relationships with cultivators gave him a perspective that later shaped his writing. The original nuggnotes account traces his development from Massachusetts to California and his work documenting genetics, championing craft cultivation and preserving the history of legacy operators.
Lynn, Massachusetts: Activism Begins
Jimi Devine (@theJimiDevine) was born in Lynn, Massachusetts.
According to the original account, that experience sparked his interest in drug-policy reform and advocacy.
He also served on the board of:
SSDPOfficial (@ssdpofficial).
He subsequently became active with:
Drug Policy Alliance (@drugpolicyalliance).
Law Enforcement Action Partnership, formerly LEAP (@policeforreform).
2009: Moving to Berkeley
He joined the iconic:
Cannabis Buyers Club (@cbcb.berkeley).
The original account describes this as an important stage in his development.
At the Cannabis Buyers Club, he became experienced in:
Inventory management.
Purchasing.
Evaluating cannabis products.
Navigating California's chaotic pre-legalization market.
The experience helped develop the critical eye that later became a defining part of his journalism.
Instead of reporting on cannabis exclusively from the outside, Devine understood the business and the products through direct work.
2014: The Hash Podcast and Cannabis Journalism
In 2014, Devine connected with @pot_properly through:
The Hash podcast.
The original account identifies:
High Times (@hightimesmagazine).
Leafly (@Leafly).
San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle).
Cannabis Now (@cannabisnow).
LA Weekly (@LAWeekly).
The caption describes his writing as focused on the details that separated exceptional cannabis from ordinary flower.
2019: Founding the Transbay Challenge
The Transbay Challenge (@transbay.challenge).
The original account describes it as an elite competition honoring California's leading cultivators and hashmakers.
The event recognized people producing high-quality flower and concentrates.
The caption specifically identifies winners including the names below — the documented record differs for the editions checked: Devine's own Cannabis Now report names IC Collective's Ziablo as the inaugural 2019 winner (Gold Seal's Red Congolese second; Commune and Triples SF third), and of the caption's names only Fidel is documented winning, at the fourth edition in 2022 with his KMZ. The caption's list:
Worldwide Fidel (@worldwidefidel).
LA Family Farms (@la_family_farms).
Maven Genetics (@mavengeneticsofficial).
Your Highness LA (@yourhighnessla).
The competition became part of Devine's work supporting California's craft cultivation community.
2020: LA Weekly's Cannabis Columnist
In 2020, Devine became the cannabis columnist for:
LA Weekly (@laweekly).
His reviews were known for their attention to:
Chemotypes.
Terpenes.
Cultivar characteristics.
The original account identifies Animal Kush as one of the strains he spotlighted.
The cultivar was associated with:
CA Artisanal Medicine Camp.
His work helped establish a more detailed approach to cannabis reviews, emphasizing chemistry and cultivar identity rather than relying only on broad descriptions of potency or appearance.
2024: An Epoch of OG
"An Epoch of OG: The OG Kush Family Genealogy."
According to the original account, the article traced OG Kush's global influence.
The project reflected his interest in documenting the relationships between important cultivars and the people responsible for preserving and developing them.
This Bud's For You
The original account identifies his contribution to Ed Rosenthal's This Bud's For You as another part of his work documenting cannabis knowledge and culture.
Smoke & Bridges: Preserving Oral Histories
The project recorded oral histories with cannabis pioneers.
The original account specifically identifies:
Michael from Symbiotic Genetics (@symbiotic916).
The project reflected his broader interest in preserving stories that might otherwise disappear as the industry changes.
Rather than focusing exclusively on current brands and releases, Smoke & Bridges connected contemporary cannabis culture with the people who helped build it.
Criticism of Mega-Farms and Proposition 64
Devine is described in the original account as a fierce critic of mega-farms.
The Emerald Triangle.
The caption specifically emphasizes his coverage of how Proposition 64's taxes and regulatory red tape affected small growers.
According to the original account, these costs and regulatory burdens crushed many smaller operators.
His advocacy focused on the economic consequences of legalization for the people who had cultivated cannabis before the regulated market existed.
Judging Zalympix and the Transbay Challenge
The original account identifies him as a judge for:
Zalympix (@Zalympix).
The Transbay Challenge (@transbaychallenge).
More Than a Journalist
That same year, he moved to Berkeley and joined the Cannabis Buyers Club.
By 2014, he was contributing to cannabis media, and in 2019 he founded the Transbay Challenge.
Through Smoke & Bridges, This Bud's For You, competition judging and advocacy for Emerald Triangle growers, the original account presents Devine as someone connecting cannabis journalism with the people, genetics and communities behind the culture.
Sources
Nugg Notes. "Rolling Deep: The Jimi Devine Story." Instagram, April 26, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DI65vuVSfoS/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
Ellen Holland. "Jimi Devine Picks Winners." Leaf Magazine (Leaf Nation), February 3, 2026. https://leafmagazines.com/culture/jimi-devine-picks-winners/
Verifies Jimi Devine is originally from Lynn, Massachusetts, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, and landed a job at the Cannabis Buyer's Club of Berkeley (founded 1996, described as the nation's oldest active cannabis dispensary) through connections made as a student activist; that since 2019 he has hosted his own cannabis competitions, including the Transbay Challenge; that he spent almost five years as LA Weekly's cannabis columnist; and that judging elite competitions worldwide is central to his work.
Ellen Holland. "Cannabis Journalist Jimi Devine Stokes the Fire." Grasslands, June 28, 2021. https://www.mygrasslands.com/cannabis-journalists/jimi-devine
Verifies Devine got his start as a cannabis advocate with the Drug Policy Alliance and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) beginning in 2005 while still in college; that he is originally from Lynn, Massachusetts, holds a bachelor's in Journalism and Media Studies from Franklin Pierce University (New Hampshire), and started working full-time in the industry at the Cannabis Buyers Club of Berkeley when he moved to California in 2009; that he serves as cannabis columnist and critic for LA Weekly, has contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle, The Village Voice, Weedmaps and Leafly, and was a senior staff writer at Cannabis Now; and that he has served as a judge for several prestigious cannabis competitions and is noted for expertise in strain genealogy.
Weedmaps News. "Authors — Jimi Devine." Weedmaps, n.d. https://weedmaps.com/news/authors/
Verifies the byline record in the outlet's own bio: cannabis policy reform work since 2005, industry work since 2009 after moving from Lynn, Massachusetts, and writings appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Hill, GreenState, High Times, 7x7 Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Leafly and The East Bay Express — confirming the High Times, Leafly, SF Chronicle and LA Weekly credits (Cannabis Now is covered by the Grasslands entry above).
Jimi Devine. "The Transbay Challenge: Growers Battle for San Francisco Bragging Rights." Cannabis Now, September 26, 2019. https://cannabisnow.com/the-transbay-challenge-growers-battle-for-san-francisco-bragging-rights/
Verifies Devine created and hosted the inaugural Transbay Challenge in 2019 (an invite-only Bay Area flower competition he named and organized, hosted at Gold Seal SF after the original venue fell through), that he also served as one of its four judges, and that the unanimous winner was IC Collective's Ziablo, with Gold Seal's Red Congolese second and Commune's F1 Durban x Gushers and Triples SF's Triple Scoop Gelato tied for third.
Cannabis Now. "Transbay Challenge: A View From the Judges' Table." Cannabis Now, August 14, 2022. https://cannabisnow.com/transbay-challenge-a-view-from-the-judges-table/
Verifies the Transbay Challenge began in the fall of 2019 as Devine's competition for Bay Area bragging rights, and that the fourth installment (August 13, 2022, in Los Angeles) was won by Fidel's KMZ, with Fidel identified as Shawn Damirdijan — the only caption-named winner documented in any opened source, in a later edition rather than the first.
Emerald Cup / WeedWeek. "Emerald Cup 2022 Judges." WeedWeek, January 2022. https://weedweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Emerald-Cup-2022-Judges.pdf
Verifies Jimi Devine served as an official Emerald Cup 2022 judge (listed in the Solventless Concentrate category) — confirming his competition-judge role generally, though no opened source names him as a Zalympix judge specifically.
Muck Rack. "Articles by Jimi Devine." Muck Rack, accessed November 2, 2026. https://muckrack.com/jimidevine/articles
Verifies the Smoke & Bridges oral-history project is Devine's: episode 8, "The Art of Cannabis Breeding with Michael of Symbiotic Genetics," has him interviewing Michael of Symbiotic Genetics (aka The Village) about going from a Sacramento grow warehouse to running a major Northern California breeding outfit, alongside episodes with roller Marcos "CGO" Surita and Emerald Cup director Victoria Shea; the same index verifies his High Times authorship (multiple 2025 High Times pieces), a Leafly piece on 2024 THC-score enforcement, and his strain-spotlight writing on California Artisanal Medicine (CAM) flower (their Hashburger) — confirming the CAM association, though the spotlighted strain documented is Hashburger, not Animal Kush.
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