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leafie Issue 01 Currently Crowdfunding

posted by Robyn Pitts March 27, 2024

leafie is the latest publication to launch on our very own crowdfunding platform, In Perpetuum. Issue 01 (81% funded at time of publishing) of leafie’s bi-annual print magazine will feature in-depth features, untold stories, stunning photography, creative expression, and articles that demand distraction-free attention. leafie, which was launched as a media platform back in 2019, is dedicated to exploring the world of drugs and cultural events. The magazine offers a new lens on psychedelic phenomena, mixing content about cannabis and psychedelic culture with stories and features that delight regardless of their subject. Their first ever printed publication will be at the forefront of providing unbiased and reliable information on substances like cannabis, offering open dialogues and reshaping perceptions.

Below, we chat with leafie’s creator, Liam O’Dowd, about what to expect from the debut publication, the future of their platform, and what makes leafie stand out from the crowd.

Can you tell us about leafie and the inspiration behind starting the magazine?

We’ve been publishing online now for 5 years, so the magazine felt like a logical step in our growth. We wanted to do something physical as it allows for more creative expression, but also as a way of getting our content in front of new people and new audiences. Online has been and always will be an important part of what we do, but there is something special about the permanence of a magazine. By putting some content into print, it feels like we’re continuing to grow, thrive and achieve our mission of educating more people.

Could you share a bit about the team behind leafie and their roles in bringing this project to life?

We have a small core team that deals with the day-to-day, and we’re supported by a wide network of outstanding contributors who all play an important part in bringing leafie to life. We try to work with people who are as diverse and different as our audience, because the more varied the input the more creative the output.

What can readers expect from leafie Issue 01, both in terms of content and style?

In many ways issue 01 will be an extension of what we do online, but it also gives us more freedom with content. It’s no secret that people are easily distracted when reading online. Messages and notifications can drag you out of an article, quite often people are consuming content online in busy spaces, like the train or bus, so it can be hard to give content the full attention it deserves. With a magazine, readers are often setting themselves up for a more immersive, distraction-free experience. So with that in mind, we’ve got more long-form content that digs a little deeper into the subject matter. There is also more room for creativity, so expect more visual content, more artwork, and more expression through typography.

Could you share some highlights or key features of the magazine that you’re particularly excited about?

We have a beautiful feature on the cannabis legend Lee Harris. Lee led an incredibly exciting and colourful life, mixing with celebrities, opening the first headshop in the UK, and even running for London Mayor. We felt very lucky to be able to sit down with him to look back on his history, but he passed away shortly after the article was finished. We’re grateful that his family gave us the OK to still run the story, and so it’s an emotional read. We’ve also got some great personal accounts from writers on their own experiments and journeys, some quirky short features that probably wouldn’t work online as well as some cultural articles that break the mould of what we do online but are great to read. There really is something for everyone in the first issue.

What sets leafie apart from other publications in the same niche?

We’re definitely not re-inventing the wheel with our magazine, but at the same time we really do feel like we’re doing something different. Instead of telling the same stories to the same audience, we’re aiming to create something anyone would find interesting. You don’t have to be an ardent cannabis consumer or a dedicated psychedelic adventurer to read leafie, when we say we are for the curious, we really mean it. We hope anyone could pick up a copy and find it a fascinating read.

How do you envision leafie evolving in the future, beyond the first issue?

The response so far has been amazing, overwhelming in fact, so we’re already thinking about issue 2. It’s an exciting time in our world. Germany has just legalised cannabis, the world is changing its perception of psychedelics, and it really feels like the winds are changing. We hope that serendipity is on our side and that our readership will grow in line with the cultural shift around our core subjects. We don’t publish anything sensationalist or outlandish, but we do offer interesting and fresh perspectives on the culture that surrounds us, as people change their viewpoints, we hope we’ll educate them. We’ve evolved as the wider conversation has, and we’d like to think in five more years, as leaders abandon prohibition, we’ll be able to look back on how we played a role in that.

Can you walk us through the process of selecting the content to include in the mag versus the website?

The digital content we publish centres a lot around timely events. Studies, research, policy shifts and content that focuses on educating readers on the ‘now’. We want the magazine to be a bit more timeless. If you pick up issue 1 this week or next year, it should still be as relevant as possible. We envisage this model shaping the next five years of leafie. Online will be more reactive to current events and changes alongside education and question-based responses, where as the print will have more longevity and reflect on the bigger picture.

What challenges have you encountered while working on this project, and how have you overcome them?

The biggest difference is the rolling cycle of online content vs the curation of one big content well for print. I am so used to commissioning content on a daily/weekly basis, pulling together 128 pages of content into one big project was a big mindset shift. In a way thats really helped me define what works well online, and what might sit better offline when people have more time to be fully immersed. It’s been a steep learning curve but incredibly enjoyable, there have been a few moments where imposter syndrome has kicked in, but I think after 5 years of publishing online we have a good feel for what people want to read and we’ve been able to translate that into the magazine!

In what ways do you hope leafie will contribute to its community or audience?

The more knowledge people have the more power they have. When we started leafie five years ago, our core aim was to help people find information that was unbiased, easy to understand and presentable in a way that was relatable. This is still the core of what we do. The way the world looks at cannabis and psychedelics is changing, and we want to shine a light on that, because if people know the history, if they understand the motivations of activists, if they can relate to people like them who are on similar journeys, they become empowered to help challenge the misconceptions and misunderstandings.

How do you plan to sustain and grow leafie in the long term?

As it stands the future of leafie is looking brighter than ever. We hope the magazine will become an important part of our growth, and we want to continue to grow our physical presence in the world. We’re making plans to bring leafie to events next so we can have more face to face conversations with people. The digital world is great and we wouldn’t be where we are today without it, but nothing beats human connection.

You can learn more about and support the leafie crowdfunding campaign here. Rewards for supporters include pin badges, rolling papers, and more! Campaign ends 2/4/24.