Ambler’s Guide
The Ambler’s Guide
Editorial Strategy
Built the publication around adults who wanted cannabis to accent their lives, not define them.
Naming
Created a name around wandering, discovery and paying attention.
Brand Voice
Developed an adult, curious, funny voice comfortable with complexity.
Writing & Editing
Wrote key pieces and edited every article across the publication.
In the first years of legal cannabis, a lot of the culture still revolved around getting high. But there was another audience emerging: adults who wanted cannabis to accent their lives, not define them.
That was the insight.
Then came the name:
The Ambler’s Guide.
An ambler wanders. Looks around. Takes the long way. Notices things.
The name gave the publication its posture: life first, cannabis second.
From there came the editorial idea, the voice, and the writing.
The site moved between News & Commentary, Food & Drink, Reviews, and Answers. One piece asked whether cannabis and responsible parenting could coexist. Another explained the risks of edibles. Another reviewed vintage hi-fi receivers.
Cannabis was often the point of entry, but not always the subject.
In the first Letter from the Editor, we put the idea this way:
“When we talk about getting high, we’re not looking for a way out, we’re looking for a way in—a way into ourselves, into the lives of the people and the world around us.”
And:
“We’re here to point our readers toward richer experiences.”
In “The Rabbit Hole of Contemplating Pot and Parenthood,” the question was what responsible use actually meant once you had children:
“I had a conversation once with my son where I feel like I really entered into his world. It was lovely. I enjoyed it. But that’s his world. It’s not where I belong.”
I wrote some of the pieces and edited all of them.
The goal was always the same: help people engage more fully with the life around them, with cannabis as an accent rather than the main event.
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