Cannabis Pioneer: Frenchy Cannoli
Frenchy Cannoli, who sadly, we said goodbye to on July 18, 2021 – is one of the most iconic characters in cannabis. A blend of teacher and entertainer, Cannoli’s personality was infectious and is one of the many reasons he was so beloved in the cannabis community.
Often called the Hashish Legend, Cannoli hailed originally from France, but settled in California after a rich and nomadic journey that lasted more than 20 years. He’s described in many ways, but the most popular words that come to mind about this cannabis innovator include consultant, teacher, activist, and perhaps his favorite – creator of concentrates.
It was during his departure from France to travel the world that Cannoli spent so many formative years learning everything he could about producing resin extracts from the cannabis plant. In 2019 in a speech he delivered to a cannabis conference audience he said, “I’ve been making hash all my life.” It was his hashish that brought him street cred in cannabis circles, along with his workshops, aptly named “Lost Art of the Hashishin” during which he taught producers and home growers across the globe. His methods focused heavily on how to harvest the trichomes, or resin glands, and turn them into what we refer to today as concentrates.
At the time of his passing, Cannoli was in the midst of a documentary series called “Frenchy Dreams of Hashish” which has yet to be released. Director of the series, Jake Remington said, “I’d been smoking marijuana since I was 14 and met Frenchy when I was 33 and learned more about the plant in those two years than in the 15 I’d been smoking. I just remember, me and French, the camera rolling, going from farm to farm, smoking joint after joint.”
Cannoli discovered the power of the cannabis plant when he tried hashish at age 17, which it’s said brought him joy and a sense of well-being that he’d allegedly never experienced before. His 18-year journey to learn how to create and cultivate it from those who knew the best legacy techniques steeped in cultural history. He would spend time with masters in Morocco, Mexico, Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan and India. Later in his life, he would say that “Collecting live resin from wild cannabis plants with my bare hands in remote valleys at the foot of the Himalayas has been by far the most engaging and extraordinary experience of my life.”
He, along with his wife and daughter, moved to California in the early 1990s and worked in “traditional” industries like retail and restaurant management, but in 2005 made the decision to enter the cannabis industry as an educator. He began workshops in 2015 and shared his hash at industry gatherings until medical dispensaries began to purchase and carry his products. His legacy includes his iconic Frenchy Cannoli Brand, including his website and YouTube channels which provide DIY hash-making videos for anyone to replicate his results.
His willingness to teach, learn, and share made it certain that for the near future, traditional methods of hashish production will live on and there is no shortage of tributes and eulogies on social media platforms, as well as in the press on his untimely passing. A true cannabis pioneer, Frenchy Carroll was one of those serving as the epitome of the cannabis-centric leaders of a modern day revolution.