Cannabis Art Graces Lt. Gov’s Coffee With Constituents

Every Friday morning, Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman opens his office at the Statehouse in Montpelier for conversations with constituents. On Friday, April 19th, he’s hosting a very special cannabis-themed Coffee With Constituents.

During the gathering, artist Julie “Fisheye” Duquette will be presenting the Lieutenant Governor with a picture of the state of Vermont, made entirely of cannabis leaves.

The leaves were donated by Duquette herself, as well as Northeast Kingdom Hemp, Willow Crossing Farm, Eric St. Croix, Tito Bern, Vermont Awards & Engraving, Humble Roots Horticulture, and Vermont Cannabis Solutions.

The inspiration for the piece came from Duquette’s experience getting diagnosed with Grave’s Disease six years ago. Her sister knew a doctor in Florida, who showed her how to use medical cannabis to cure her overactive thyroid.

She also got rid of all toxins and plastics from her home, switched to all-natural soap and shampoo, and quit taking pharmaceuticals, including hydrocodone (known commercially as vicodin) and other painkillers.

“All the people that are thanking me for doing this, it just blows my mind.” – Julie “Fisheye” Duquette

Duquette now makes her own tinctures and edibles, and gives them away in an attempt to show people the immense benefits of cannabis products. Along with crafting her own medicines, she cultivates hundreds of different kinds of plants in her home. Noticing an excess of leaves on the floor, Duquette started creating works of art by drying and painting the leaves, mounting them on a canvas, and finishing them with home-made frames.

Naturally, she started gravitating towards working with cannabis leaves – with some amazing results!

Duquette says that the cannabis leaf piece she’ll be bringing to the Statehouse contains more than 3,000 leaves, took over 30 hours to complete, and is “a monument to legalization, and a celebration of legal access to healthy alternative medications” as well as “a true testament to the hard work invested by our Lieutenant Governor over the last 20 years.”

The artist also notes with surprise the volume of positive response for her project. “All the people that are thanking me for doing this,” she says, “it just blows my mind.”

“The piece will hang in my office and serve as a reminder of the great effort of so many to get to this point. It will also serve to inspire the work that we still must do to achieve a responsible, regulated, local cannabis system.” – Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman

“I am excited to unveil a cannabis inspired work of art by a local Vermont artist,” says Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman. “The piece will serve as a reminder of the great effort of so many to get to this point. It will also serve to inspire the work that we still must do to achieve a responsible, regulated, local cannabis system.”

The cannabis-themed Coffee With Constituents will take place Friday, April 19th, from 8:30-10am in the Lieutenant Governor’s office at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier.