The other day, I went to the grocery store to do something completely ordinary: pick up some household essentials. I wasn’t looking to expand my mind, I was looking for paper towels. But there it was, right on the shelf, a box of tissues proudly sporting a giant cannabis leaf, as if that were a totally normal thing to see in the paper goods aisle.
No, not a discreet little icon in the corner. A full cannabis leaf, front and center, radiating herbal confidence from a Renova tissue box, sold right there in a mainstream supermarket in Portugal. In the aisle. Next to the normal, boring, paper stuff. I live in Portugal and have for the last three years and I thought I’d seen a lot of quirky Euro branding – but this was new!
Curious, I tossed the box into my cart. “Marijuana Flower,” it said on the packaging. “Slightly floral, slightly spicy.” And I had to wonder, what am I about to blow my nose into?
Not Your Dealer’s Tissue Box
Let’s get one thing clear right away, this tissue doesn’t contain actual THC or CBD or anything that will leave you giggling at reruns of Seinfeld for six hours. No one’s getting high off of these tissues unless they’re doing something extremely wrong with them. The scent is inspired by the marijuana flower, not infused with it. It’s about vibe, not vice.
Renova, the Portuguese brand behind this fragrant innovation, has built a reputation for turning ordinary paper products into bold, design-forward statements. Their “Fragrance Collection” includes scents like “Lime Splash,” “Lavender,” and “Cotton Flower,” but “Marijuana Flower” is clearly the rebellious cousin at the scented tissue family reunion.
And it’s not subtle. The packaging leans into the cannabis theme with confidence, but the scent itself? It’s not what you’d expect. There’s no skunky grow-op aroma… just a clean, slightly floral, slightly spicy blend that smells more like a boutique incense shop in Lisbon than a dispensary.
Cannabis Culture Meets Grocery Aisle
As an emotions therapist who often includes cannabis in my emotional release work, I found this moment surreal. Cannabis in Portugal is decriminalized, yes, but it’s still heavily regulated. While medical cannabis is legal and the country has a long history of progressive drug policy, the idea of cannabis showing up in such an everyday context still feels quietly radical.
So finding a cannabis-themed consumer product, especially one as mundane as tissues, felt like a strange kind of breakthrough. It’s not cannabis as medicine. It’s not cannabis as political statement. It’s just… a scent. A branding choice. A novelty that’s so mainstream it’s being sold next to tissues with pictures of puppies on them.
This is where it gets interesting. Because while Renova isn’t pushing any legal or scientific boundaries here, what they are doing is planting a little green flag in the middle of the mainstream market. They’re saying, “Hey, cannabis isn’t scary. It’s just another aroma. Like eucalyptus. Or mint (or whatever ‘Mountain Fresh’ is supposed to be).”
Normalizing the Leaf
And that’s kind of brilliant, isn’t it? The more people encounter cannabis symbols in everyday life, the less taboo they become. We don’t blink when we see beer branding on a T-shirt or a whiskey-scented candle at the airport gift shop. But cannabis still carries a cultural weight – whether good, bad, or confusing, that makes even the suggestion of it feel transgressive.
Renova’s tissues might be silly, but they’re also a sign of something shifting. This isn’t a cannabis product for cannabis consumers. It’s a cannabis-inspired product for everyone. Your grandma might buy this and not even realize she’s participating in the great green wave of subtle stoner normalization.
The Nose Knows (but should you be smelling this?)
So how do they actually smell? Honestly, kind of nice. It’s not overwhelming, you won’t get flashbacks to your college roommate hotboxing the dorm room. There’s a soft, musky base, a hint of peppery spice, and an almost sweet, floral top note.
Do I need scented tissues in my life? No. Am I irrationally proud that I live in a country where I can buy cannabis-leaf paper products in a regular store? Absolutely.
floral, slightly spicy.”
That said – and here’s where my health journalist hat slips on, scented tissues aren’t totally innocent. Most use synthetic fragrances, which can include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may irritate sensitive noses, eyes, or skin. Some even contain phthalates, a group of chemicals currently under scrutiny for their potential hormone-disrupting effects.
So while you’re unlikely to suffer serious harm from the occasional cannabis-flavored nose-blow, if you’ve got asthma, eczema, or a sensitivity to fragrance, this may not be the whimsical self-care moment it promises to be. Your nose, after all, is a direct line to your brain.
Cannabis Culture, Now in Aisle 9
Still, there’s something undeniably delightful about seeing a cannabis leaf proudly waving from a tissue box in a Portuguese supermarket. It’s weird. It’s a little absurd. And it might just be a sign of how quietly the culture is shifting – one scented tissue at a time.
And hey, if nothing else, it gave me a reason to write this very unexpected blog post.
What do you think cannabis normalization should look like? And is a box of tissues a step forward… or just a branding stunt with really good timing?
With Love,
Becca
P.S. While we’re on the subject of cannabis… I’ll be hosting an online elevation ceremony next month. I’ll share the date once it decides to reveal itself – you know I moved, and I’m still wading around boxes in my new studio (which I can’t wait to show you!). Thanks for your patience while I settle in. If you haven’t jumped on the interest list for it, you can do it here.
Thanks for your dispatches from a more enlightened country. I needed that today.
You’re so very welcome!
Would love to see a comeback of hemp based clothing and products without the boutique markups.
Great question. This intrigued me too. So I asked ChatGPT:
“Here’s the actual breakdown of why hemp products cost so much, despite the fact that it literally grows like a weed:
### 🧶 1. **Limited Supply Chain = Expensive Everything**
Hemp farming was banned or heavily restricted in the U.S. for decades (because… reefer madness), so the infrastructure—mills, processing plants, skilled labor—is nowhere near the scale of cotton or synthetics. Small-scale production = high per-unit costs.
### 🌿 2. **“Sustainable” = Marketing Gold**
The eco crowd loves hemp, and brands know it. So they slap “organic,” “local,” and “ethically sourced” on the label, and up the price. It’s greenwashing, but with artisan font choices.
—
### 🧵 3. **Processing Hemp is Annoying**
Unlike cotton, hemp fibers are tough. Great for durability, terrible for processing. It takes extra steps and specialized machines to break it down into soft, wearable fabric. That costs money—plus someone has to suffer through turning rough plant stalks into something that won’t exfoliate your torso while you walk.
—
### 👕 4. **Niche Market = High Markup**
Most hemp clothes are made by small, niche brands catering to a very specific audience—people who say “artisan” unironically. Fewer customers means they need higher prices to survive. It’s like a microbrewery but for pants.”