I grew up in a small town with a population of less than 6,000. I have lived and worked my entire life in small towns in central (and southern) Illinois. I have driven on every interstate and almost every highway in the state, and I visited countless small towns for one reason or another.

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And one of the aspects of the new Illinois cannabis industry I enjoy most is watching new cannabis-friendly business open up in small towns similar to the one I grew up in. So when I noticed Jim Means in Arcola, Illinois, population 2,700, had opened a retail store called Friends in High Places, I had to stop by and check it out.

Friends in High Places is a little cannabinoid boutique offering CBD, THC-8 (9, 10 and V), Kratom products, extractions, artistic functional glass, accessories, herbal supplements, natural remedies, and more.

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Arcola is located right off Interstate 57, exit 203. Friends in High Places’ small retail store is located at 116 West Main Street and can be reached by phone at 217-268-4851 and on Facebook.

I stopped in on my way back from getting a haircut in Mattoon. While at Friends in High Places, I checked the place out, chatted with Sarah, and participated in an informative conversation out the product the store offers.

I pick up a glass bowel I had needed for a couple product-review photos and a container of the store’s in-house full-spectrum Rub Out balm for my chronic muscle aches. The store also stocked other CBD and Delta-8 products, as well as other products.

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The glass artist Vince Lown, from Humboldt County, created a set of glass bowls that Friends in High Places carried. I chose my smoking pipe for a set of Vince Lown creations. I think it was a good one.

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The bowl is functional and worked well for one of the reviews I have already published, and though I have not tried the balm, I plan to take the Rub Out with me for a long drive and weekend gateway.

If we are collectively going to normalize cannabis, then every small town in Illinois needs have a retail stores similar to Friends in High Places, where those who are unfamiliar to cannabinoids and what the natural treatments have to offer can be education to create better health for themselves and others. Friends in High Places is impressively combining an interesting cannabis community with small town hospitality.

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