The Bootleg Folk Art of NYC Weed Baggies
A visual archive
“Archive Dive” is a periodic series by Welcome Magazine that sources scans from important physical cultural archives, alongside context on the people and traditions behind them. You can read the past Archive Dives here and here.
This installment documents an archive by @hectormosko and @studioh13 of an American folk artifact: the weed bags of New York street dealers.
If you’ve spent time in New York, you’ve probably seen them: small plastic baggies with bootleg graphics of cartoons and bold typography, used by dealers to package and sell weed.
Covered in knockoffs of cartoon characters, pop-culture icons, and zany copy, these baggies borrow freely and without permission. Sellers compete on packaging: louder or more provocative bags get noticed, photographed, and remembered.
Made to be disposable, these baggies enjoy only brief moments of use before they disappear. Their designs are ephemeral, known by many, but almost never properly archived. Their creators are rarely credited.
It’s American folk product design, circulated through the New York weed market.
Drug Dealer Bags, Volume 3: New York City Special, collected by Hector Mosko in 2024, compiles this visual trend. You can find Hector Mosko on Instagram @hectormosko and @studioh13, as well as on his website, where you can now purchase the new volume of his weed bag collection.
The scans below highlight some of our favorites from Volume 3.
Written by lattice9.net
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