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THE NEXTDOOR INVENTION: How Two Massachusetts Innovators Intentionally Reinvented the Pre-Roll Experience
OG Strain | Plugs Pages Magazine
Let me paint you a picture.
Two women in western Massachusetts.
One a self-described Deadhead. The other practical, methodical, and remarkably efficient.
Different personalities.
Different backgrounds.
One shared appreciation for cannabis.
And somehow, that combination led to an invention that’s now finding its way onto dispensary shelves and making smokers rethink the humble pre-roll.
Meet Nancy Domenichelli and Diana Langle.
And yes, this story starts on Nextdoor.
Which means it could have become a neighborhood argument.
Instead, it became an innovation story.
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FROM NEXTDOOR TO NEXT LEVEL
Nancy and Diana didn’t meet in a startup accelerator.
They weren’t introduced by investors or cannabis executives.
They met the way many modern friendships begin: online.
After connecting through Nextdoor and occasionally interacting as neighbors, they eventually met in person at a political letter-writing event.
Then came the moment that would cement the friendship.
As 4:20 drew close, both women quietly excused themselves and headed for their cars.
Not together.
Not planned.
Just two people independently following the same schedule.
A friendship built on good timing, shared interests, and an immediate understanding that sometimes the best conversations happen after a smoke session.
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WHERE THE IDEA STARTED
The invention didn’t emerge from a laboratory.
It emerged from curiosity.
One morning during a regular smoke sesh, Diana reached for a Marlboro and a disposable filter she uses with cigarettes to reduce exposure to tobacco tar.
Nancy looked at the filter and wondered whether something similar could work with a cannabis pre-roll.
She quickly discovered the problem.
The cone-tipped pre-roll was too small.
Most people would have moved on.
Nancy and Diana started experimenting.
Together, they tested materials, adapters, connections, and prototypes, searching for a simple way to pair filtration with pre-rolls without compromising the smoking experience.
Many ideas failed.
A few showed promise.
Then Diana’s husband, Allan, helped solve one of the key engineering challenges.
A rubber plug.
A precisely drilled opening.
A working prototype.
That early version became affectionately known as “The Allan.”
What began as a garage-style experiment would eventuallyevolve into TarTubes™.
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WHAT IS A TARTUBES?
TarTubes™ is a pre-roll adapter designed to allow users to attach a disposable biodegradable cigarette filter to a pre-roll.
The goal is straightforward:
Reduce unwanted tar reaching the smoker.
Maintain flavor.
Preserve the overall smoking experience.
And add a little engineering to a product category that hasn’t changed much in years.
It’s a simple idea.
The kind of idea that often makes people ask:
“Why didn’t someone think of this sooner?”
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A PERSONAL DISCOVERY
For Nancy, the project became more than an invention.
After experiencing a lingering cough following COVID, she began regularly using the early TarTubes prototype, The Allan.
Over time, she noticed a significant improvement in her cough.
While personal experiences aren’t scientific studies, it was enough to convince her that the concept was worth pursuing and sharing with other consumers.
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FROM LOCAL DISPENSARIES TO INDUSTRY EVENTS
One of the first dispensaries to embrace TarTubes™ was The Verb Is Herb in Easthampton, Massachusetts.
According to Nancy, the staff didn’t simply put the product on a shelf.
They believed in it.
That support helped open doors to larger opportunities, including Flower Expo Massachusetts, where hundreds of samples introduced consumers to the product.
The response was immediate.
People tried it.
People talked about it.
And many found themselves wondering why disposable filtration hadn’t become part of the standard pre-roll experience long ago.
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THE CHALLENGES OF BUILDING SOMETHING NEW
Like most entrepreneurs, Nancy and Diana quickly discovered that inventing a product is only the beginning.
There were consultants who overpromised.
Partnerships that stalled.
Unexpected setbacks.
Manufacturing challenges.
Regulatory questions.
And the countless obstacles that emerge whenever a small business enters a rapidly evolving industry.
Yet the product continued moving forward.
Not because of hype.
Because people kept trying it.
And many kept coming back.
MORE THAN A PRODUCT
What makes the TarTubes story compelling isn’t simply the accessory itself.
It’s the partnership behind it.
Two women who met through a neighborhood app.
Two people with very different personalities.
Two founders who discovered they worked exceptionally well together.
Nancy describes their approach as steady, collaborative, and focused.
No unnecessary drama.
No grandstanding.
Just a commitment to solving a problem and improving a product they already enjoyed using.
In an industry often filled with bold claims and oversized personalities, that quiet determination stands out.
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WHAT’S NEXT?
TarTubes™ continues to expand through new retail partnerships, additional color options, and plans to enter new cannabis markets throughout the Northeast and beyond.
What started as a conversation between neighbors has become a growing cannabis brand.
Not because a corporation funded it.
Not because a focus group designed it.
Because two determined women looked at an everyday ritual and believed it could be improved.
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FINAL THOUGHT
Some people spend retirement slowing down.
Nancy Domenichelli and Diana Langle decided to build something instead.
They looked at a familiar ritual, asked a simple question, and followed that question all the way to a finished product.
That’s the kind of story I enjoy finding in cannabis.
Not just because it’s about innovation.
Because it’s about curiosity.
And sometimes curiosity is exactly where the best ideas begin.
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