Medicinal and Herbal Packaging

AMAC started producing boxes in 1960 in Sausalito, California. Throughout the next decade, the clear lines and vibrant, transparent colors caught the imagination of entrepreneurs in the counter-culture movement of the late 1960s. By 1968, AMAC boxes could be found in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art and in Andy Warhol’s studio.

But they could also be found on the streets of New York and throughout the United States, used as packaging for what would become – some fifty years later – a publicly-accepted medical and recreational product: marijuana. Back in the day, however, the boxes were known as “Stash Boxes,” “Concert Kits,” and “Happy Boxes.” They rivaled plastic film canisters as the storage device of choice.

Lucky for us, AMAC boxes have outlasted those ubiquitous little black-and-grey film canisters. Perhaps it was the bright, transparent colors that people loved, found lined up in rows, glowing like stained glass on window sills in 1970s New York City. The classic design of the boxes evokes those earlier days while remaining a contemporary presence. Look no further than the opening scene from the 2013 film We’re the Millers to see AMAC boxes fulfilling their historical raison d'etre.