Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2014
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: David Kelly

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SMOKE

A Denver Post Blog Is the First Mainstream Media Site Devoted to the 
World of Legal Pot.

DENVER - Jake Browne sauntered into his neighborhood marijuana shop 
recently and asked the "budtender" for a look at his wares.

The lanky attendant spread half a dozen Mason jars across the 
counter, each holding a fat, fragrant bud of cannabis.

"Mmmm," Browne purred as he opened a jar of Jack Flash. "Smells like 
drain cleaner and urine. Sounds unappetizing, but it's actually 
great." He sniffed another. "You get a nice Grape Skunk off of that," 
he said. "You can smell the sandalwood and cardamom spice notes."

Browne's discerning nose is crucial to his role as marijuana critic 
for the Cannabist, a daily blog by the Denver Post covering the culture of pot.

"They do all the hard news reporting while I get to review weed," he said.

The Cannabist, with two full-time staffers and 12 freelancers, serves 
as the nation's first mainstream media guide to the swiftly evolving 
world of legal marijuana. There are advice columns, product reviews, 
recipes for edible pot and hard news coverage of the industry.

"I probably knew more than the average guy about marijuana when I got 
this job, but I was far from the biggest stoner in the newsroom," 
said Ricardo Baca, marijuana editor at the Post, who oversees the 
Cannabist. "But over the past year, my knowledge has increased a thousandfold."

The former music critic is now courted by growers flogging their 
product, outside politicians curious how pot legalization is working 
and a media enamored of marijuana, especially if a joke or pun can be 
wedged into a story. Television host and comedian Stephen Colbert 
famously began an interview with Baca on Comedy Central's "The 
Colbert Report" by quietly asking, "Are you a cop?"

Yet even Baca struggles to keep up with the ever-shifting world of cannabis.

"I think edibles are the story of the year," he said. "They are 
baffling in every way. If you're a kid they look like peanut butter 
cups. If you're an adult you don't know how much to eat. We have put 
out eight tips to follow in order to eat edibles safely."

The next big issue, he predicted, will be concentrated THC, the 
active ingredient in marijuana that can be bought in crystals and smoked.

"It's like the size of a pinhead and it's the highest of highs," he 
said. "It's like freebasing marijuana."

The blog's "Ask the Cannabist" column recently had a reader wondering 
whether he could feed a queasy dog pot to prevent it from vomiting in the car.

"Any idea on dosing a 25 lb. beagle?" the writer asked.

The Cannabist, quoting a veterinarian, called it a "terrible idea."

Baca keeps a close eye on the often light-hearted, if edgy, coverage.

"We probably have the conversation once a month - whether we are 
veering too much toward advocacy," he said.

Denver Post News Director Kevin Dale said the blog had lived up to its mission.

"We approach cannabis the way we approach wine culture and beer 
culture," he said. "Like it or not, it's a legal substance and we 
provide the fullest spectrum of reporting on it consistent with our standards."

Baca, 37, plans to hire another columnist soon and already has nearly 
500 applicants.

"The column will be about sex, intimacy, relationships and pot. How 
does it make you a better lover? I want someone who has no inner 
dialogue, someone who just puts it all out there," he said.

That sounds a bit like Browne, 31, a college dropout and sometime 
comedian who started blogging about pot while working in a marijuana 
dispensary.

His reviews offer blow-by-blow accounts of getting high.

"Where a buzz hits you can tell you a lot about what you'll be in 
for," he writes in a review of 303 Kush. It "sat in the center of my 
head - right behind my eyes - and camped out. This is the kind of 
'Magic Eye High' where you find yourself looking at something, but 
also through it at the same time."

Green Crack was another story.

"I was all over the place. A kid wearing Moon boots in a jumpy 
castle. .. I was closer to chanting 'Serenity now!' than relaxing, though."

Browne said pot strains are wildly different. Durban Poison, for 
example, makes him paranoid.

"Are the shades pulled? Is the NSA listening to me? It makes me 
jittery and introspective in the worst ways," he said. "Indica puts 
me to sleep. Sativa is the champagne of pot with an effervescence 
that goes right to your head."

Baca and Browne are constantly told they have the "coolest jobs in 
the world." One is chronicling the history of legal marijuana as it 
happens, the other bearing witness to every buzz.

"Part of what we are doing is normalizing weed," said Browne, raising 
his voice to a shout inside a crowded bar. "Because the fact that I 
smoked pot earlier today is really no big deal!"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom