Cannabis Journalism Spring 2019–5
This has been a jam packed week full of interviews, videos, pictures, field trips, and most importantly personal experiences being shared. This has been by far one of the best courses that I have had the pleasure of taking during my four years here at the University of Denver. While it was an extremely fast paced course it was one in which I have learned in the most. I loved the experience the most because I was able to learn so much about a topic that I knew very little about but that is one of the fastest growing businesses here in Denver. I had no idea how much cannabis businesses struggle to succeed, how many jobs are offered, how many people are on board, and lastly how normal it has become to consume. You can sure say that this week was an eye opening week for me.
On Monday we begun by watching Rolling Papers which was an incredibly helpful way of starting the week. For someone like me with little experience about the topic, it really opened up a the idea and the information didn't stop flowing in from there. We also watched a second video about the banking system that the cannabis industry currently faces. Its not an easy one and there have been talks about amending this problem. It was something that we kept an eye on.
Another issue that we spoke about on Monday was the fact that New Jersey was not able to gather enough votes to move forward with legalizing cannabis. They are going to have to keep fighting.
We also meet with Andy Colwell from F420 Films that spoke to us about his business and his professional freelancing experience
Here is my Medium post for Monday:
On Tuesday we were able to talk with Scott Durrah about his campaign as well as hear his journey as being a pioneer when it came to having a dispensary as an African American man. This was super interesting because it was his story and I loved how he focused it on being responsible while consuming but also on the importance of the “new normal”. He had a great talk with us about his wife as well and how shes is just as successful in the industry, this tweet reminded me of her.
We also met with Ricardo Baca on Tuesday and he further explained the normality of the cannabis industry now and how much of a unique experience it is.
Here is my Medium post for Tuesday:
On Wednesday we had Thomas Mitchell come and speak to us about his journey and he worked hard to focus on the cannabis industry throughout the years even with all of the odds against him. He also spoke about people wanting to learn about the subject which made his job easier.
We also had the opportunity to visit Sweet Grass Kitchen, which was by far one of the coolest experiences that I have had in a while! Getting to see an actual running business that profits off of cannabis with employees who are not only dedicated to the topic but also extremely passionate about the company. Getting to meet them would put so many biased people out of their biased thinking because it runs just like any other business would.
Here is another business opening up that I am sure will succeed as well:
My Medium post for Wednesday has some great pictures that I took on site!
On Thursday we had the one of a kind opportunity to meet Mason Tvert at Vicente S. Mason is one of the guys who worked long and hard days with amendment 64. Mason was extremely knowledgeable but also extremely passionate about his work. While other people that we had meet this week were in the cannabis industry after trying other things he was someone who had dedicated the last 15 years of his life towards writing up legality structures for the cannabis industry. He is clearly a firm believer of personal choice!
Here is my Medium post for Thursday:
And that leaves me with Friday. Today we were able to talk with Rilley Capps which I cant deny was my favorite interview/ speech this week. My favorite field trip was Sweet Grass Kitchen but he was my favorite presenter. I think that he let out a super cool vibe but he also demonstrated such a big interest in us as students. He opened the floor up to listen to what we had to say but also guide the conversation. It was interesting to see the wide variety of experience that he has but to also see him actively trying to collect more ideas.
My final project is done and has been turned in. I had Ciera take a look at it and change a few things as well. Overall, I am super thrilled to have been able to experience a course like this one here at DU and I am even more excited to even have been offered this opportunity. Times have changed and in the cannabis industry times change fast!
Thank you for the experience and for taking the time to have connected us with such influential people like yourself!
Final Medium post:
