Final Day of a Great Week
The week started like it would with any other class, awkwardness. I came in early because my motto is, when you are early you are on time, when you are on time you are late, I like to be on time. I continued this everyday of the week. Through the week I learned so much on the topic of cannabis. We were all able to meet so many amazing people and how they fit into the cannabis industry. There are not just growers, there are journalist, editors, etc. Everyday was a great day because the people in class helped keep it even more interesting than what it already was.
On the first day of class we met Andy Colwell. He showed us what professional weed photography looks like. The image below shows one of my favorite pictures from Andy’s Instagram.
Day Two was one of my favorite days. We got to meet Scott Durrah and Ricardo Baca, some of the most famous people in Denver in the cannabis industry. Scott Durrah is such an amazing person and it is crazy to know him and his wife were the first African Americans to get licensed in the state and country. His backstory was very heartwarming, it was for social justice and I know everyone supports that.
As the week continued, Wednesday came around. Another great guest, Thomas Mitchell and a fun field trip down to Sweetgrass Kitchen. My first favorite day out of 5. It was amazing to see how successful Julie is in running her company especially in the male-dominant industry of cannabis. Too bad I am only 20 and was not able to see the plants or products; the conversations we had were very informative.
Yesterday, was a very productive day for being a Thursday. We all used our time wisely in working on our final projects and narrowing down our topics. I know this day helped me a lot to put my outline together and find better resources. Later that day we did go on our final field trip to meet Mason Tvert. He is a true activist, supporting marijuana since he graduated college. One comment he said, I agree with entirely, “marijuana is safer than alcohol”.
I now come to talk about our final day, the end to a great class. I know that I made a great choice in staying in the class. I learned so much about a topic that is a worldwide discussion. It is everywhere and known worldwide. I am grateful to had been a part of this class and to receive this opportunity. I know I would not have been able to take this class if we were living in the past. Acceptance comes with understanding, education is a great help in understanding “foreign” topics.
The final project of the class is on a topic of my choice. The stigma that comes with the label of marijuana user has changed through history and in our pop culture. From seeing the basic stereotypical hippie smoker to being just a regular person. The media shows the everchanging stereotype and brings a light to the normalization of marijuana usage.
Shoutout to Andrew Matranga for being such a great professor and making this class worth it. I know I made the right choice in sacrificing my spring break.
