Marijuana writer sought by Colorado newspaper
DENVER — An alternative newspaper is weeding through a mound of applications in response to a recently-posted ad for what could be the most far-out job in journalism — a pot critic and reviewer of Colorado’s marijuana dispensaries and their products.
Denver-based newspaper Westword said it has already received nearly 200 inquiries, some applicants even offering to do the job for free. When a candidate is finally selected for its new “Mile Highs and Lows” column, the position will be the first professional newspaper “pot snob” in the country, according to the paper.
Not only does Westword require its new pot critic to be a skilled writer, the lucky candidate must also be a legal medical marijuana user.
“More and more people are having the opportunity to use marijuana for whatever illness they have,” said Westword’s web editor Joe Tone. “We want to be a place where they can find out which place is the best, the cleanest, the closest, that kind of stuff.”
Most current reviews focus on dispensaries in California, the first state in the nation to approve medical marijuana in 1996. Los Angeles now has an estimated 800 medical pot shops, up from only four in 2005. Colorado has more than 100, including one across the street from the state Capitol.
Due to growth of the medical marijuana industry, and contention between local, state and federal authorities, U.S. Attorney General earlier this week issued new guidelines for federal prosecutors, instructing officials not to target those who use or provide medical marijuana in compliance with state laws, saying that doing so is “not a good use of time.”
Various pot review websites are reporting dozens of new users a day as the number of medical marijuana users continues to grow. The sites offer information on the uses of marijuana, the benefits of different kinds and where to buy.
“People are really desperate for this kind of information,” said California-based weedmaps.com manager Justin Hartfield. “There are so many places to go that users are really looking for honest reviews.”
Westword hasn’t yet settled on a fee for freelance reviews; it’s currently running an essay contest and sharing excerpts of potential critics writing about what marijuana means to them.
And photographers, too, are getting in on the new market. Detailed pictures of pot plants, seeds and “buds,” resembling those found in food photography, are popping up on marijuana websites accross the internet. Hartfield just started a new advertising-supported weed photo site called nugporn.com and says there is plenty of work for photographers and even stylists for the pot shots.