| Gupta Kush. |
A Boulder, Colorado medical marijuana dispensary recently tried honoring CNN’s Sanjay Gupta the best way they knew how: by naming a strain of kush after the well-known doctor who recently came out in favor of medical cannabis as a valid therapeutic treatment.
For their part, Gupta’s bosses at CNN aren’t very pleased. Helping Hands dispensary owner Jeff Kless says the media giant has asked him to stop selling the strain under that name. Kless tells Animal New York, however, that he’s not sure if that’s the route he’s going to take and was waiting for a cease and desist letter before he took any action.
“Dr. Gupta’s recent reporting on marijuana puts him at the forefront of the medical cannabis movement,” Kless said in a press release last week, “and we thought what better way to honor his efforts than by giving him his own strain. We’d like to ensure he remains part of the annals of cannabis culture, and now he will. By naming a cannabis strain after Dr. Gupta, this is our way of tipping our hat and honoring him for taking such a firm, science-based stance on behalf of marijuana as ‘real’ medicine. He is confirming what our patients have been saying for years.”
| Dr. Sanjay Gupta. |
Kless said the indica-leaning kush phenotype is good for tension and pain relief and has been a go-to for cancer patients and patients with severe pain and nausea. An employee we spoke with earlier today told us that it was a in-house cross of Blueback (which itself a Hawaiian cross) and Hindu Kush. She said the strain has only been on the shelves since last week.
The employee also tells us that she was the one who fielded the call from CNN, and noted that they are still debating what action to take – likely renaming it the cross as not to push the matter further.
Eighths of the strain are selling for $40, though no telling how long you’ll be able to purchase it.