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Blast From the Past: Ten Hilarious Anti-Marijuana Commercials

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By on Cannabis Encyclopedia, Media, Say what?
YouTube

America’s history of being wrong-headed about cannabis is well-documented on a variety of platforms, but the funniest way to examine it today is on YouTube. Host to a wide range of entertaining lunacy, YouTube’s rabbit holes can lead down some weird paths, including flat-earth theories, ’80s hair metal or videos that end in some asshole yelling “WORLD STAR!”

One of my favorite dens of nostalgic stupidity is anti-marijuana commercials and public service announcements from yesteryear. While a few carry messages that make some sense, such as the dangers of youth use or smoking and driving, many of them carry the same Reefer Madness rhetoric we make fun of today. Don’t believe it? Check out these ten commercials and PSAs from past decades and see for yourself.

How Women Can Continue Rising in the Cannabis Industry

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By on Cannabusiness, Media
women in cannabisiStock/cyano66

When Windy Borman started making her documentary on women in the cannabis industry in 2015, women held 36 percent of its senior leadership roles, compared to 22 percent across all industries in the United States. But by the time her film, Mary Janes: The Women of Weed premiered at the Alamo Drafthouse in Littleton March 3 to a sold-out crowd, the latest news showed that that statistic had dipped nine points, to 27 percent.

The new number “gives the film’s call to action a new meaning,” Borman said in a panel discussion after the viewing. “Geena Davis says, ‘If you can see it, you can be it.’”

Filmmaker Windy Borman Talks Puffragettes and “The Women of Weed”

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By on Cannabusiness, Culture, Media
Jacqueline Collins

Windy Borman grew up during the height of the DARE era in the ’80s and ‘90s. She never smoked cannabis, which she knew as a gateway drug, because addiction ran in her family.

women of weedJacqueline Collins

But Borman, 37, moved to Colorado for a job in 2014, the same year recreational pot was legalized. She had produced and directed films on topics such as elephants that stepped on landmines and learning disabilities, but she found a new subject in her new home: women in the cannabis industry.

After completing a fall film festival circuit, Bormann will travel to four more festivals this spring. She’s also doing a grassroots tour in seven cities across the country, including Denver, to stir up conversations around cannabis in local communities. In an interview with Westword, Borman talks about “puffragettes,” today’s social challenges surrounding cannabis and the first reactions to her film.

Colorado’s Most Anti-Pot Newspaper Launches New Attack on Marijuana

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By on Follow that story, Media
YouTube file photo

The Colorado Springs Gazette, owned by conservative billionaire Phil Anschutz, has earned a reputation as the most overtly anti-marijuana major newspaper in the state. And while the first entry in a new series presented beneath the banner “Is Colorado better off five years after legalizing marijuana?” is an improvement over an anti-pot screed from nearly three years ago that was partially penned by a prominent and devoted cannabis hater, it still focuses almost entirely on bad news.

Why Facebook Still Hates Legal Marijuana Businesses

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By on Cannabusiness, Feds 'N Heads, Media
Courtesy of Cannabrand

At this writing, thirty states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of marijuana, be it recreational, medical or both, with Colorado having been in the latter category for more than four years. Nonetheless, Facebook and Instagram continue to make it difficult for cannabis businesses to advertise and promote themselves on the platforms. The scenario causes frustration within the industry even as it forces marketers to come up with clever ways to get around restrictions.

Ricardo Baca Talks Marijuana Media, From ‘the Cannabist’ to Grasslands

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By on Box Corner, Media, Opinion
ricardo bacaGracie Malley

The cannabis industry has no shortage of entrepreneurs fighting to gain a toehold in the field, but one of the industry’s most well-known names got there almost by accident. Ricardo Baca had been covering music for the Denver Post for over a decade when Colorado legalized the plant recreationally, and he was a bit befuddled when his bosses asked him to lead what would become the Cannabist , the first cannabis vertical for a major daily newspaper.

After talking with his mother and wife, though, Baca eventually took the job, becoming the editor-in-chief of the Cannabist and, in the process, a go-to expert for national media outlets. He still has that role after leaving the Post at the end of 2016 to start Grasslands, a full-service agency for cannabis businesses. Baca writes about pot for such media outlets as Esquire and the Daily Beast, and when United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions repealed the Cole Memorandum in January, Baca was a natural to talk about the move on MSNBC.

Study: Denver No Longer a Weed Capital Once Rest of U.S. Legalizes

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By on Cannabusiness, Media, News, Say what?
Miles Chrisinger

Denver’s status as the country’s legal cannabis capital is in jeopardy now that California has started recreational sales, but one study shows that the Mile High City wouldn’t just take a step back if the rest of the world followed suit — it would become irrelevant. There are some questions about how the study’s figures apply to Denver, though.

The Twelve Best Songs About Weed

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By on Culture, Media, Opinion
songs about weedWestword archive

Unless you’re into mosh pits or heavy bass, no substance accompanies music better than marijuana. Plenty of musicians are known for singing about their love of ganja, which left us wondering: What are the best THC tributes? Sure, there’s the cannabis canon of Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson that comes to mind. But we wanted to dig deeper for the best beats about buds.

Below are twelve of our favorite songs about weed. You can disagree. You can make a fuss. You can make your own list. But as your anger rises because your favorite Kottonmouth Kings track didn’t make it, twist one up and listen to one of these. The nostalgia will ease your pain before you know it.

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