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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/04/denver-posts-marijuana-editor-q-and-a
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| The Denver Post's new marijuana editor: live Q&A with Ricardo Baca | The Denver Post's new marijuana editor: live Q&A with Ricardo Baca |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| This Q&A is now live! Post your questions in the comments and we'll embed Baca's responses in this post | |
| Question: | |
| Do you need an assistant? | |
| Answer: | |
| At the moment, yes. But there's no money in the budget for that. There is, however, money in the budget for freelancers. And yes, we are still in the market for a freelance pot critic - a position that must be located in the great state of Colorado. Interested parties for the Colorado-only critic position or pitches for stories (coming from anywhere on Earth pot is news) can be directed to me at rbaca@denverpost.com | |
| Question: | |
| I assume that marijuana , like almost anything ingested, affects different people in different ways. How much do you agree with this assertion? | |
| Answer: | |
| I agree with this 100 percent, not based on science but on personal experience. | |
| Question: | |
| I'm assuming this exempts you from any random drug testing the paper may run on employees? | |
| Answer: | |
| Erin, I am not exempt from the paper's testing policy. But they've gone on record to say that they only test if given reason to. A bit more on that: http://bit.ly/1cwbK1Y | |
| A follow up to Erin McCann's question: | |
| I'm assuming this exempts you from any random drug testing the paper may run on employees? | |
| Yes, I'm wondering the same thing. | |
| As the laws now stand, can an employer dismiss an employee who tests positive for marijuana on a drugs test, and if so would the dismissed employee have grounds for taking legal action against the employer? | |
| Answer: | |
| Doppler, yes a company can fire an employee for a positive test. Will the employee have legal footing to appeal? From what I've read, I don't believe so. Here's one of the more high-profile cases involving American football player Von Miller. He tested positive, and even though he lives in a state where it's a legal activity, his workplace (the Denver Broncos, our NFL franchise) suspended him: http://bit.ly/191iJB3 | |
| And one more follow up: | |
| I doubt the Post goes in for random drug testing - especially of journos - but the general point here is interesting....there are plenty of CO companies that do this and word is some will maintain the Federal stance - i.e., pot illegal. I'm sure this will be one (of many) grey areas - probably heading to the courts. | |
| Answer: | |
| Many grey areas indeed. And that's what makes this such a fantastic story. Sides on both sides are intensely passionate. The phrase "brave new world" is being used all over the place for a reason - Colorado really is a testing grounds of sorts. Washington state is absolutely watching, and so is Uruguay. I'm sure the Dutch are curious as well. | |
| Question: | |
| Does legalization lead to greater availability of outdoor-grown organic pure sativa strains, and is there any relative health benefit associated with that? | |
| Answer: | |
| Great question. I have a note out to a dispensary/grower pal, and I'll reply back here if he gets back to me. I do know that a large majority of legal cannabis here is grown indoors (our growing season is short given the high altitude/snow), but I also know that growers are talking about greenhouses. | |
| Question: | |
| Do you thing this is the beginning of the end for the lunacy of prohibition? (the utterly failed, murderous, insane, freedom-destroying lunacy?) | |
| Question: | |
| Spiralpad, it is commonly referred to as dominoes. First it was medical in a few states. Then it was decriminalized in a few others. More and more states joined the fold. Then voters passed recreational retail pot here in Colorado and Washington state a year ago, and now people are already talking about the potential of Oregon and others following our lead. Pot is still illegal under federal law, mind you, but for now the feds are saying they're leaving these kinds of decisions to the states without their interference. | |
| When Colorado's recreational marijuana law goes into effect on January 1, the Denver Post will be ready. Veteran reporter Ricardo Baca, the paper's music and entertainment editor, will take on a new beat: pot. The Post anticipates that the business and culture of marijuana will be Colorado's biggest story this year, and has put Baca at the helm of its coverage. And as Baca explained on the Post this week, he isn't exactly a stranger to Mary Jane: | |
| I’ve covered concerts for a living over the last 15 years. That means hanging out with musicians, working with people in the industry, attending music festivals in Austin and the Coachella valley and New York and LA. So yes. And though I’ve never been a full-on stoner, I’ve shared concerts and conversations and late-night sessions at the bar, and had Twitter wars with thousands of them. | I’ve covered concerts for a living over the last 15 years. That means hanging out with musicians, working with people in the industry, attending music festivals in Austin and the Coachella valley and New York and LA. So yes. And though I’ve never been a full-on stoner, I’ve shared concerts and conversations and late-night sessions at the bar, and had Twitter wars with thousands of them. |
| Ricardo Baca will join us today to talk all things pot with Guardian readers during a live Q&A. We asked him a couple of questions to get started, but ask him anything you want to know in the comments and check back at 2pm ET | 7pm GMT to read his responses. | Ricardo Baca will join us today to talk all things pot with Guardian readers during a live Q&A. We asked him a couple of questions to get started, but ask him anything you want to know in the comments and check back at 2pm ET | 7pm GMT to read his responses. |
| What kinds of marijuana-related stories do you want to tell? | What kinds of marijuana-related stories do you want to tell? |
| On January 1, 2014, pot will be more legal in Colorado than anywhere else in the world. It's true. The Post already owns this news beat in Colorado, but we want to expand on the very important legislation coming out of the state house and city council. We also want to tell stories from the perspectives of the dispensary owner, the cannabis consumer, the anti-pot activists, the growhouse workers and the suburban group of moms who get together once a week to semi-secretly smoke out in their basements or backyards. We'll also document how Colorado laws vary from those in Washington, Uruguay and the Netherlands. And we'll talk about the best video games of the year to play while under the influence, American TVs trending toward pot-friendliness and lots, lots more. | On January 1, 2014, pot will be more legal in Colorado than anywhere else in the world. It's true. The Post already owns this news beat in Colorado, but we want to expand on the very important legislation coming out of the state house and city council. We also want to tell stories from the perspectives of the dispensary owner, the cannabis consumer, the anti-pot activists, the growhouse workers and the suburban group of moms who get together once a week to semi-secretly smoke out in their basements or backyards. We'll also document how Colorado laws vary from those in Washington, Uruguay and the Netherlands. And we'll talk about the best video games of the year to play while under the influence, American TVs trending toward pot-friendliness and lots, lots more. |
| Some freelancers will write news from those pot hotbeds I mentioned. Others will write criticism, reviewing different strains of weed and all types of edibles. I'm still looking for many of these freelance positions, so if you're an experienced writer with a story to tell, hit me up. Bonus points if you live in any of the aforementioned places. | Some freelancers will write news from those pot hotbeds I mentioned. Others will write criticism, reviewing different strains of weed and all types of edibles. I'm still looking for many of these freelance positions, so if you're an experienced writer with a story to tell, hit me up. Bonus points if you live in any of the aforementioned places. |
| So how does someone end up a marijuana editor anyway? | So how does someone end up a marijuana editor anyway? |
| So after nine years as the Post's music critic and another two years as the paper's entertainment editor, I was approached about this job last month. There's a bit more to the story, starting with The Underground Music Showcase (UMS), which I co-founded with my buddy. More than 10 years later we found ourselves with 300-plus bands filling out 30 venues over four days in Denver's arty Baker neighborhood. A few years into the festival, I founded the music blog Reverb (heyreverb.com). And with colleagues and mostly volunteer freelancers, we built it into one of the region's most vital music resources. Both The UMS and Reverb are still thriving and my editors said it was partially that ability to create something from scratch that got them thinking about appointing me to the new pot editor position. | So after nine years as the Post's music critic and another two years as the paper's entertainment editor, I was approached about this job last month. There's a bit more to the story, starting with The Underground Music Showcase (UMS), which I co-founded with my buddy. More than 10 years later we found ourselves with 300-plus bands filling out 30 venues over four days in Denver's arty Baker neighborhood. A few years into the festival, I founded the music blog Reverb (heyreverb.com). And with colleagues and mostly volunteer freelancers, we built it into one of the region's most vital music resources. Both The UMS and Reverb are still thriving and my editors said it was partially that ability to create something from scratch that got them thinking about appointing me to the new pot editor position. |
| Do you have an interesting job or know someone who does? To suggest the next A Day's Work Q&A, email Ruth Spencer | |
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