To cover issues related to legal recreational marijuana, The Denver Post created an online marijuana news and culture site, named The Cannabist by marijuana editor Ricardo Baca.

I was hired at the beginning to write the weekly marijuana advice column Ask The Cannabist. I answer reader questions about anything related to marijuana. I got the gig, I believe, because I had experience writing a marijuana advice column for The Hemp Connoisseur and I’ve been an advocate in the cannabis movement and been developing cannabis businesses since the mid-’90’s.

As a marijuana advice columnist, I am a reference librarian for cannabis. I search for facts and connect readers to vetted experts. The column is a vital method for passing along useful and pertinent information and creating understanding.

To a curious online audience, I describe the news and changing legal realities of cannabis. I primarily discuss current news, gather stats and data, cite law and track down credible information and professional opinions. I give historical context to the issue in question. Sometimes readers share a nostalgic experience and ask a fun question that takes me into cannabis culture and history.

I am fascinated with the questions and situations readers want to discuss relating to marijuana. Readers want to understand how the new reality impacts their life or how current times differs from what they already know. I get asked about: employment and careers, purchasing limits, strain and product recommendations, dosing guidelines, DUI’s and blood testing, investing and stocks, cannabis business development,  first time growing, medical diagnosis and treatment options, appropriate locations for consumption, tenant rights, probation, employment drug testing, synthetic marijuana, and traveling  with marijuana to name major topics of reader interest. 

The reader questions reflect the concerns and relevant thoughts about current news.   Answering  questions is fairly immediate and the topics changed over the year. At the beginning of the year, lots of people wanted to know how much they could buy, where to go, and where to find information.  A couple Denver area hospital visits attributed to use of synthetic marijuana yielded concerned “spice” questions.  In the spring and summer, home grow questions were more prevalent.   Tourists always need current advice for appropriate accommodations and shopping tips.

One of the earliest pieces of writing advice from Ricardo was  the reminder The Cannabist is  not a pro-marijuana publication.  Facts need to be supported by reputable sources.  As a result, my writing style is pretty factual and straight forward.   Sometimes, I jest and joke, but it’s important the humor doesn’t detract from the credibility of the information.   I wouldn’t want the validity of the information to be questioned because I told too many pot jokes.  My expression of silliness and humor is crafting the reader names. My appreciation of syncopated syllables, alliteration, tongue twisters  or homages to historical figures is expressed in the names I give the readers.

Here are my Top 10 links to memorable columns from 2014.

 Know your rights during a police encounter. I consider this one of the most important things I have written.

How to calculate THC dosage in homemade marijuana foods.  This column is very  educational.

This is one of my favorite columns on vape pens versus pipes, baby boomer dance nights and education advice for college kids.

I don’t often give business advice, but this joint rolling question was a fun.

A THC beer question by “Chickenlooper” reminds me of a story about hemp beer and then President Clinton.

This column has an interesting array of topics, ice cream trucks, cannabis vocation schools, and investments. 

Cannabis culture questions are not the most common questions I am asked, but they are the most enjoyable to answer. Here’s Q&A’s about traditional hash, 1970’s strain hunting, Amsterdam tourist memories

This 6 month summary piece, 100 Questions,  is a combination of my columns and stats from reporter John Ingold.

This year end summary highlights the top 15 questions of 2014.

My sense of humor and consumer reporting skills come out on for a  tour review of a Saturday marijuana limo tour.

if you have a question for Ask The Cannabist, I can be reached at askthecannabist@gmail.com.

On Wednesday at 7.30AM, Mason Tvert, co-director of the campaign to legalise marijuana in Colorado, was speaking at a press conference held just before the state’s first ever legal recreational pot sale. “The media keeps describing what’s starting today as an experiment,” he explained, “when the real experiment was actually marijuana prohibition, an experiment that failed terribly, just like the so-called ‘great experiment‘ known as alcohol prohibition.”

Mason’s comparison served as the theme of Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve cannabis industry fundraiser for the Rocky Mountain Hemp Association. It was a high-class affair that featured elaborately costumed flappers and bootleggers, plus oversized newspaper clippings from the day back in 1933 when Denver’s taverns finally re-opened to the public. One anti-prohibition Denver Post editorial of that era called on status-quo lawmakers to “turn over a new leaf”.

Just before midnight struck, I caught up with Susan Squibb, newly hired as the Post’s first-ever marijuana advice columnist. In pot terms, Squibb has paid her dues. Previously author of the “Ask Lady Cannabis” column in a local weed-culture newspaper, Squibb actually first started dispensing marijuana advice during a six-year run selling hemp ice-cream sandwiches from an officially licensed stand inside Red Rock’s Amphitheater in Golden, Colorado.

 We spoke with Susan Squibb, new marijuana advice columnist of The Denver Post, on the eve of Colorado legalizing the recreational use of the drug.
Tell us about your new job as the marijuana advice columnist with The Denver Post.

It’s a freelance position, starting in January. For the past year, I have been writing a marijuana manners column, “Ask Lady Cannabis,” for The Hemp Connoisseur.

What are your major duties in this role?

I will write a weekly column answering questions related to marijuana use, appropriate social use and changing cannabis laws and regulations. The challenge is keeping current with the social reality and the local ordinances that are guiding this societal transition from marijuana consumption being an illegal activity to being legally recognized.

What kind of training and background best prepares someone considering a career in legal cannabis?

The legal cannabis world has an increasing number of career opportunities. Now that the largest cash crop in America is legal, every profession is needed. Lawyers are needed to know the intricate laws and regulations and guide businesses in compliance. Service industries for building warehouse production, kitchens and dispensaries. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and security systems are in high demand. Horticulture specialists, soil and hydroponic growers, crews of trimmers are needed to process the flowers. Chemists and lab techs are needed in emerging lab-testing facilities. Sales and marketing positions are needed, and I expect to see agricultural markets and commodities trading, and industrial Hemp develop in the next few years.

Read the rest of the interview at the link below,

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/12/31/denver-posts-first-marijuana-advice-columnist/