Guest Blog: Challenges in Ethical Cannabis Journalism
By Becky Garrison
Becky Garrison's recent writing credits include work for Spirituality & Health, American Atheist Magazine, The Humanist, Beverage Master, Grapevine, Fresh Toast, Religion Dispatches, Killing the Buddha, and Wittenburg Door.
Connect with Becky at www.beckygarrison.com
Birth of a Legalized Industry
In 2014, I moved to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) from the East Coast (New York City and Boston to be precise). This relocation just happened to coincide with the legalization of cannabis for adult use in Washington and Oregon.
As an experienced journalist, I found the birth of this new industry a compelling topic. Since one of my industry media niches (“verticals”) was travel, I focused on covering adult use cannabis from a tourism angle. But cannabis tours and other ventures geared towards the tourist market proved to be unsustainable in the long-run. So I shifted toward reporting about cannabis as a craft product alongside beer, cider, wine, and spirits.
Here I was blessed to be living in a region where consumers value products grown using organic and sustainable means, and that speak to the terroir and culture of a particular region. These are the products that appeal to my palate (though not always my pocketbook).
Little did I know that in comparison to writing for my other niches (religion and spirituality, and PNW craft beer, wine, spirits, and cider), writing about craft cannabis and hemp would be an even bumpier ride than trying to survive as a freelance writer.
Disruption of Journalism Markets
Granted, some of the issues I encountered when covering cannabis were universal to the publishing industry. Starting around 2008, print publications began to decline. With the shift to digital media, wages became stagnant or dropped dramatically (gone were the previous $1-a-word markets).
At present, the proliferation of free content more closely resembles junk than journalism, which overwhelms readers, and provides little content of value to boot. Also, like many other industries, media outlets have taken major hits during COVID-19, thus resulting in far fewer outlets for freelance writers to market their wares.
Add to this the rise of paid influencers promoting products on social media, and we’ve seen the line between editorial and advertorial become blurred, especially in the cannabis, travel and lifestyle verticals. As annoying as I found the bud babes enticing dude bros to purchase specific cannabis products, sex has been used to sell products since the dawn of advertising.
Issues pertaining to sexual harassment and other abuses of power can be found in any business. But the predatory behavior and overt sexualization that I kept encountering while attending cannabis events as a member of the media seemed particularly smarmy in an industry dedicated to a plant designed to heal both our bodies and the planet.
Failure of Cannabis Media Outlets
However, there were challenges unique to cannabis media that I didn’t encounter in my other niches. First, those looking for the latest unbiased strain and gear reviews, and substantive cannabis news, were finding this information by searching online instead of reading established underground magazines like High Times or DOPE. Hence, these magazines began to lose readership, while other cannabis magazines such as Stoner or Weed Aficionado failed to garner an audience.
New cannabis media startups burst onto the scene full of funding, only to fold quickly or get bought out by some larger media company, leaving writers, designers, and other creatives with unpaid invoices for services rendered. And many of the cannabis media companies who remained on the scene began to function more as aggregators, curating content from other sites, or shifted to become strictly promotional outlets.
Both moves eliminated the need for freelance writers. What work we had, if any, was geared more for marketers than journalists.
Selling Cannabis Stories to the Mainstream
So I decided to branch out by seeking other outlets where I could place cannabis and hemp stories. Despite the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp at the national level, and the growing acceptance of cannabis as a healing plant, I found opportunities for writing about this topic for non-cannabis markets mixed at best.
Religion and spirituality publications saw reporting on spiritual experiences while consuming cannabis as too “out there,” and food and drink outlets veered away from any product containing THC. They tended to view even non-intoxicating CBD products as novelty items, and did not treat them the same way they covered other trends like hazy IPAs, natural wines, or fruit ciders. At best, currently I can place a very infrequent piece about the health and wellness benefits of CBD products or a yearly roundup of CBD-infused drinks into these outlets.
Sketchy Ethics in Lifestyle Stories
The conglomerates who dominate the lifestyle market tend to goop it up with a blatant push towards advertorial. The “Top CBD Beauty Products” type listicles are culled from those companies who advertise in that outlet, and do not necessarily represent the best beauty products available on the market.
Every day my inbox gets flooded with unsolicited emails from publicists promoting the latest CBD health and wellness crazes. So, I devised two simple questions that help me determine if this is a product worthy of review consideration:
“Where is the cannabis/CBD sourced?”
If the cannabis or hemp comes from China, Europe, or Kentucky, I moved on. At the very least, I wanted to be writing about products made where the cannabis was grown and to have details about the growing practices.“Can you send me the COAs (Certificate for Analysis) for this product?”
If the company responded “What’s a COA?,” I declined. Any credible company should have the lab results for their cannabis or CBD products available for viewing. And anyone writing in the cannabis space should know how to read a COA.
The Pandemic Wipes Out Paid Cannabis Journalism
At the start of the global pandemic, my last paying cannabis outlet Fresh Toast announced they would not be accepting freelance submissions until further notice. I still contribute an occasional piece to Magnetic Magazine, where I focus on promoting those cannabis and CBD items that interest me. However, as this is a nonpaying market, I limit my coverage to several times a year.
Suffice to say, I no longer call myself a cannabis writer — just a writer, a storyteller to be precise. In that capacity, will continue to tell stories that will include cannabis when applicable, along with the rise of legalized psilocybin mushrooms and other natural products grown in the Pacific Northwest.
Author note: In the issue of transparency, I was gifted some organic hemp by East Fork Cultivars for writing this piece for their blog. But I have purchased some of their products for my personal use in the past. As evidenced by my years of covering cannabis, I continue to highlight East Fork because they represent the best of what the cannabis community can be. Nathan and Aaron Howard founded East Fork to provide medicine for their late brother Wesley, and continue to provide low-THC medicinal cannabis and hemp that helps heal that which ails us.
