When presented with this assignment, Lili LeBaron and I wanted to write about something that we both could get excited about. After watching coverage of another story during class we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
Our inspiration came from an interview with the owner of Megan’s Organic Market, a cannabis dispensary in San Luis Obispo. In the interview the owner mentioned that she doesn’t receive as many student customers as she initially anticipated being in a college town. That posed the question for us: where are the college students getting their weed?
After some initial brainstorming and research, we made the decision to pivot the story angle to be more news aligned. We started to move forward with the question, as legal dispensaries become more common, are black market products becoming riskier?
“This is a really important issue to discuss not only because for safety reasons, but also to help better understand the cannabis industry and how it works.” LeBaron said.
We did run into some few roadblocks initially. It was hard to find verified and peer reviewed information regarding the safety of cannabis, as well as what it may or may not be contaminated with. Alongside that, many students were hesitant to engage with us because of a fear that their name might become associated with the “extracurricular activities” that they participate in.
After much discussion, many check-ins with Professor Kim Bisheff and lots of follow up we were able to secure the interviews we needed for this project. We are here to provide information for the student body so that they can come to their own decisions about the situation at hand.
“People really need to educate themselves and take seriously what they are putting into their body. It’s better to be safe than sorry and that’s why there is a legal market.” Drayten Howell, CEO of Indacut, said.
Another element that weighed on this story’s process was my own mental health. This pandemic has not been forgiving and for those who suffer from mental illnesses it can be even more intense.
I personally have had a very difficult time managing the expectations of my scholastic career, my internships, and my current job while working on this story. Both Bisheff and LeBaron have been incredibly kind, patient and understanding of my situation. I am so glad to be able to work with them to produce this story. I am proud of what this story delivers and what difficult moments I have overcome to get it here.