THE DAWN OF CANNABIS CHIC

Can' nois' seur, (kan' us sur') n. One competent to render critical judgement on the qualities and merits of cannabis

  We are witnessing a new baby step in America's consciousness. The slow but steady acceptance of weed as a benign herb.
To be sure the accompanying economic boom has perked up the unbelievers.  Colorado made so much in taxes they gave some back.  Shortly after this post predicted marijuana infused vodka, wine savant Marc Capobianco reported sipping pot infused wine at a tasting. High end chefs are coming up with  any number of pot drizzled appetizers. A week  after Nevada went legal Las Vegas ran out of weed.
And just this past week in San Francisco, an LA based start up called Beboe threw a launch party in a Pacific Heights mansion. Beboe bills itself as "a cannabis brand targeting the luxury market."  The founders Clement Kwan and celebrity tattoo artist Scott Campbell are described as "inhaling from a rose gold vaporizer and nibbling apple spice pastilles" from a beautifully decorated container. The party was hosted by Zak Williams--son of the late, beloved Robin Williams--who joked "I'm proud to be here as an investor in Beboe at the first cannabis cotillion."
The party was attended by a host of social notables including ex-mayor Willie Brown. And in the grand Hollywood tradition Goodie Bags were distributed.
Cool. My only question is, does paying luxury prices deliver a luxury high?
 Until now cannabis has been nurtured by true believers, growers who lived outside the law and who, by experimentation, education and inspiration developed the finest weed on the planet.
And the price until now was dependent on quality.
Unless the rose gold vaporizer and that lovely pastille dispenser can amplify the cannabis experience  and transport me to a better place than my hand-rolled joint...what's the point?
Be that as it may, the future of pot has become very clear. No doubt Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco are salivating. Red Bull and Coca Cola are probably already in line.
I recall when a local New York cream cheese called Breakstone's was bought up by Kraft Foods. It went from a fine creamy treat to  bland and mediocre.
Just sayin'.


DOLCE VITA 1973

I had left the ad agency in a blaze of glory and set about learning how to be a bestselling author. Qui Magazine, a subsidiary of Playboy commissioned me to do a piece on the world's leading sadist. I was stoked and delivered a blazing interview. Unfortunately Qui was queasy about an article featuring a homosexual. I got paid but my work had no home. No matter, I was off to Tangier to write ta new Doctor Orient novel using the material I'd gleaned from the interview as background. I had already written a sequel to Raga Six but Bantam balked, since the sales of Doctor Orient had been tepid. Undaunted I sold Lady Sativa to a small, new publisher Curtis Books, run by legendary editor Pat O'Connor. I took a small advance by yesterday's standards (a huge advance by today's standards.) and resigned myself to the world of advertising. So when Raga Six went big Lady Sativa went unnoticed. However I did get a healthy advance for Baron Orgaz and booked a cabin on the Cristoforo Colombo, an old school  luxury liner. After years of freighter travel I decided to go legit.
In a word the eight day trip across the Atlantic was a disappointment. Compared to my Yugo freighter the cabin was cramped and cheerless. Outside it had the tawdry veneer of a Vegas casino. Lots of food, lots of people I normally avoided, lots of consumption, very little glamour except for the ship steward in a beautifully tailored tux trolling the bars for a rich widow to betray.
When the ship reached Seville Spain it was to large to dock at the tiny port so we debarked, luggage and all,  into a small boat far below, which took us to shore.
We were in Seville a beautiful, gracious city. Later in the year I planned to go to Egypt and the Pyramids. The weather was perfect and I was living the dream.

Next: The Writer at Work 

RECOMMENDED READING: CHINATOWN BLUES by Frank Lauria
                                                    The NEW SMOKER.COM (Issue #7)


Edited by Robert Gilman


With special thanks to Carolyne Zinko