Forgive me if I sound like a complete boomer, but all of a sudden pot is everywhere. In New York City, where I live, there's a vape shop on every other block, and the corner bodega now stocks THC soda. A friend's retiree parents have started growing marijuana in his childhood bedroom. Someone brought gummies to a big family dinner last month and it wasn't even that big of a deal. Welcome to the future, baby! Who wants to light up?
It wasn't always this way, of course. Scarcely a decade ago, Colorado had just passed the first law legalizing marijuana for recreational use. But Silicon Valley, ever ahead of the curve, didn't waste any time trying to figure how to break into the burgeoning market for weed-related paraphernalia. In 2014, Mat Honan turned his attention to the green industry. In a feature for WIRED, he dove deep into dope, taking a close look at how recreational marijuana is grown and even spending time with a pair of cofounders trying to disrupt how we vape. (They met at a Burning Man party, obviously.)
But what struck me most while reading Honan's story was how many challenges were inherent in building—not to mention advertising—products for consuming a substance that is, in most places, technically still illegal. Euphemisms reign supreme. Ad campaigns have to get creative. And don't even think about trying for a trademark. I take it that much of this isn't an issue anymore. Eight years is a long time for a young industry. But I have little doubt that marijuana's turn into the mainstream has surfaced a whole new set of complications and regulatory issues and PR snafus.
What do you make of the proliferation of pot? Where do you see the world of weed going from here? Write me a note or leave a comment below Honan's article. I'm not asking for your own stories of getting baked, but if you want to share I'm all ears.
See you next week!
Eve
