by Doug Brown
Contact High Communications

Doug Brown, founder of Contact High

Back in the old days — as in 10 years ago or so — you could divide cannabis media into two camps: Publications like High Times that covered cannabis with a gleeful enthusiasm; and mainstream media, which usually referenced cannabis by way of big pot busts in forests, fields and private homes, of celebrity arrests and of questionable “studies” that invariably revealed health or safety problems associated with cannabis use.

Now we have mainstream media outlets like The Cannabist, The Denver Post’s excellent cannabis online portal. The site promoted well-respected journalist Ricardo Baca to run the site, and hired Whoopi Goldberg as its first columnist. Other daily newspapers in states with frothy marijuana cultures, like Washington, Oregon and California, also support robust cannabis coverage, touching on everything from strain and vaporizer reviews to well-reported stories about topics like marijuana and endurance sports, and health benefits of cannabis use for myriad conditions.

These are high times for cannabis media.

Is all of the coverage excellent? Of course not. The wilderness of pot blogs supports thickets of balderdash, “stories” about how smoking weed can cure blindness, spark world peace and save teetering economies. A fair bit of “coverage” amounts to little more than photos of brahs hitting bongs. And the mainstream publications still sink to low levels, with editorial opinions masquerading as journalistic projects. A recent series by the Colorado Springs Gazette called “Clearing the Haze” stands out — the package amounts to a vortex of deceit.

But outstanding journalism, carried out by longtime reporters, editors and producers, is being conducted on a grand scale, for the first time in the history of the plant. Back before demonization of marijuana made the plant socially radioactive, media was minuscule compared to today.

Entrepreneurs striving to build cannabis-based businesses should make engaging with media a priority. The flourishing pot-based media landscape, with newcomers like PotGude.com rising beside venerable publications like High Times, changes every week, with fresh, ambitious publications and efforts seeking great stories. Tell them yours.

And mainstream media is increasingly hungry for cannabis content. Reporters tend towards laissez faire when it comes to social issues, and the good ones — really, most of them — at least try to ferret-out truth from the parade of lies foisted upon the public every day. Most journalists long ago understood that the stigmas surrounding marijuana were absurd — verging on Soviet-style propaganda. For reporters, this sudden freedom — encouragement, even — to dig into the world of marijuana is awfully refreshing.

Cannabis coverage today is sexy — journalists want to explore this New World, and so do readers. Website traffic for pot stories tends to outpace lots of other coverage. This means huge outlets like The New York Times, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, CNN and National Public Radio seek pot stories, and probably have reporters with marijuana beats.

When big publications like The Wall Street Journal write about your online solution to the banking issues that plague the cannabis industry, this leads to enormous name recognition and buzz, far beyond the effects of most advertising campaigns. Mainstream coverage is invaluable. The state-by-state march of marijuana legalization is one of the biggest, and juiciest, stories in the world right now. As more and more states loosen laws, and media increasingly explore how legalization unfolds in communities across the nation, the people taking the chances with business-building must be a big part of the national conversation. Don’t let national coverage devolve into little more than interviews with stoners on 4/20. Get out there and tell your story — how you are creating jobs, boosting tax revenue, leasing space from landlords, helping people find ways to deal with medical issues. And oh yeah — how that awesome idea that came to you while out running with friends compelled you to quit your job and become an entrepreneur. It’s a great American story.