Weed in Review

And I thought movie critics had the best job in journalism: According to the New York Times, Westword, a Denver alt-weekly, is on the hunt for what may be the nation's first pot critic:

The idea is not to assess the green stuff itself, but to review the dispensaries that have sprouted like, um, weeds in Denver this year.

"We want to see what kind of place it is, how well they care for you and also how sketchy the place is," said Patricia Calhoun, editor of Westword. "Do they actually look at your medical marijuana card? Do they let you slip some cash under the counter and bypass the rules?"

Last week, the paper published a call for a regular freelance reviewer with a real, doctor-certified medical need -- asking each candidate to send a résumé and an essay on "What Marijuana Means to Me" -- and received several dozen applications within a few days.

"Every time an application comes in, it's like opening a little birthday present, because most of them are quite hilarious," Ms. Calhoun said.

…Dispensaries promote different strains with distinctive flavors -- there are, after all, marijuana snobs just as there are wine snobs -- and some mix their wares into foods like hummus, pesto and chocolate. So why not critique the cannabis, too?

Service journalism, friends. It's the future.

In March, Paul Armentano celebrated medical marijuana's 10th anniversary. Browse Reason's complete archive of articles on medical marijuana here.