The Guy Who Talks About Weed

By Brian Grimmer



Ask any of my friends, I am 'that guy' among my friends. As a professional, you might think that being public about cannabis would not be a wise career choice. Admittedly, the social perspective of such a professional association, even as recently as just a few short years ago, may have held some consequential truth and wisdom. Thankfully, that idea is quickly fading away and falling to the wayside. Why wouldn't an intelligent, creative business-minded person want to identify with or participate in a multi-billion-dollar industry rich with opportunity?

Cannabis is an industry that is growing exponentially as more and more states choose to regulate and legalize cannabis. New businesses open, jobs are created for those with skills once hidden from 'authority.' Growers, processors, networking skills, marketing experience, accounting skills, and people skills once looked at with disdain are now able to gain employment as skilled laborers, leaders, and creatives.

While I have plenty of graphic design examples, the once-hidden pot leaf, infographics, and other cannabis-related marketing materials I developed in college are now professional portfolio subjects. My activism experience and collegiate reputation as 'the marijuana man' for conducting research into the cannabis culture equates to marketable skills and experience. For me personally, designing for the cannabis industry is a form of personal activism through professional marketing. I love what I do as I develop artwork and websites that support businesses and cannabis users are who are highly capable, talented, creative professionals in their chosen professions.

I'm proud to be both an artist and activist for an industry I know is creating jobs as well as entrepreneurial opportunities. Job creation is good for business as well as good politics. Activism and business opportunity combine to strip away the negative social associations and connotations with cannabis that many successful professionals have proven to be untrue.
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Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.

July Specials:

Logo Design - $50

Logo / Business Card / Letterhead design - $100

Website design - $100 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available

eCommerce website - $300 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available

My professional portfolio.

Grafx.One is a veteran-owned business

This article was originally published in the blog Replica Life.

I am listed in ProFinder on LinkedIn!

By Brian Grimmer

The marketing is paying off, I've been listed in ProFinder on LinkedIn!

Brian Grimmer

JHorticulture Business Identity - Logo and Business Card Design

By Brian Grimmer

John Hodge is a fellow veteran working hard to start up a gardening business in the Shoreline WA area. John wanted a professional look for his new business venture. This is what I created for him.

John loved the design.

 

I followed up with this business card mockup, John accepted the design, he particularly enjoyed the duplication of the logo in his name. Now he is just looking for work to earn a little advertising budget to pay for website hosting. In the meantime, I will host his fledgling website in a subdomain of Grafx.One.

June 6, 1944 - D-Day

By Brian Grimmer

In remembrance of D-Day - June 6th, 1944. A salute to those who served in the liberation of Europe.

Created in Adobe Photoshop.

Weaving through the flak over Normandy.

Combining Work with Seattle Pride and a Subtle Tribute

By Brian Grimmer

Occasionally, the creative process and the universe merge in strange yet beautiful ways. Initially, I had planned to create the below graphic so that the logo was a nice warm blazing sun in celebration of the coming summer season. I had just placed the sun and was adding a gaussian blur for the glowing effect when my music service played Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun. With recent events coming to mind, I followed the creative divergence and came up with this.

Homage to Soundgarden and Chris Cornell. His spirit lives on. 

How to customize your Twitter page header and look great!

By Brian Grimmer

When creating a custom header image for use on Twitter, create your image to be 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall.  You should design your image so that the bottom area underneath the first arc of the dotted line is empty of any important information. This area will be covered by your profile image. If you don't get things just right the first time, don't fret. You can edit your image, save and easily upload the edited revision to replace the old image.

By the way, your Twitter profile image is set to display at 200 pixels x 200 pixels. Keeping Retina displays in mind, it is recommended to use a 400 x 400-pixel image and let Twitter do the resizing.

Creating a custom header for your Twitter page is simple once you know what the dimensions need to be.
Check out the above header image on Twitter.

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Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.

Sports Car Market magazine - Cover layouts

By Brian Grimmer

Just posted some work from the past in my Behance portfolio. While serving as the art director for Keith Martin's Sports Car Market (SCM) magazine back in 2001-2002.  I learned a lot about collector cars and developed an appreciation for classic automobiles during my time working with the company. Published by Keith Martin in Portland, Oregon, I transitioned SCM from Adobe PageMaker to InDesign 2.0 and significantly streamlined the production process.

Assembling the cover was always my favorite part of the monthly publication process. Using artist supplied artwork, the challenge was developing a masthead that complemented the artist's work yet still worked within the readability needs of the informational content. Today we have tools and mobile apps like Adobe Color which assist in making color selection an easy, if not enjoyable process.

Features within InDesign allowed the design process of the SCM cover to be sped up and simplified by using a template. Further revisions for the next issue only involved replacing the textual data, changing the colors, and linking to the cover artwork in the InDesign tool panel. Under the similar but more complex PageMaker publishing process, any changes to the masthead had to be applied to a separate Adobe Illustrator file and relinked.

The method of using a color flexible masthead and commissioned artwork inclusion was popular practice for publications who enjoy a strong name recognition in their particular industry and market. Wanting to expand beyond the niche though, (and likely to increase the efficiency of the overall production process as I recall the artwork selection and subsequent artist negotiations were very consuming of Keith's time) SCM has since updated their look and feel significantly to appeal to a broader audience.

Keith Martin knows his cars and Sports Car Market magazine exemplifies his vast knowledge on the subject. If you are into classic and collector cars (or are considering owning one), I invite you to check out Sports Car Market magazine before you even think about car shopping.

Check out the magazine cover layouts created for Sports Car Market
magazine using Adobe InDesign 2.0 back in the day.

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Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.

July Specials:

Logo Design - $50

Logo / Business Card / Letterhead design - $100

Website design - $100 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available

eCommerce website - $300 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available

Turning a mistake into portfolio gem

By Brian Grimmer

Earlier today I found an ancient 16 MB USB thumb drive (yes, they made them that small) in a little tin I've had since the 1990s. Within a folder on the drive, I found an old portfolio of mine with the associated image files. Looking through I found an image I had used successfully in my portfolio for a few years even though it had a glaring error on it. The error was pre-acknowledged in the presentation and highlighted in the portfolio to show that even with the best efforts, Murphy and his law will pay a visit at some point.

The image below is a screenshot of a website I built overnight for a client back in the early 2000s. Back then people thought web developers and graphic designers were technological witch doctors that magically made websites and artwork appear on computers. Visual-based web-builders of the era were clunky and produced horrible code, it was a talent to code visually and understand early versions of HTML & CSS. With such reverence, it wasn't long before a prima donna personality set in thanks to the constant ego feed via adulation from satisfied clients.

A website screenshot from the early 2000s used successfully in a portfolio despite containing an error,

Designers need to have an ego in order to be assertive and courageous enough to think outside the box to provide the "in-the-box" solutions clients expect. For talented designers, it was often an accepted behavior. Like Patton and Montgomery, two World War Two generals who were known as prima donnas, the ego allowed them to push the limits and think outside the box to defeat their nemesis Rommel in combat. The success of these generals in combat depended greatly upon their ego and allowed them to surmount the challenges they faced.

Designers pushing the edges of the norm is what got us from that "video-game console-era web design like above to the amazingly interactive websites we have today. The ego provides a designer the necessary backbone to say "Hey, I need that content tomorrow or the deadline is toast." Like the Enterprize's "Scottie," the designer has padded the time estimate by a few hours for themselves to seemingly pull a miracle out of the hat.

So the client finally gets you the new content at 10:00 pm the night before the site is scheduled to launch. An all-nighter later and miracle made... However, as the image below clearly shows the blue box outline, an element of the button was incorrectly coded... Ooops!!! Miracle now imperfect...

Embarrassingly,  typos are the gremlins of code and can slip into the code easily and at any time as shown in this "Turn of the Century" website build proof that was sent to the client after an all-nighter coding session.

There's no need to feel bad about such "human" errors though ... One missed " />" tag in your HTML code and a professional design (for the time) becomes a moment of humility with the client. The designer still is the hero of the day in the client's eyes as they recognize that the designer spent all night entering new changes to and performing last minute edits to content. A quick-fix and we're done...

A missing closing tag, after all, takes only a few minutes to fix, and he got it done overnight... Wow! I successfully used this image as part of my portfolio to show I am human too and won't cop an attitude as I know how easily such simple mistakes can be overlooked and fixed.

What has your experience been with regard to past mistakes? Respond below your comments and discussion.

Mainstream Media Silent As West Virginia Becomes 29th State to Legalize Medical Cannabis

By Brian Grimmer

With the exception of U.S. News, the mainstream media has been quiet about West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his signing of Senate Bill 386. As Quinn Marie reported in Culture Magazine, SB386 the Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law on April 19, 2107. The signing of the bill made West Virginia the 29th State to legalize medical cannabis.

Searching Google, the legislation is making its way through the news feeds of the counter-culture. The only other "mainstream media" reporting anything as of the penning of this report is WSLS, an NBC affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia. Their headline "West Virginia medical marijuana legalization could cross state lines - Fear is it will carry over into more illegal use in Virginia" shows the fear-based difficulties cannabis activists still face in parts of the country.

Biteable - the World's Simplest Video Maker

By Brian Grimmer

I just can't knock free. Even in the world of graphic design, free combined with simple and straightforward makes for a hands down winner. The draw of video editing software made simple is that it only takes a few minutes to throw together a quick customized video for a potential customer.

As an example, I made a short video to promote my freelance efforts (we all gotta eat), It was actually fun making the little presentation video. Selecting from the many options, I was able to put together the test example in about 15 minutes.

While limited in application for the free version (a shareable link to a You-Tube-like video being provided instead of an actual or editable video file), the paid service provides many more options for the user and removes the watermark. The true power of Biteable is in it simplicity. What Biteable can produce can be a useful tool for almost any office scenario where a quick self-labeled light-weight video would be useful.

At $99/year, the cloud-based video service is very attractive for many situations where the heavyweight desktop apps are just too much of an investment as well as just too complicated for the typical daily needs,


Brian Grimmer - Portfolio Sample on Biteable.

About Brian Grimmer
Mr. Grimmer is a thirty-year veteran of the Graphic Design industry and the proprietor of Grafx.One, a Seattle-based graphic design and web development studio. This article was republished in Replica Life on July 12, 2017.

Yellowjacks - Original artwork by Brian Grimmer

Created in Adobe Illustrator. 4/22/2017.

Oofffdahhh yummm!!! Rootworx Amazeballs from Dockside Cannabis

By Brian Grimmer

Happy 420 2017!!!

In recognition of 420, Dockside Cannabis was selling grams of  Amazeballs at a very friendly price of $15/gram. Five dollars off the regular price.  Trust me, at 67.53% a gram of this stuff packs a wallop.

Made by Rootworx, Amazeballs (available in sativa, indica, or hybrid varieties) are buds soaked with rosin and coated with kief.

Moments after opening the jar, one is immediately aware of the flood of piney and citrusy terpenes and sweet aroma of rosin emanating from within the jar. 

The smoke is flavorful and sweet. Check out the kief and rosin in that bud! Thanks to the rosin, the first pull provided a nice uplifting high that makes one appreciate life and the simple pleasures that make it wonderful. A few tokes in and I was set for a a good hour and a half of contemplating life. Amazeballs was definitely a good choice for celebrating 420.

Cheers!

Cannabis Provisions, Inc. - A strain called Narnia

By Brian Grimmer

Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a space tucked up on the second floor at 938 N. 200th Street in Shoreline, Washington. There is ample parking and the location is just a few minutes walk from the Aurora Village Transit Center. However, a steep and narrow set of stairs leading up to the shop makes this location less than ideal for people with mobility issues. Store hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Once inside, the staff are quick to greet you with a genuinely friendly hello. Not only are the staff friendly, but they are knowledgeable about their products as well. Often, supplier representatives from such companies as Big Sur Extracts frequent the store to educate and familiarize customers with their product line.

At Cannabis Provisions, the selection is vast with concentrates, edibles, topicals, and flower. Cannabis Provisions offers a 10% off for Happy Hour (2:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to close Monday through Friday) as well as Veterans and senior discounts. Taking advantage of Happy Hour and a Veterans' discount, I picked up a gram of Narnia for just under $13.00.

Narnia is sativa-dominant strain produced by Soulshine Cannabis. A hybrid of Jack Herer and Trainwreck, the effects of Narnia come on fast. Loaded with trichomes, the terpine-rich flavors include citrusy notes balanced with a sweet spicyness. The buds in the gram were small but dense popcorn buds that burned slow in the pipe.

Being a sativa-dominant strain, there is no couch lock with Narnia, the strain is definitely great for inspiring conversation and creative expression. The euphoric high lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. Throughout the high, complete functionality and focus was maintained. Definitely a good "pick me up" strain, at $15/gram or $50/eighth Narnia is sure to please.

Strain:
Narnia
Grower:
Soulshine Cannabis
Harvest Date:
10/06/2016
Potency Analysis:
CBDA: 0% CBD: 0.03%
THC: 18.28% THCA: 0%,
Total THC: 18.28% Total CBD: 0.03%
Total Cannabinoids: 18.31%

Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a second location at 11811 Mukilteo Speedway #111 in Mukilteo. According to the company's website, a third location is coming soon to Wenatchee at 831 N. Miller St. An online rewards program is offered: every tenth purchase earns you a 15% discount. Cannabis Provisions can be found on FaceBook, be sure to give them a like. The company also lists their product menu on Leafly and updates frequently - 2-days ago as of the writing of this article.

Introductions

I am a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, AmeriCorps alumni, and United States Army veteran with extensive research, analysis, communications, creative design, and leadership experience.  I possess a proven ability to manage people and projects while providing excellent leadership.  My dynamic people skills and strict attention to detail allow me to keep projects running smoothly. 

I have had the great fortune of working on some truly inspiring projects while networking with many influential and creative individuals along the way. I believe in the power of working together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. For more information about my career experience and past projects, please review my current art work portfolio. Writing samples are found below. I welcome you to get in touch with me today for your next project.

An Examination of Seattle Hempfest Leadership Communications.

By Brian Grimmer 

The law in Washington state recognizes the medical efficacy of Cannabis with medical-use of the plant has been permitted under state law since 1998.  In 2012, Washington voters chose to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.  These defiant stances taken against the failed “War on drugs” are the result of successful political organizing.

Through effective leadership, cannabis culture has become a large and powerful social movement and political force in Washington state.  While successfully changing social attitudes and the legal status of cannabis in the Evergreen State, the movement has also legitimized an industry.  As the social stigmas associated with cannabis decrease with continued social acceptance as reflected by Gallup opinion polls (Swift, 2013) and successful political initiatives for cannabis legalization in Colorado and Washington (Hawken, Caulkins, Kilmer, and Kleiman, 2013), skills once considered criminal are becoming legitimate tax-paying career paths and academic subjects of study.

Even with legalization a reality in Washington, the cannabis movement in Seattle remains politically active and committed to continued cannabis law reform.  One such organization at the forefront of cannabis legalization is Seattle Hempfest.  Publicized as a “protestival” (McPeak, 2011), directors of Seattle Hempfest have successfully developed and facilitated the free annual public event in Seattle for the past 22 years to celebrate cannabis culture and advocate for cannabis law reform through education and entertainment (Seattle Hempfest History, n.d.).

In this paper, I shall examine the organizational structure of Seattle Hempfest from my perspective as a volunteer.  Secondly, I shall examine the communication methods and leadership styles employed in critical roles within the organization and during events gathered in the course of personal interviews and research.  Within this section, I will also discuss a perceived shortcoming and deserved accolades in the areas of organizational communication.  Lastly, I will show how effective communications methods contribute to the success of the organization as a whole.

My wife and I have been involved with Hempfest for two and three years respectively as event staff, or Hempfest volunteers.  I was invited to speak at my first Seattle Hempfest in 2011 about my activism at Central Washington University.  I felt obliged to volunteer as I was so honored to be a part of Seattle Hempfest.

During my past three years of volunteer service, I also conducted sociological research and recorded my social observations to gather data for my undergraduate research projects.  Overall, I have found the cannabis culture to be very welcoming and accepting of diversity and people wanting to learn by doing.  Long-term friendships frequently develop among volunteers.  Within the organization, I have made several friends I now view as family.  Even now, as I write this paper, I am living in a house with 4 other Hempfest volunteers.

The reasons people get involved Hempfest vary by the individual (Punyon, 2012).  On a personal level, I volunteer because I desire the hands-on experience so that I may further my educational and career goals.  Additionally, I volunteer out of pride in knowing that I am doing something positive to change the social perceptions of cannabis while actively giving back to the community.  For some at Hempfest, the urgency of commerce takes precedent as changing laws allow for the conducting of business transactions in the commodity of cannabis.

Some Hempfest best volunteers are Seattle’s homeless and transient population.  For many people, participating in the event provides them with a sense of belonging and self-worth (Black, personal interview, 2013).  In the spirit of community service, hot meals are available during the event to feed those helping with set-up and daily operations.  Additionally, several Seattle businesses recognize the efforts of Hempfest staff volunteers as the event provides good job experience and transferable skills (Phun, personal communication, 2013).

While I have only experienced three events, the first Hempfest was held in 1991 in Seattle’s Gasworks Park (McPeak, 2011).  The purpose of the Seattle Hempfest is best summarized in the organization’s mission statement: “Seattle Hempfest was founded in the belief that the public is better served when citizens and public officials work cooperatively in order to successfully accomplish common goals” (Mission, n.d.).

With companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, located in the city in addition to the University of Washington, it is easy to see that Seattle values and embraces education.  For Seattle Hempfest, education is a key element of the organization’s success (Sharon Whitson, n.d.).  Even the Seattle Police Department participates in a good-natured attempt to educate the public by handing out free Doritos with stickers warning patrons about the limits of cannabis possession under Washington state law (Johnson, 2013; Livingston, 2013).

While educating the public about cannabis is the primary focus of the festival, the organization operates a small office and retail storefront called Hempfest Central in the Seattle suburb of Lake City.  From this location, the organization conducts the business operations of the festival.  The business operations of Seattle Hempfest centers on the non-profit entity Seattle Events (Mission, n.d.).

The leader of Seattle Hempfest is Vivian McPeak, co-founder and executive director of Seattle Events.  McPeak provides what Baack refers to as strategic management for the organization (2012).  As a non-profit entity in Washington State, McPeak is required to report to the board of directors, commonly referred to within the organization as the Steering Committee.  Also providing strategic planning are John Davis, who serves as chairman of the board, and Sharon Whitson, who serves as general manager.  Below the Steering Committee, the leadership branches off into what Baack refers to as tactical management (2012).  This is the level where leaders with specific skills and specialties make up dedicated leadership teams and Core Staff members needed to manage such a large public event (Phun, personal communication, 2013).

Working with Seattle Hempfest as a volunteer has provided the opportunity to conduct sociological research into the cannabis culture over the past three years.  As part of this research, I have observed the leadership of Seattle Hempfest in the performance of their roles during events.  The expertise and talent possessed by the people volunteering for the organization truly make the event possible.

As with any large event, vending provides a large source of event funding.  Understanding this, the Seattle Hempfest crew works hard to take care of the vendors who participate in the event.  However, when the day is done and it is time to clear the public out of the park, the staff sometimes has to get tough with vendors trying make one more sale for the night.  Due to legal reasons, vendors cannot sell cannabis at the event. This is another area where the volunteers and event leadership are required to take an affirmative and staunch stance as such behavior could potentially result in difficulties renewing event permits for the next year.

My personal favorite aspect of Seattle Hempfest is the speakers.  Here is where one can truly begin to understand the diversity of people involved in cannabis.  After listening to the speakers at Hempfest one soon realizes that the stereotypical cannabis user as portrayed in Cheech and Chong films is rather demeaning.  In reality, cannabis users can be dirt poor or rich and famous, like Bill Gates (Manes & Andrews, 1993). 

Listening to the stories of people like Kristina Flor, an activist whose father died in Federal custody (Press, 2012), one quickly realizes that the government and law enforcement do not always play fair when it comes to cannabis.  Hear the story of story of brave Mykayla Comstock, a 7-year-old girl from Oregon whose cancer is in remission thanks to cannabis oil (Home Page, n.d.), and one can begin to understand why so many people call cannabis medicine.

Walking along the hundreds of vendors, one can listen to different vendors talk up the benefits of hemp soap, or how good hemp fabrics are for the environment while the next vendor is busy selling bongs or asking for donations for the particular cause they represent.  With so many vendors, the frugal patron can accumulate a fair amount of free swag and souvenirs with a bit of determination.  For those with the financial means, Hempfest can be a buyer’s paradise for one in need of cannabis-related paraphernalia, artwork, clothing, or jewelry.

In all the Seattle Hempfest provides a public forum where cannabis enthusiasts can congregate freely and enjoy the fruits of their activism efforts.  While sales of cannabis are still considered by law enforcement to be illegal activities, cannabis consumption does occur at the Seattle Hempfest.  As part of communicating a message of responsibility and leadership, volunteers are expected to remove their Hempfest tee-shirt and any identifying badges before partaking in the consumption of cannabis (Phun, personal communication, 2011).

Failure to do so can result in the loss of one’s position as a volunteer or even leadership position.  Topping off the punishment, is the added public surrendering of the offender’s Hempfest shirt to leadership.  The loss of position and shirt can occur for other offenses as well such as insubordination, harassment, or attacking another person.  If the offense is severe enough and warrants such action, one can be escorted out of the event by law enforcement and blacklisted from all future Hempfest events (Black, personal communication, 2013).

Such a policy combined with the personal pride attached to the possession of a Hempfest Staff shirt and the position held with the organization inspires most people to pay attention to what they are doing or risk literally losing their shirt.  In Seattle, a Hempfest staff tee shirt can often make the difference between a getting good burger at the bar or getting a great burger at the bar.  As a result, one can typically see a few Hempfest staff shirts on any given day in the city of Seattle.

With just the outreach performed during the event by giving out staff shirts to the volunteers, Hempfest leadership has succeeded in communicating their presence to the community in a positive manner.  For three days after the event, volunteers are walk the length Myrtle Edwards Park to clean up the grounds and leave the park cleaner than what it was before the event.

While such dedication certainly communicates a degree of appreciation to the leaders of Seattle for granting Seattle Events permission to use the park, the reality is that the fees charged by the city for any remaining residuals found in the park such as litter, graffiti, and stickers on signs, are financially crippling to an organization’s bottom line (Phun, personal communication, 2013).

Seattle Hempfest costs in excess of $800,000 to make into a reality (Johnson, 2013).  This point is communicated to volunteers doing the cleanup sweeps after the event who in turn vigilantly scrape off stickers and graffiti from park surfaces and pick up the trash.  The hope is to reduce the total number of penalties charged by the city for incurred damages.

Seattle Hempfest is a success in Seattle due to the dedication of its leadership and the support provided by the community in the form of volunteers and patrons.  While the cannabis industry is legal in the states of Colorado and Washington, there remains a lot of work to legalize cannabis in the remaining 48 states.  As the largest free cannabis rally in Washington, Seattle Hempfest will continue to organize and provide a forum where activists can meet and voice their opinions to the public.

References:

Baack, D. (2012). The Nature of Communication in Professional Settings. Management Communication (pp. 1-8). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.

Hawken, A., Caulkins, J., Kilmer, B. and Kleiman, M. (2013), Quasi-legal cannabis in Colorado and Washington: local and national implications. Addiction, 108: 837–838. doi: 10.1111/add.12156

Home Page. (n.d.). Brave Mykayla. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.bravemykayla.com/

Johnson, G. (2013, August 16). Don't inhale too deeply as Hempfest kicks off in Seattle this weekend. MercuryNews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living/ci_23880332/dont-inhale-too-deeply-hempfest-kicks-off-seattle

Livingston, B. (2013, August 14). Cops to Distribute Bags of Chips at Hempfest (Really!). The Stranger. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cops-to-distribute-bags-of-chips-at-hempfest-really/Content?oid=17500264

Manes, S., & Andrews, P. (1993). Gates: how Microsoft's mogul reinvented an industry--and made himself the richest man in America. New York: Doubleday.

McPeak, V. (2011). Protestival: Seattle Hempfest; a 20 Year Retrospective. Seattle: AH HA Publishing.

Mission. (n.d.). Seattle Hempfest. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.hempfest.org/about/mission/

Press. (2012, August 30). Ex-medical marijuana provider dies in custody. The Billings Gazette. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/ex-medical-marijuana-provider-dies-in-custody/article_d93df416-ceb3-5d38-95bb-e602db503391.html

Punyon, B. (2012, July 30). Why Volunteering is Important . Seattle Hempfest. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.hempfest.org/why-volunteering-is-important/

Seattle Hempfest History. (n.d.). Seattle Hempfest. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://www.hempfest.org/about/history/

Sharon Whitson. (n.d.). Seattle Hempfest. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.hempfest.org/about/who-we-are/core-staff-profiles/sharon-whitson/

Swift, A. (2013, October 22). For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana. Gallup Politics. Retrieved November 24, 2013.

Saving the day with a cigarette...

By Brian Grimmer

When working as an Art Director for a graphic design firm, it is common to find customers who get upset by anything other than good news regarding the project they have entrusted the firm to produce.  When things do not go perfectly, customers can understandably lose their temper and become unprofessional.  Because of this possibility, one must be able to accept critical comments (6 Characteristics, 2009).

One such event involved a client in need of 2,500 flyers for an upcoming weekend event.  The client’s staff prepared the file and approved the subsequent proof prior to starting the press run.  Unfortunately, the client did not discover that the phone number formatting on the flyer was incorrect until after the print-run was completed.

The client flipped out and began to curse out the staff so vehemently, that the office manager wanted to call the police despite the company policy of, “never call the police unless lives are in danger as nobody wins when law enforcement is involved.”  Instead, I calmly waived the staff away, used a distraction, and worked to find a solution.

I said, “There is still time to correct this issue and have your flyers ready for tomorrow.”  Knowing the client smoked cigarettes, I held one out as a peace offering and said, “Let’s step outside, and smoke a cigarette so we can calm down and work this out.”  By distracting the client with the offer of a smoke, I was able to effectively redirect the client’s attention back towards finding a solution.

Rather than rely on unpleasant police tactics to resolve an unpleasant situation and ruin everyone’s day, the distraction provided by the offering of a cigarette and rapid development of a workable solution to the problem provided a win-win scenario.  Not only did the print shop keep a good customer, a few employees earned overtime hours and the client had flyers for the event.

References:

6 Characteristics of the Successful Designer. (2009, September 5). Paper Leaf Design. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://paper-leaf.com/blog/2009/09/6-characteristics-of-the-successful-designer/

A Study of Gender within the Cannabis Market

Abstract:
Researched gender differences within the cannabis market of Ellensburg, Washington. Cannabis in Washington has enjoyed significant social acceptance as indicated by high use rates and social tolerance. Yet, despite its current legalized status in the state, sales of cannabis remain illegal and users can still face legal sanctions. This research investigates what roles gender and sexuality fulfill within the cannabis culture and the illicit market of cannabis sales. Additionally, we examine the various types and frequency of exchanges (gifting, sharing, for-profit sales, etc.).

Findings presented at the 2013 Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) at Central Washington University (CWU), 2013 California McNair Scholars Symposium at the University of California at Berkeley. Research stipend and expenses paid by McNair Scholars Program.

Cannabis Policy: Getting Past Prohibition

By Brian Grimmer

For those interested in a career in public policy, the past general election was a breaking point in the War on Drugs in America. On November 7, 2012 cannabis users around the world celebrated as voters in the states of Washington and Colorado chose to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal or “recreational” use. On that same day, Massachusetts became the 18th state to adopt compassionate laws allowing the use of cannabis as medicine. Arkansas could have been the 19th state to adopt medical cannabis had their 2012 Medical Marijuana Act not been narrowly defeated at the polls (Arkansas State 2012).

Across the nation, states are looking at their cannabis laws and considering change. Thanks to the economic realities of the modern world, the hemp industry continues to gain support as America’s view towards cannabis changes from fear and revulsion to reluctant acceptance. Even the Federal stance against cannabis is softening somewhat.

In 2005, documents from the United States Department of Agriculture suggested that the United States should cultivate hemp (Congressional Research 2012). Across America, with few exceptions, the social opinion of cannabis is improving as the medical use of the drug becomes an accepted social norm (Murray et al. 2012). Veterans suffering from injuries sustained while serving their country need not feel pressured to risk their benefits over medicinal cannabis use. As of 2010, the Veterans Administration has eased restrictions on cannabis use in states where medicinal-use is legal (Davis 2012).

In the wake of his recent election to serve a second term, and the success of ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington, President Obama appears to have taken a softer approach towards cannabis. Possibly beginning to succumb to public will regarding the acceptance of cannabis use in America, in an interview with Barbara Walters, President Obama declared that recreational users in Colorado and Washington were a low priority and that the government had “bigger fish to fry” (Dwyer 2012). As per the Eric Holder memo, the President’s position on cannabis is less than comforting for cannabis users and legislators across the nation.

While these victories at the polls and within our social institutions are not the first enjoyed by the cannabis culture, the political fallout resulting from these allowances combined with the passage of cannabis legalization measures in two states has spread around the world. Leaders from across the world, particularly Latin America, are lining up to speak out against America’s failed War on Drugs (Serrano 2013; Padget 2012). Some national leaders are speaking out in favor of the European approach to legalization as they realize the economic drain endured by their countries because of the costs of incarceration and the enforcement of prohibition brought on by the War on Drugs (Serrano 2013). Even in the United States, the winds of change are now blowing with purpose as Congressmen Jared Polis (D-CO) and Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR) introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013 in early February 2013.

With the eventual end of cannabis prohibition on the horizon, new public policy will need to be developed. The need for policy generation will continue far beyond the mere taxation and regulation of cannabis as a newly legal commodity. Schools, universities, the workplace, the military and other institutions will need to generate new policies as society officially sanctions a third recreational intoxicant. After 75 years of oppression, the cannabis community will certainly be demanding legislation to clear the records and release millions of POWs of the Drug War.

Because of the War on Drugs, the United States has more prisoners than any other country in the world. The United States has a mere 5% of the world’s population, yet houses a whopping 25% of the world’s inmates. The United States even outpaces Russia in rates of incarceration, which holds a distant second (Liptak 2012).

Despite the best efforts of Federal authorities to suppress cannabis use in the United States, statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show the utter failure in these endeavors. In 2011, cannabis was determined to be the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States with an estimated 18.1 million users. Additionally, cannabis was the drug of choice by 80.5 percent of current illicit drug users in 2011 with approximately 64.3 percent of illicit drug users using nothing more than cannabis in the past month (Substance Abuse 2012).

According to Mumula and Karberg (2007), of the 1,414,846 prisoners in state and Federal prisons across America, nearly 145,000 were incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes. In The Price of Prisons; What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers, Henrichson and Delaney (2012) determine the average cost to house a prisoner for one year is $31,286. Simple math shows that cannabis prohibition has become a trillion-dollar taxpayer-funded money-maker for the American prison industry.

It is commonly accepted that profits drive American ideals. The people are weary of the Drug War, and its drain on the economy is unsustainable (Perez 2012). As cannabis laws change, the prison industry will have to adapt as well. Without an influx of marijuana users and producers, the prison system will empty, easing conditions of overcrowding.

As society continues to reframe its positions on cannabis and drugs in general, there will be a growing need to develop policies that recognize drug-abuse as a public health issue. The legitimization of job skills (growing, processing, and selling of cannabis) that were once taboo creates opportunity where there once was social scorn and great risk involved. With legalization comes the reward of taxation, both of the commodity, and the labor behind its production, distribution, and sale in addition to the revenues generated for service providers. While the trillion-dollar prison industry is certain to take a hit (no pun intended), the money generated from legal cannabis will replace the losses. Hemp, combined with medicinal and recreational cannabis, and their respective industries, could potentially provide enough jobs to rescue the American economy.

Works Cited:

"Arkansas State General Election November 6, 2012." Arkansas Secretary of State. Arkansas Secretary of State, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Davis, Alexander C., Moving to Mellow: How the New Medical Marijuana Policy at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Fits into the Growing Effort to Legalize Pot in America (April 9, 2012). Available at SSRN: <http://ssrn.com/abstract=2037479> or <http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2037479>.

Dwyer, Devin. "Marijuana Not High Obama Priority." ABC News. ABC News Network, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

Henrichson, Christian and Delaney, Ruth. The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, Print. 2012.

Liptak, Adam. "Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’" New York Times 23 Apr. 2008: n. pag. New York Times. Web. 30 Nov. 2012.

Mumola , Christopher J., and Karberg, Jennifer C., "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, January 2007) NCJ 213530, p. 4. Print.

Murray, Robin M., Paul D. Morrison, Cécile Henquet, and Marta Di Forti. "Cannabis, the Mind and Society: The Hash Realities." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 8.11 (2007): 885-95. Print.

Padget, Timt. "Uruguay’s Plan to Legalize Marijuana Sales: Should the Rest of the World Follow?" Time World. Time, 26 June 2012. Web. 29 Dec. 2012.

Perez, Fernando M. "Chapter 4: Obama, Progressivism, Harm Reduction, and Drug Policy: From War to Health and Rights." Grading the 44th President: A Report Card on Barack Obama's First Term as a Progressive Leader. By Luigi Esposito and Laura L. Finley. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012. 86-94. Print.

Serrano, Alfonso. "U.S. Marijuana Laws Ricochet Through Latin America." Time World. Time, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-44, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4713. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Web. 2012.

Congressional Research Service. Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity. By Renée Johnson. Congressional Research Service, 18 Dec. 2012. Web.