'Wanted: Critic
to review marijuana'
The ad ran in Denver's alternative weekly Westword
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 19, 2009
It just may have been the most enticing job posting ever, certainly to a subset of stoners. "Do you have a medical condition that necessitates marijuana? Do you have a way with words? If so, Westword wants you to join the ranks as our freelance marijuana-dispensary reviewer." Since then, Westword, the Denver-area alternative weekly, has received hundreds of resumes from potential reviewers, a surprising number of whom are actually qualified candidates (the rest are just high). Everyone from The New York Times to the Wall Street Journal has run stories about the ad, and editor Patricia Calhoun addressed the media storm of attention in a humorous blog entry earlier this month, noting that despite the myriad investigative pieces Westword has done in the past, "all those journalistic scoops are just so much smoke compared to the attention attracted by an ad we posted on the web last week — for a medical marijuana dispensary reviewer." Calhoun talks to Media Life about her prospective candidates, all the attention, and how to keep laughing amid a media storm.
So, did you ever expect this job posting would generate as much attention in the media world as it has?
We knew that it would get a lot of attention from readers, based on our past coverage of the medical marijuana issue. But this much national (and international) attention? No.
How many applications have you received?
Upwards of 300, we think -- oddly (or not), this project has resulted in an unusually high percentage of people getting stuck in our spam filter.
About what percent of the applications would you say are viable?
Ninety percent, which is going to make this very tough.
How many interviews with media outlets have you done since the ad went up?
A dozen.
What has been the most amusing and the most frustrating thing over the media storm of attention?
Most amusing? My friends laughing at me for becoming the Pot Princess, since they all know the last time I inhaled was at a Boy George concert.
Most frustrating? That all the investigative pieces we work on don't get the same amount of attention. But that's old news.
What's the funniest response you've gotten so far to your request that applicants answer the question "What Marijuana Means to Me?"
The person who'll tattoo our logo on his otherwise pristine body to get the job.
Must one be an actual stoner to perform this job?
Nope.
Obviously everyone has had their own interpretation of your job posting (including us) that focuses on the stoner element. It's gotten a bit lost that this is a legitimate issue in Colorado, and that you previously had someone on the beat. In all seriousness, what are you looking for in the writer and what will he/she be covering?
Actually, I've been pleased by how many of the national pieces have put Colorado's medical marijuana boom in context.
We expect our dispensary critic to approach the job the same way our restaurant critic does -- offering contextual/factual background and opinions on ambience and value, as well as the meal/marijuana itself.
Will there be, ahem, drug testing for this position?
We probably should -- and give extra points to anyone who tests positive.
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