Pubdate: Fri, 04 May 2007
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Misty Harris, CanWest News Service
Cited: 
http://www.forbes.com/intelligentinfrastructure/2007/03/14/dope-marijuana-cannabis-biz-cz_sc_0314pot_slide.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Marijuana - Popular)

POT'S NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES, BURNOUTS

Doctors, Lawyers and CEOs Among Its Fans

Once the drug of choice with hippies and burnouts, marijuana is
joining fine wine on the list of indulgences with serious snob appeal.

Although illegal, the controversial drug counts Canadian doctors,
lawyers, corporate leaders and untold members of the chattering
classes among its fans. And if the watermark for "making it" amongst
the millionaires is a picture in Forbes, then reefer has achieved that
cachet: In advance of Saturday's Global Marijuana March, which will be
held in major cities worldwide to promote the legalization of pot, the
conservative business magazine has published a photographic countdown
of the world's most exotic varietals of weed on Forbes.com, complete
with information on each brand's origin, bouquet and cost per gram.

Grass has come a long way since Woodstock, baby.

"Serious cannabis consumers often exhibit the kind of connoisseurship
typical of wine lovers," writes Forbes reporter Saabira Chaudhuri.

Vancouver-based weed expert Ian Mulgrew agrees, saying in an interview
that "as many versions as there are of red and white wine, there are
versions of the major strains of cannabis."

Adds Mulgrew, author of Bud Inc: Inside Canada's Marijuana Industry: "The
same way people who buy wines are looking for bouquet, nose and finish, (pot
smokers) are looking for epicurean qualities to their marijuana."

Varietals cataloged by Forbes.com include Sour Diesel, Strawberry
Cough, Mass Skunk, OG Kush, Chemdog, Jack Herer and Haze. Each "brand"
is said to have a street value of $25 to $35 US per gram -- equal to
about 0.04 ounces.

According to the print version of Forbes, rising popularity and price
have driven marijuana to trump wheat, cattle and timber as "Canada's
most valuable agricultural product." Mulgrew estimates the drug
generates between $6 billion and $8 billion Cdn each year, and upwards
of $2-billion in B.C. alone.

"Let's stop kidding ourselves. The yuppies aren't growing heirloom
tomatoes in their gardens," he observes dryly. "It's a really
sophisticated market."

The average Canadian isn't likely to debate whether a joint's contents
were grown on the sunny side of the slope or the shady. But among the
cannabis cognoscenti, High Times columnist Jorge Cervantes says, no
nuance is too obscure.

"People are so snobby about this stuff. They get real full of themselves,
claiming they've got the best dope in the world," says Cervantes, author of
the bestselling book Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical
Grower's Bible. "They tie it to their manhood."

Unlike wine tasting, in which sommeliers spit out the alcohol after
sampling, evaluating pot requires a person make as many judgments as
possible before experiencing the product.

"What happens is you get high and you can't remember all the stuff,"
explains Cervantes. "It's hard to make good decisions after you've
smoked some of this." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake