
The Life of a Pot Critic for the Denver Post - samclemens
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/fashion/the-life-of-a-pot-critic-denver-post-clean-with-citrus-notes.html
======
rickdale
Theres a fundamental flaw in this type of review. For all of us reading this
article we assume this jack ripper strain is the bomb, but really it just
happens that the grower he got it from grew some good jack the ripper or
whatever. I work in the industry, and mostly people will be like, Oh I tried
this strain and its no good, but its just because they got it from a mediocre
grower and indeed it wasn't as good as the real deal. Also, there are hundreds
of seed companies selling similar strains under various names and thus one
persons og kush isn't the same as another.

The problem with this is, outside of places like Colorado, Oregon, and
Washington, under the guise of medical marijuana its now more important for
the specific review of a flower that can be reproduced by the grower. Ugh, I
am just saying, these reviews are specifically of the nug that guy smoked not
of the overall strain but they pretend it is of the overall strain.

~~~
dice
It seems like the current methodology is, to use wine analogies, to compare
grapes instead of harvests. Charles Shaw has a Cabernet, but it's a very
different beast from Joseph Phelps', and they will both have variations from
harvest to harvest.

Perhaps in the future we'll see the marijuana landscape settle down into a few
widely recognized and harvested strains, with different growers touting their
harvests and growing techniques over those of others.

~~~
DanBC
But wine tasting is mostly bullshit. Double-blinding means even expert wine
tasters fail to agree on good wines or to identify years or makers.

[http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-
tas...](http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-
science-analysis)

> Hodgson approached the organisers of the California State Fair wine
> competition, the oldest contest of its kind in North America, and proposed
> an experiment for their annual June tasting sessions.

> Each panel of four judges would be presented with their usual "flight" of
> samples to sniff, sip and slurp. But some wines would be presented to the
> panel three times, poured from the same bottle each time. The results would
> be compiled and analysed to see whether wine testing really is scientific.

> The first experiment took place in 2005. The last was in Sacramento earlier
> this month. Hodgson's findings have stunned the wine industry. Over the
> years he has shown again and again that even trained, professional palates
> are terrible at judging wine.

~~~
veidr
Yeah, but then there is this:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBi9PfZve84](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBi9PfZve84)

(I had to dig around to find out where I found this; it turned out to be a
link entry on Daring Fireball, May 2013.)

------
6stringmerc
Interesting!

So here's what makes me think so hard about this: All the experience that
qualified him for his job was, for lack of a better term, in a "grey market"
\- what I mean by this is while the Medical System was established, due to it
being officially still banned by the Federal Government, he was breaking the
law. Not Colorado law. Federal "if you send this across state lines you are
forever ruined" Law, right?

Fate is cruel. There are, without a doubt, thousands of young men who are
easily as qualified with the product, whom are locked behind bars. This is
inefficient. You don't want Maureen "Serious Journalist Doesn't Take Marijuana
Seriously" Dowd as an ambassador, you want an educated, intelligent person (in
agreement with the article here).

I've not got a lot more to add on this subject, other than I find it very,
very strange that it was, relatively speaking, so easy to get the job. I have
an actual writing degree, an advanced degree in education, and spent the first
couple years of my life watching nearly every job posting reveal inflated
expectations for qualifications and/or experience.

That is a very real problem, so maybe I'm partially just grumbling that it was
so easy for him, whereas getting a, you know, "real" white-collar job means
the Secretary needs a Bachelors and minimum 5 years experience for a salary of
$37,000 in a major metropolitan city. This may seem extreme (especially to
STEM professionals) but it's genuinely true, and if it isn't a problem in your
industry - or not debilitating - be vigilant so it does not.

~~~
Devthrowaway80
I would love to read more articles by Maureen Dowd about her experiences using
ridiculously large amounts of any substance she's unfamiliar with and then
quietly freaking out in her hotel room. The article you reference was
unintentional comedy at its finest.

"Fine Scotch critic Maureen Down drinks 750ml bottle of Macallan 18, concludes
alcohol should be illegal"

~~~
Robadob
This is the article being refereed to for anyone interested;

[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/dowd-dont-harsh-
ou...](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/dowd-dont-harsh-our-mellow-
dude.html)

------
Stratoscope
Dude should use a vaporizer instead of smoking. Much healthier, and he could
taste a lot more of the subtle notes instead of having them burned away.

OTOH, maybe he _needs_ to burn the pot to taste it after smoking tobacco! It's
like a wine critic eating salsa between tastings.

~~~
DigitalJack
Marijuana is a drug with few studies. Have there actually been any that
investigate vaporizers vs smoking?

I suppose any studies with regard to tobacco might have some relevancy, but
marijuana isn't tobacco. It's a very complex plant and I wish the states that
legalized it had included funding for clinical studies in their statutes.

~~~
couchand
I got the impression the GP's main point was about the taste, which seems
valid, if oversimplified. It seems like he should be tasting using a variety
of methods, so as to recommend the vector that brings out the best in each
strain.

And certainly he should not be smoking cigarettes! The comparison to a wine
critic eating salsa is quite apt.

But your point about the lack of research is a good one. Unfortunately the
federal government makes it very, very hard to conduct legitimate cannabis
research in this country.

------
chimeracoder
This is slightly tangential, but I really hate it when reputable news outlets
use the term 'pot' in reporting. I'm not talking about the headline, where
different style rules apply, but further down in the article where they use
the term 'pot' in a descriptive way. ('Pot wasn’t legal... ')

Cannabis and marijuana are more neutral terms, whereas the connotation of
slang terms like 'pot' is usually slightly derogatory. You rarely see the word
'booze' used the same way in similar news pieces - not that it never happens,
but it's nowhere near as common.

~~~
Stratoscope
At least around here (SF Peninsula/Silicon Valley), "pot" isn't a derogatory
term at all. It seems to be what most everyone calls it, users and non-users
alike.

Except for the kids. They call it "weed". Which is a bit confusing because
"weed" used to mean the cheap stuff and "pot" the good stuff.

A few people called it "dope" 25-30 years ago, but that didn't last. Before
that it was "grass", but that really _was_ the bad cheap stuff, ten dollars a
lid (an ounce of leaves in a baggie with the flap sealed by spit) from Mexico.

The dispensaries and producers seem to prefer "cannabis" \- there's Buddy's
Cannabis for example - or "medical marijuana", but never just "marijuana".

In fact, the dispensaries never call it "pot" either. It's "medicine" or
"flowers", or just referred to by the name of the specific strain.

~~~
bobyley
so tell me about your site

~~~
Stratoscope
I'm sorry, what site are you referring to?

------
syllogism
I really think this glamourises weed, and moves us towards a point where there
will be companies marketing weed at us.

We need to stop throwing people in prison for using heroin and cocaine. But if
the only alternative is to put someone in the business of getting people
addicted to heroin...Well, why should we accept that dilemma?

We need to find a third way, in between drugs being illegal, and them being a
marketable product like any other. And shit like this isn't helping.

~~~
TillE
Whenever you get concerned about this sort of thing, just look at the
Netherlands for an example of how you can have a very public marijuana culture
that's still quite small. Usage rates are the same as elsewhere.

It's just not an actual problem. By all means, forbid advertising like most
places do with tobacco. But there's little harm in it becoming a legal
commercial product.

~~~
serve_yay
The amount of such concern trolling is immensely out of line with whatever the
threat is supposed to be. Makes you wish some of that concern would be applied
to other already-existing aspects of our society.

