A newspaper in Denver is planning to hire a critic to write reviews of all the medical marijuana clinics in the state," Conan O'Brien joked on his show last week. "My one suggestion for the editors: Give the guy a deadline."
Thanks, Conan: We have. Westword stopped accepting applications for our medical-marijuana dispensary reviewer in mid-October. Now if comics and reporters alike would just stay off the story for a while (Westword's job opening has been the punchline on both NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and a BBC quiz show, and we just logged mentions in newspapers in Russia, Israel and China), we might be able to actually finish the hiring process. For the record, we've gone through the more than 250 formal applications we received, contacted a dozen semi-finalists, and hope to have our new critic in place within the week.
In the meantime, you can continue to read Mae Coleman's dispensary reviews and learn all about Colorado's booming medical marijuana business — and the increasing interest in reining in that business — through the "Marijuana" category of the Latest Word news blog at westword.com. On our website, you'll also find a directory of every dispensary we've managed to track down in the metro area (new ones open every day), at www.westword.com/locations/marijuana-dispensaries-directory/. If you have information on dispensaries that should be added to that list, questions about an application you may have sent for the medical marijuana reviewer job, or just general comments, e-mail us at [email protected].
And welcome to the really Mile High City.
