Randy is one of our favorite writers in the cannabis industry, his piece on What the Cannabis Industry is Doing to Mainstream Weed clarified where we are heading from Colorado to California. As we move forward we will see more Asians coming out (they have been in the business longer than most think) and speaking out publicly and adding their voices to the multiple paths of cannabis.
"Clarifying regulations, increasing consumer protections, and creating reliable products is more important than ever for Colorado and the nation’s marijuana industry as a whole. More than half of U.S. states now permit some legal form of cannabis, and eight states have legalized recreational use." - Randy Robinson
What spurred you to enter the cannabis market?
I've been toking for most of my life. It was always just a fun thing for me, until 2009 when I took the Endocannabinoids and Medical Marijuana course at UCCS with Dr. Robert Melamede.
His first lecture blew my mind. Until then, I thought pot was just for controlling nausea and glaucoma. That first day of class, he went over cannabis's anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and anti-aging properties. I was firmly committed to legalization ever since.
Originally, I studied molecular biology under him because I wanted to go into biotech. I realized after graduation that I don't enjoy lab work, so in the summer of 2013, I decided to pursue my dream of being a professional writer. It was just dumb luck that Colorado legalized cannabis around that same time. My science background helped me lock in my first cannabis writing gigs, and I've been here ever since.
What is your favorite strain?
It's difficult to pin down one strain, but Gorilla Glue is probably my favorite right now. It gives me a crazy case of the giggles, which is my main goal when I smoke these days. Given the current political climate in the US, I think we could all use a good laugh now and then.
These days I don't smoke much flower though. I prefer dabs and tinctures, especially ones extracted from sativas.
How did you come out of the 'green closet" with your parents?
Initially, they did that for me. When I was a teen, my mom was doing laundry one day, and she found a joint in my pants pocket. She didn't punish me, but she did give me a scolding, probably because I asked her not to throw away my weed next time she found any.
I also wasn't very good at hiding it. I constantly reeked of Colorado skunk, and although I can fool a lot of folks into thinking my cashed-out eyes are just a product of being half-Korean, my parents could always tell.
Overall, their biggest issue with it, at first, was they feared I'd get arrested. But after Colorado went legal, they stopped seeing it as a bad thing. In all the years I got lit, they never punished me for it. Which I'm grateful for.
