Can Cannabis Elevate?

Gotham was built with the thesis that the narrative around cannabis needs to change, and that it is part of our lives, just like any vice. The surge of the cocktail industry has spawned new liquor makers and a new industry. Beers have changed as well, becoming more localized with different flavors, such as the countless IPAs on the market. It is a sophisticated industry vs. popping a Budweiser.

I wonder if cannabis can elevate to something similar? There are so many arms of this industry, and one that is rarely mentioned in the countless mainstream articles is the research and findings from the plant. Visiting the farmers is where their love for each plant shines. How it is raised, be it in the terroir of particular soil, outdoors, or indoors. Each process is different and affects the product.

I watched a film this weekend called A Small Place on Earth – a film about the Labet Family. It is only an hour long. It is an intimate documentary about a family across generations in the Jura region of France. We learn about their love of the earth and the wines they make as they return to organic winemaking. The family, the friends, the town, and their entire way of life are romantic yet extremely hard work.

As I watched the film, I thought about the drinking of wine versus the intake of cannabis in different forms. Could the cannabis industry have the kind of makers we see in the small-farm wine industry worldwide? Even though the cannabis industry is nascent, people have been growing the product as far back as anyone can remember. It shouldn’t be treated like tobacco for cigarettes, but perhaps celebrated for the beauty and capabilities of the plant.

I would love to sit in a room with groups of people in the industry to see what they think of this film, and discuss if it is possible for us to all learn a little from the other vice industries that have embraced the product at a more sophisticated level, or will the plant that we partake in always be about just getting stoned?