This last week I attended a reception for Oregon members of the National Cannabis Industry Association. The event took place at one of my favorite venues, the Kennedy School McMenamins location in Portland, Oregon.
…
When I first checked in I finally met someone that I have admired on social media for awhile now, Bethany Moore. I have followed her on Twitter and I’m friends with her on Facebook, and I always like the thought provoking, witty, and/or humorous things that she posts.
…
It gave me an opportunity to talk with Aaron Smith, the head of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). We had talked a lot via e-mail over the years, but had never actually met in person. When it comes to national lobbying on behalf of the cannabis industry, NCIA has done a tremendous job in the almost five years the organization has been around. Cannabis activism is a multi-faceted endeavor, and having an organization that represents the industry to federal politicians in a strong way like NCIA does is very important to reform efforts.
…
It was fairly surreal to meet Earl Blumenauer. I’ve covered him on this blog for almost six years now, and followed his political pursuits even before that. I know there are lots of people out there that claim to be Earl’s biggest fan, but I’m fairly certain that I’m actually his biggest fan. So when he joined our conversation, I was a bit star struck. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him, and a bunch of witty comments up my sleeve that I planned on unleashing at the perfect times.

Instead I just stood there and hung on every word that Earl had to say.

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com/representative-federal-marijuana-prohibition-over-end-decade/