By this point, there can be little doubt that Denver is more familiar with the burgeoning cannabis movement than most cities. Nobody who has kept up with the news over the past 18 months--or taken a drive down Federal, for that matter--could possibly help but notice the passion and prevalence of cannabis users in the city.
But the success of the movement in Colorado has not necessarily eliminated the public perception of pro-cannabis activists as dirty drug users who exist outside the American mainstream.
Changing that perception of cannabis users will be the primary goal of this weekend's KushCon II, which is billing itself as the World's Largest Cannabis Lifestyle Convention.
The event, sponsored by Kush Magazine and Dailybuds.com, will take place at the Colorado Convention Center, and feature recording artists like Flobots, The Dirty Heads, Mickey Avalon, and Asher Roth. Attendees will also be able to view cooking demos from renowned cannabis chefs, and shop for clothing, smoke-ware and other collectibles.
KushCon II will also feature speeches from industry aficionados and activists, as well as public figures not normally associated with the pro-cannabis movement like Congressman Jared Polis of Boulder and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
KushCon's organizer's hope the speakers, the marketing of the event as a family event, and the enforcement of a dress-code will help convince the general public that cannabis users are respectable members of society.
DailyBud spokeswoman Cheryl Shuman sat down for a phone interview with the Huffington Post on Tuesday to explain the goals and philosophy behind the event, and of the cannabis movement in general.
Huffington Post: What do you hope KushCon II accomplishes?Cheryl Shuman: Basically, the most important thing is that we are having the world's largest, most respectable cannabis exposition ever put on.... On the planet. We also wanted to combine music with entertainment with activism in a classy environment where people feel comfortable bringing their families.
HP: What broader political or philosophical goals do you have?
CS: The most important thing, quite frankly is for the mainstream audience or mainstream group of people to understand that we're people just like everyone else. The biggest issue that we face is to rid the general public of that negative image or that negative stereotype that everyone seems to have of the cannabis consumer. Most people, when you talk about cannabis, the first question they have is "what's cannabis?" because a lot people don't understand that marijuana isn't even a real word. It's a Mexican slang term that refers to crazy weed or loco weed. That's not the true source of what we're all about. Cannabis is a medicine, and we're out there supporting the rights of patients. I'm a patient. We're supporting the rights of patients to be accepted by the general community. And, basically as a woman and as a parent and as a mother, I want to feel comfortable talking to my children, talking top my family about being a cannabis patient. I don't want to feel shame anymore. I want people to discuss this just as they would anything else. And, it's really up to us as corporate people and professional women and professional men to put a different face on the movement. That's our entire mission as far as I'm concerned, and we just want people to be able to relate better to what's going on this movement.
Anytime the media covers this movement, they generally have someone who's dirty, who hasn't washed their hair who hasn't had their nails cleaned, and they're hovering over in the corner toking on a joint. So it's seen as this dirty, nasty habit, and that's not what it is at all. So it's up to people like us to put a new face on the movement and that's what KushCon it all about. Basically introducing the Cannabis consumer and the cannabis business to the world and showing that, through this new resource of business and jobs, we can actually change history.
HP: Is it safe to say that the end goal of the cannabis movement is legalization of recreational use of cannabis?
CS: I wouldn't call it recreational use. What we stand for is--number one--the legal rights for patients to consume cannabis as medicine, but also responsible adult use.HP: KushCon I was also in Denver?
CS: Yes. What happened last year was Michael [Lerner] and Bob [Selan of Dailybud] were sponsors of the event, so what they found out when they showed up for the event promoter last year was that the gentlemen had basically run off and left all the membership hanging, so 6 days before the event Michael put $600,000 of his own personal money down to save the event so we produced it--literally--in 6 days.
At this event we've had 6 full months to get ready and prepare and have a full music lineup. [Editorial Note: about 20,000 attended last year's festival. Organizers expect a much larger attendance this year.]
HP: Why Denver?
CS: Denver is the most progressive in all the cannabis states. We basically feel that cannabis in Denver is the center of the universe. After dealing with [marijuana legalization initiative] Prop 19 here [in California], we firmly believe that Colorado will lead the entire nation in legalization.
HP: How do you respond to law enforcement groups' protests of the KushCon II ads on RTD buses?
CS:I think it's great because it brings more attention to the movement. It shows we're not harming anyone. It's a legal event about a legal gathering. There's not cannabis there. So I think it's good because it brings more attention to the fact that we're doing something good for the community. RTD stood by there decision and all they did was add another thing on there and say this ad was paid for by KushCon II. I'm totally fine with it.
HP:How does Dailybud see it's role within the cannabis movement?
CS:There are people who have been dealing on the black market for years, and then there's the legal [medical marijuana] movement. So any time you have a ballot measure for for legalization movement, you have these groups against each other. That's why Prop 19 failed...
What we wanted to do was get everyone together at the same place and say 'we have to get it together or we're never gonna get anywhere." And we've already got so many prohibition people against us that if we can't get together within our own community that, we'll never have legalization.