Last week, I made my way out to Oregon for the grand opening of the state’s newest cannabis retail establishment, the Portland Oregrown Flagship — an award-winning, vertically integrated cannabis lifestyle brand. The celebration included a special ribbon-cutting ceremony with the ever so dapper, sharp bow-tie sporting (not unlike the colorful ones I used to wear) Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a passionate voice for cannabis law reform. In typical Portland fashion, the sky issued a smile. Thanks to the universe for parting the clouds, if only for a scant moment, during the ebullient event. The black painted building, framed by luminous, inner-lit windows stood out against the teeming sky, brimming with effusive raindrops. Portland in the winter has a character of its own— rain falls now and later, and then it will rain again. Only tourists use umbrellas. It’s funny to notice the locals in all kinds of exotic rain gear, yet the tourists bump into each other with umbrellas and wet joints hanging from their mouths. Locals seize the opportunity to duck into a doorway and spark a bowl, which marks the difference. It’s part of a culture, you have to live here to notice.
