Thanks to the rise of the Internet and the advance of marijuana law reform measures across the United States, the amount of educational resources that relate to the cannabis plant have exploded in number. If you’re new to the cannabis community, it can seem overwhelming. What do you need to know and where do you start?
Below is a concise, handy guide to the best places to educate yourself about cannabis.
One of the best online cannabis resources around is Leafly. Whether you are looking for dispensaries near you, news about cannabis culture or you are searching for specific marijuana products, Leafly is a great place to spend some time. They are also known throughout the industry for their extensive collection of strain reviews, which can go a long way toward helping you find the strain that is right for you.
Another great resource for finding dispensaries and a myriad of strain reviews is THC Finder. They can help you find the strain that you need, plus you can peruse a plethora of patient reviews so you can know more about a dispensary before you even walk through the door.
If you are looking for business and training resources, there are a few places that can help. Ganjapreneur prides itself on being a “resource for cannabis professionals” and features tons of companies that specialize in the cannabis industry. Whether you are an owner, investor or just someone that wants to know more about the industry, Ganjapreneur can help.
The Cannabis Training Institute is also a great place to learn more about being a professional in the marijuana industry in the fields of medical cannabis, dispensary technician training and health and safety training.
Of course, any discussion of resources would be remiss without mentioning perhaps the biggest of them all in terms of dispensary locating, Weedmaps. Long the gold standard of the industry, Weedmaps has a massive community of patients that provide reviews of dispensaries and retail outlets, as well as doctors, in all of the states where cannabis has been legalized for at least medical purposes. You can also search products by brand name and find where they can be found closest to you.
The world of marijuana news is growing quickly, and there is a lot of news to cover. From federal to state to local developments, there are always multiple events happening that affect the cannabis community.
For breaking news about legislation and other events in the world of marijuana, you’d be hard pressed to find someone better at coverage than Tom Angell. The Senior Political Correspondent for marijuana social media outlet MassRoots, Tom is the go-to guy if you want to know what is happening in the world of cannabis up to the minute.
From the realm of podcasting, few do it better than Russ Belville. Through his writing, his podcast and his interviews with a wide range of movers and shakers in the cannabis community, Russ shows time and again that he is willing to dig a little deeper into a cannabis issue to analyze it than anyone else.
The so-called “mainstream media” is beginning to devote to time and energy to what is happening with cannabis as well; people like Christopher Ingraham from The Washington Post, Dennis Romero from LA Weekly, various reporters from Forbes and David Downs at the San Francisco Chronicle devote significant time to marijuana news. The Denver Post even has its own section devoted exclusively to cannabis, The Cannabist.
When it comes to blogs and/or magazines, High Times, The Marijuana Times and Marijuana.com are great resources for up-to-date news and opinions.
When it comes to cannabis events, there are many every year, both online and in local areas.
Of course the most famous of all cannabis events are the High Times Cannabis Cups. Held several times a year across the U.S. and across the world, the Cannabis Cup features some of the best strains on earth, music, entertainment, awards and more.
The oldest and largest cannabis event in the world happens every year on the shores of Seattle, Washington; it’s the Seattle Hempfest. Although scaled down recently due to financial constraints, it still features a ton of great entertainment and informational panels/speeches every August in the Pacific Northwest.
For those more interested in learning about and making contacts in the cannabis industry, the annual Oregon Marijuana Business Conference is a great one to check out if you’re in the area. Featuring many panels, seminars and guest speakers, it is a one-day event chocked full of information.
Billed as the biggest cannabis trade show in the country, The Marijuana Business Conference and Expo happens twice every year and features hundreds of seminars, panels, symposiums, exhibits, sessions, forums and other events.
Again, for those business-minded people looking to succeed in the cannabis industry, there is the annual NCIA Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, which comes with over 100+ guest speakers from all areas of the community and industry, a massive expo floor and tons of exhibitors.
For online education, besides the Cannabis Training Institute mentioned above, there is THC University, Oaksterdam University (which features both online and campus courses) and The Cannabis Career Institute, which holds events all over the country.
The Holistic Cannabis Summit is another popular online event that features dozens of speakers who are experts in many fields like health, wellness and activism. Not only can it be streamed on the Internet , but it’s also available is flash drive format so you can own the presentations forever.
For those looking for information on cultivation, many of the above resources mentioned above have plenty of information, as does Youtube.
Besides podcaster Russ Belville there are many in the cannabis community who have their own podcasts that cover their areas of expertise. A great resource for many of these is Cannabis Radio, which features podcasts from Tommy Chong, Vivian McPeak (Seattle Hempfest Organizer), Dr. Dina, comedian Ngaio Bealum, Bobby Black, Dr, Mitch Earleywine and more! Just about every aspect of cannabis entertainment, education, information and celebrity is covered by Cannabis Radio’s stable of shows.
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