New beginnings.

Two short months ago, I was really rolling, brainpower set on ten, cranking out Ten Reasons Why Medical Marijuana is Cannabis Commerce’s Ball and Chain. I was in the flow, relishing my freshly minted persona as medical marijuana’s most vocal critic. I even began adding bonus reasons, the collateral damage was that great.

At that point, “real life” intervened.

As in I had to move.

Due in large part to the hordes of foreclosed former home owners suddenly crowding the rental market, and a subsequent price adjustment, moving became a much more arduous and time-consuming ordeal than I could have ever envisioned.

Finally, I find myself comfortably ensconced in the burbs of Littleton, Colorado. Yes, that Littleton. Infamous as the home of Columbine High [cue heavy music]. It’s due west of Denver, the Queen City of the Plains.

Relocating to a considerably less liberal locale than I’ve grown accustomed to comes with its share of pros and cons. Instead of being within walking distance of thirty dispensaries, now I can walk to thirty chain stores. I wasn’t exactly jonesing for big box retailers.

They’re out there, all right, lined up awaiting my patronage. Office Depot dukes it out with Office Max. Dillard’s and Macy’s wage a hundred-year war. Wadsworth Boulevard’s got ’em all except Best Bud, the imaginary big box retailer that would be dearest to my heart.

Living in a virtual monument to disposability is not exactly what I had in mind. Neither was living in a “unit” the size of a Tuffshed, which, in 2011, is the amount of living space the rental dollars allotted to me currently purchase in hipper zip codes.

It’s probably beneficial [on some level] to realize that once I’m out of tree-hugger haunts like Boulder, the Wash Park section of Denver, Taos, and Paonia, I’m not going to be preaching to the choir. Far from it. Heck, I haven’t even had time to find out where the nearest dispensary is! There’s probably an ordinance against them, unless they belong to a national chain. In my wanderings around the hood, I’ve yet to encounter a locally-owned business.

I’m still only about fifteen minutes from Denver’s Broadsterdam district — the strip which inspired all my poteconomics scribblings to date.

During the unforeseen hiatus, I wasn’t exactly in suspended animation.

The big news is I scored a gig at a happening grow facility. It has been an absolute blast! There had previously been a glaring gap in my knowledge about strains, cultivation, and presentation. I’ll get you up to speed on pruning and preening the magical herb — and how that affects your purchasing power [hint: there’s a trick to trimming that eliminates most of the twigs … in other words, a gram isn’t always a gram].

Additionally, I’ve been playing matchmaker for medibles industry players. This has produced more fortuitous results along the lines of the Pot Sauce Williams phenomenon.

On top of that, I now sit on the prestigious board of UCANX [United Cannabis Exchange]. UCANX’s strange, wonderful journey is yet another saga you’d be crazy to miss — and I’ll make sure you don’t.

That’s not all. I’ve been cranking out the content for various medibles websites. Not to mention helping movers and shakers complete their book-length MMJ applications in various states and districts. I’ve also become a columnist for California’s happening Cannabis Times.

As you might imagine, while offline, I’ve been conjuring up stirring potlines for Cannabis Commerce expressly designed for your entertainment and edification. I can’t wait to have at it.

On another note, I hear tell Americans for Safe Access is preparing a rebuttal to the ball and chain series. That’s understandable, seeing as how I portrayed the self-proclaimed protector of  the sick and dying as a heinous roadblock to the repeal of prohibition. Let’s get it on!

Speaking of rattling the cages of entrenched activist groups who haven’t even made a dent against prohibition, I’ve identified more than a few anomalies with NORML, erstwhile “leader” of the activist “movement.” More on that/them soon. There will be plenty for their ineffective, good-old-by network to rebut, too.

The hiatus is over. It’s time to resume my torrid affair with Cannabis Commerce. Come join the melodrama and mirth as your faithful cannabis crusader rides again.