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Editorial Staff Slashed at The Cannabist

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]R[/dropcap]ecently, The Denver Post has made cutbacks to its staff, and one of the areas that was affected is well-known cannabis publication, The Cannabist.

When The Cannabist was first published, the idea of having a cannabis-centric editor at a respected local publication was considered a joke by some people. Ricardo Baca, the original editor of The Cannabist, saw that as a challenge and helped transform local cannabis reporting into a respected and integral role in journalism. However, when The Denver Post’s ownership changed, things reportedly went downhill.

“It all started when Alden Global Capital bought The Denver Post and other papers in 2010,” said Baca, who has since left the company to form Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency told CULTURE. “Now we are seeing Alden’s poor management and greedy operations. When I left in 2016, I resigned after 15 years, and we had seven full-timers; then it went down to two, then one, and in June there will be zero.”

Baca said that with no dedicated staffing at The Cannabist, an in-house algorithm program will make sure that any stories containing cannabis keywords are posted on the website of the publication. However, even though it will appear to still be up and running, there won’t actually be any maintenance or original reporting.

With the publication in this kind of shape, Baca shared that he is openly planning to purchase The Cannabist, if The Denver Post is interested in selling. “I’ve already talked with [The] Denver Post leadership, and my questions to the post were simple,” he explained. “We are looking to see if they want to sell, and how much. And it won’t just be Grasslands or me buying it; people want to salvage the brand, and there has been some very serious interest from local companies in this.”

According to a press release sent out by Grasslands, after the drastic cuts to The Cannabist’s staff, the remaining editors plan on leaving. The publication itself is still keeping quiet on the issue, and is continuing to post local and national news on the website.

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