Meet Mark Kleiman, The Man Who Will Be Washington State’S Pot Czar

[Canadense]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/21/meet-mark-kleiman-the-man-who-will-be-washington-state-s-pot-czar.html

Meet
Mark Kleiman, the Man Who Will Be Washington State’s Pot Czar
The UCLA professor and blogger was officially named leader of
Washington state’s lean, mean, pot-regulating machine Tuesday—the first
job of its kind. He talks to Abby Haglage.

How does it feel to be
famous? The new “pot czar” of Washington state chuckles at the
question. “Drug-policy analysts do not get groupies,” he says. But
judging by the media storm surrounding Mark Kleiman—the professor,
blogger, and drug-policy expert appointed
to head the state’s marijuana legalization effort—he’s dead wrong.

A vendor points out the variety of marijuana for sale at the grand
opening of the Seattle location of the Northwest Cannabis Market, for
sales of medical marijuana products. Inset: Mark Kleiman (Elaine
Thompson/AP; Todd Cheney/UCLA)

After a glowing write-up in the Seattle Times and a
headline-grabbing

on CNN, it looks as if the bearded
Californian has caught the nation’s attention.

When Washington state officials announced their
decision to hire the UCLA professor and author of Marijuana:
Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control, they were not simply choosing
Kleiman—but also his hand-picked team of consultants, named BOTEC, for
Kleiman’s company. The ruthless fight for the position had pitted
Kleiman’s team against more than 100 others. He was sure his group of
six was the strongest, and he was right. Nearly four months after the
state of Washington legalized
marijuana, Kleiman says he hopes to show the world what marijuana
legalization—done right—can look like.

From his poor eating habits to playing Wii Fit, the
new pot boss tells The Daily Beast who he is—and how he landed the most
enviable seat in the world of marijuana.

Did you ever imagine that you’d take on this kind
of role? Would you say this was a dream of yours?

No, I can’t say that I ever imagined that a state
would legalize marijuana while it remained illegal federally and then
ask for advice about how to do it. [Laughs.] That was not on my
list of dreams.

So now that you’re in the spotlight, who is the
real Mark Kleiman? Workaholic, family man, neither?

Well, no. I have not gotten any cooperation in being
a family man. When we got the notice that we were the apparent
successful proposer [to be Washington state’s marijuana consultants], I
told my team not to get overconfident. I was the apparent successful
proposer to somebody once and she married someone else.

So you’re single?

I’m available and interested. But I must admit, not
having a family, it does make assignments like this easier.

According to the official announcement, you’re
charging $292 an hour. That seems like such a specific number. What’s
the story behind it?

My sense was that if said $300, it would sound like
we made it up. It’s a complicated calculation; obviously we couldn’t do
it precisely. A blend of some fairly high-priced talent with some
younger people who don't cost as much. We’re still working out exactly
how the budget will work. I asked the guy, “Do we have to do some
arithmetic that comes out to $292?” And he said, “No.” I said, “Well!” [Laughs.]

“I do have to tell people that free samples were not a part of our
bid. We’re not planning to do a lot of firsthand observation.”

A major factor of the decision process is how
many people you will license to grow. Agreed?

Yes. That will be a big decision. I don’t know if
it’s going to be 10 or 500. Ninety percent of the beer market in
Washington state is served by three firms, just to give you some
perspective. There are some people who think that's the direction this
industry will go in, and others who think that's the worst possible
result.

What are some specific examples of things you
will deal with day to day?

Well, packaging is one. Packaging will be hugely
important and essentially determine what the market looks like. Should
there be brand names? Can you put "mellow" on the label, or just give
the chemical content? These aren't simple choices, and every option has
disadvantages as well as advantages.

From what I’ve seen, the effect this legal
marijuana will have on alcohol consumption seems vital to
you. True?

whether you smoke pot, you
said you’ll always answer this question with the same answer: “None of
your business.”

I understand why people ask the question. They’re
trying to place you culturally. When's the last time someone hired to
advise on AIDS prevention was asked, "How many sexual partners have you
had"? We might be able to make better policy about marijuana if we
giggled a little less. People would not be asking me if I used cocaine.
It’s partly that about half of every age cohort uses pot. So it’s a
pretty clear cultural divider. I was glad to see Erin Burnett was not
offended when I didn’t answer. If you do drug policy, it’s foolish to
answer that question.

Why foolish?

Well, because it allows people to categorize you,
either as a pot smoker or a drug warrior. It refocuses the conversation
away from the substance and onto the person. And it also assumes that
this is basically an extension of the culture wars, rather than a
practical policy problem. If there’s one thing that my team will bring
to the table, it’s that we’re going to try to focus on advantages and
disadvantages. Not on who’s winning and who’s losing. That’s part of
what makes me sleep easy.

When you’re not running the pot world, what will
you be doing?

I spend a lot of time blogging. I like folk music, Celtic music, and
early music. My favorite singer is Mary Black. I’m also a big
science-fiction fan.

What about TV?

I got rid of my TV in 1976. I have a computer, so I
watch TV on Talking
Points Memo. I bought a TV to watch the debates in 2008, thinking I
would watch Netflix occasionally, but no. I’m out of the TV habit. I
like to use Wii Fit and play video games on my computer instead. I’d
much rather be reading history than watching television.

What’s your favorite food?

[Hesitates.] Hmm. I have to say brownies,
but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea! I don’t have the world’s
healthiest eating habits.

Word on the street is that you won’t be moving to
Washington and will remain in California to do this job.

Emails are a really wonderful thing. I have a day
job. I’m going to continue to teach at UCLA. I’ll obviously be up there
from time to time, particularly over the summer. If I have to get up to
Seattle, I won’t object. But why burn a lot of jet fuel if you don’t
have to?

You’ve stated in the past that you’re neither
pro-legalization nor anti-. Can you explain that?

Well, any opinions I have now are completely subject
to change in the face of new facts. We’ve never seen this beast.
Assuming that Washington comes up with a reasonably sensible solution
and the federal government lets it operate—meaning we get a fair shot at
a mostly legal regime in Washington—then come back at me in five years
and ask what I think about legalizing marijuana, and I might have an
opinion that’s worth something.

What advice would you give to the younger
generation aspiring to be the next pot czar?

Same advice I’d give an aspiring musician: don’t
quit your day job.

[matsegredo]

Porra, o mundo ta andando pra frente!

so nao entendi isso

blogging. I like folk music, Celtic music, and
early music. My favorite singer is Mary Black. I’m also a big
science-fiction fan.

[Canadense]

Uai...?

gosta de musica folk, mucsica celta e musica classica. A cantora favorita é Mary Black. Ele tb gosta de ficção científica.

[ntfsmount]

" What advice would you give to the younger

generation aspiring to be the next pot czar?

Same advice I’d give an aspiring musician: don’t
quit your day job. "

E o cara é otimista... pode ser "pot czar" melhor que me chamar de "chief pothead"

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

ele poderia trazer essas free samples aqui pro Brasil tambem.

[matsegredo]

Uai...?

gosta de musica folk, mucsica celta e musica classica. A cantora favorita é Mary Black. Ele tb gosta de ficção científica.

É pq nao entendi como isso se encaixa na noticia huahua

mas beleza

[ricco y locco]

legal, Canadense!

don’t
quit your day job.

essa é a frase pra todo mundo aqui no GR

não perca a oportunidade do momento presente pra transformar as coisas pra melhor!