KW: Watching a program called ‘Border Control’, a program about how our customs officials work to keep our borders clear of drug importers and bio security risks at airports and postal depots I am increasingly aware of American tourists coming to NZ and openly confessing to being users of marijuana, even being cultivators of the drug and getting hounded out of town on the next plane back to the U.S. Our drug laws are out of step with what is acceptable internationally, particularly when it comes to medical marijuana and its use for pain relief. I admit to some embarrassment when I see our border control personnel diligently doing their job and condemning these sorts of individuals wanting to visit our shores. I understand the many reasons for this but is it not time to re-examine the law particularly when it come to the medicinal use of this drug? In the states mentioned in the Bloomberg article below there has been a dramatic drop off in the use of prescription pain killers amounting to $millions so it even appears that the real criminals in all of this are not the ‘dope’ sellers but the drug companies peddling their own addictive chemicals now seeing their bottom line impacted by the herb!

From BloombergPursuits

To your left, a fork and a wineglass. To your right, a pipe for your pot.

The pipe, with lighter and ashtray, are yours to keep at the end of a meal catered by Cultivating Spirits, which pairs dishes with wines and—it promises—just the right kind of cannabis.

“We are adding a third layer onto your dinner experience,” said its 31-year-old founder, Philip Wolf, who started the Silverthorne, Colo., company in early 2014. Wolf has two full-time employees and, after bootstrapping for two years, recently received a verbal commitment for a $400,000 investment.

Trichome calls its program Interpening, which refers to “a method used to identify and understand cannabis variety, based on interpreting the plant’s terpenes and flower structure. Scientifically speaking, terpenes are evaporating molecular hydrocarbon chains that produce scent.” Wolf “will break down the strain of cannabis and give that over to the chef,” he said. “We don’t prepare the menu until two days before the event, to utilize the freshest ingredients.”

A typical menu features a ribeye steak with chili relleno, a 2013 Malbec, and Gorilla Glue. For dessert, there’s a white chocolate creme brûlée with a 2012 Petite Syrah, and Blue Dream. The protocol is puff, eat, drink, in that order, though it’s more a sensible suggestion than a rule, and it’s hard to imagine anyone getting upset at a breach, especially as the meal goes on. Wolf doesn’t expect weed to replace wine at the dinner table.

“If anything, I think it’ll take something away from hard alcohol,” as the slow, deliberate tasting experience of wine and marijuana makes for a better pair than food and cocktails, he said.

Most restaurants charge handsomely for a dinner with wine pairings. Adding weed to the mix only increases the price. The minimum cost of a three-course pairing dinner catered by Wolf is $1,250, which provides enough of everything to entertain a group of 10. The company, which caters at least five events a month, served 56 people for dinner on opening night of X Games in January 2015.

Cultivating Spirits targets bachelor, bachelorette, and birthday parties, as well as the wedding industry. In January, Wolf helped organize the Cannabis Wedding Expo, where his catering services were presented alongside smokable bouquets and venues that allow smoking. A full-service wedding package from Wolf’s company approaches $10,000, with additional a la carte services like managing the “bud bar” and a pre-wedding cannabis-tasting available.

Many of Wolf’s customers are millennials treating themselves for a special event, he said, as well as affluent women hosting an alternative dinner party.

“What I’m trying to teach millennials is to slow down a little bit, to get in tune with themselves and what they’re putting in their bodies, to focus on different tastes and textures,” Wolf said.  He added that he doesn’t target that demographic exclusively.

“I feel like cannabis is something for all walks of life,” he said.