and parents. Maybe these people are productive, healthy members of society. If so, why are they hiding?
The thing is, our little Mary Jane lost her virtue pretty early on and has a pretty bad rap. She has been linked to lost livelihoods, jail time, and holds a reputation of being“ the gateway” drug, rumored to lure the innocent into experimenting with considerably harder substances. Funny how, unlike her sister spirits, cannabis has never been blamed for the death of a liver or of being an instigator of aggression or acts of rage. Cannabis is guilty of creating sensations of peace, camaraderie and joy, is capable of healing a myriad of ailments and given the chance, Shuman purports: is a surefire way to repair our battered economy.
Well, spirits certainly improved our financial situation when the eighteenth amendment was repealed and alcohol was again legal. With a decent amount of good press post prohibition— she was reinvented as sultry, sexy and above all: fashionable. So despite some of her less desirable attributes, alcohol was welcomed back into the homes of Americans with open arms and liquor cabinets. What if cannabis had the chance to be painted positive? A chance to refute the allegations against her— had a way to show the world what she is really capable of?
Enter Fairy Budmother Cheryl Shuman, along with Rapid Fire Marketing, Super Agent Mark Itkin of William Morris Endeavor, Entertainment attorney Steve Katleman, Fox, HBO, MTV and more. With a 200 million dollar budget, a slew of cannabis products and four reality television series in the works, Shuman is set out to“ rebrand the face of the modern cannabis consumer.” Mark Itkin by the way, was responsible for a little reality series called Real World( via client Bunim-Murray Productions). So he seems qualified.
The four series( currently being filmed) center around the cannabis movement and all involve Cheryl in one-way or another. The difference between the shows directly correlates to the demographic the show will be geared towards. It’ s the oldest rule in the business: know your audience.
One series, tentatively named Stiletto Stoners Inc. ™ will be geared for the likes of Lifetime, Bravo, A & E etc. and will focus on the perspective of women involved in the movement: whether they are ganjapreneurs, investors, growers, dispensary owners themselves or partners of the same. Shuman also has a book and a clothing and merchandise line in the works under the same name( Stiletto Stoners
Inc. ™) with William Morris Endeavor.
The second series will be about the explosive birth of the cannabis industry with a working title of Pot Com Boom™, already trademarked with a book in the works under the same name. This is being developed to the HBO / Showtime crowd and revolves around Cheryl’ s own private social network: The Beverly Hills Cannabis Club™ and the vaporizer line Haute Vape™( which has an estimated $ 100 million revenue for 2013). Think parties at Hugh Hefner’ s— minus flesh and debauchery, and add cannabis themed food, music, pot tastings and too many celebrities to mention.
The third will be an American Idol meets Apprentice [ Shuman ] for the MTV demographic called Cannalebrity Magazine™, a new digital video magazine with a Vanity Fair mix of People, Celebrity and Cannabis Culture.
Selected candidates, likely chosen from a pool of interns and assistants working in the field already, will be set up in a lavish house / mansion where they will live, eat and work together,( with Cheryl on the red carpet, campaigning, or helping small business owners) all while competing for the reward: a job in the illustrious coming industry.
Shuman with Betty Aldworth, Steve Fox and Mason Tvert
And last but not least, a TMZ Cannabis Media Network™. As the news network acronym is already taken, perhaps it will be CMN? The focus as you might imagine will be to keep watchers in the know regarding policy changes in regulation, healthcare and other hot button political issues.
Before signing, Cheryl was adamant that her contract gave her a say in the creative content of the shows, as she is determined to represent a positive image of cannabis users. The fact that she doesn’ t strike the average person as the‘ 420 type’ is a big part of why she agreed to do the series. For too long the public view of cannabis and the people that partake in it has been a negative one, conjuring labels like: stoners, losers and dirty hippies. Poor hippies. They were ridiculed for years because of their love of health food, meditating and practicing yoga. Well, in our faces I guess. I hope hippies everywhere enjoy another moment of smugness when pot becomes the next big thing, socially acceptable, medically approved and recognized as a safer alternative to alcohol. They deserve it. And, if they were smart enough to have invested in the cannabis movement, they can expect huge returns. No joke. Cannabis companies are being publicly traded on the stock market, and if things continue as they are, Shuman says marijuana could be responsible for an estimated forty seven billion dollar industry in this country. If
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