Behind the Story: Never has this marijuana reporter ever...

Here are two truths and a lie about Paste BN’s Trevor Hughes:

• His official title is “Traveler of America and eater of pizza.”
• He covers the marijuana industry for the Paste BN Network.
• He’s never smoked or consumed marijuana in his life. 

Answer: While he may tell you his official title is “Traveler of America and eater of pizza,” that’s a lie. Hughes is a Colorado-based news reporter, one of the things he covers is the marijuana industry, and unlike Barack Obama, Bill Gates and Martha Stewart, he’s never tried the controversial plants he chases. In the world of pot journalism, that makes him the oddity.

“I always say this — I’ve never killed anyone and I’ve covered plenty of murders,” Hughes laughs when asked about assessing the emerging billion-dollar industry from his unique vantage. “There are a lot of people who cover the marijuana industry who are really into marijuana, they’re total fanboys. The problem with that approach is you don’t take a skeptical view of it,” he says. The result? Hughes’ coverage for the Paste BN Network of the political, social and economic impact of the industry remains questioning and objective.

But what we really want to know: Does Hughes’ reporting take him on Harold and Kumar-level adventures? Sure does. “Yesterday I spent the afternoon riding around with a marijuana delivery driver in Maine with thousands of dollars of weed in the backseat,” he says. “I’ve flown with sheriff’s deputies in helicopters looking for illegal marijuana fields in California, was just at a marijuana farm this morning in Massachusetts with a guy who grows high-strength pot. You know, that kind of stuff.”

For Hughes, each is-this-real-life moment adds up to illustrate the bigger picture for readers. “It’s important to get a ground-level perspective of how marijuana is changing American culture,” he stresses. “It’s an industry involving tens of thousands of people, with millions to billions of dollars flowing through it. We’re finally getting too see how big the industry is, and what its impact will be.”

Want to get up-to-speed on Trevor’s marijuana reporting? Here are two stories he says he loves.

• California's illegal marijuana farms force cops to wield 'green' stick
• Old mining town turns to marijuana after prison, factory close

And what’s in the pipeline? Expect these stories coming up:

• What’s it like in the tourist-friendly destination of Anchorage, Alaska, where cruise ship passengers are immediately confronted with marijuana stores for the first time?
• Why is it that in Washington, D.C., you can’t buy marijuana but you can buy a $60 box of cookies with a “free gift” they’ll deliver to your house?

Follow Trevor Hughes on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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