• NPR, Thursday, June 10, 2010 10:41 AM

Joints of another variety are increasingly being marketed wit a flair that mixes the sensibility of Mission St. with the panache of Madison Ave. as voters in California debate a ballot referendum this fall that would legalize cannabis sales to anyone over 21.

"Until recently, cannabis reviews have largely been based on folk wisdom," Sarah Varney reports from KQED. "But now these products -- and promises of marathon highs and cure-alls -- are showing up in advertisements in glossy magazines and in promotional booths at trade shows."

Pot growers are angling for niches in the market, from blue-collar bud, if you will, to more "boutique-y" brands. "I see a lot of people positioning themselves to be the next Seagram's," says Frank Lucido, a family physician in Berkeley and a cannabis advocate. "Just as before Prohibition fell, a lot of people selling alcohol illegally were trying to get the market share that they either already had or would get."

Read the whole story at NPR »