While building the Spring 2025 issue, I spent the afternoon with a Utah family whose story reminded me why I fell in love with this plant in the first place. It’s easy to get lost in the politics, the pushback, and the price tags—but at its core, cannabis is surrounded by love. It’s medicine. It’s community. It’s connection. And every now and then, I get a clear reminder that we’re on the right path, even when the gears of the War on Drugs are still grinding in the background.
Let’s get one thing straight: I love that I can legally walk into a pot shop and buy cannabis in Utah. It shouldn’t be radical—but here, it still is. This plant helps me live a healthier, more productive life. If you’re still clinging to the “lazy stoner” stereotype, it’s time to let it go.
Some strains help me sleep. Others sharpen my focus. A few let me tune out the noise and breathe. Over time, I’ve learned to tune my mind like an instrument—THC is the strumming hand, terpenes guide the rhythm. Harmony doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen when we stop judging and start listening.
In this issue, we highlight a mother and son who’ve been finding their own rhythm with cannabis. Maks is starting first grade this year—and he’s thriving. Cannabis didn’t make him high. It gave him a chance to grow, to learn, to become who he’s meant to be. That’s the story we should be shouting from the rooftops.
Most Utah media is still stuck chasing tired headlines: black-market busts, fearmongering over recreational laws, and anything else that gets clicks. Meanwhile, real families are quietly healing—and real stories are being ignored.
We lose more good Utahns every year to addiction, untreated pain, and systemic failures that cannabis could help mend. It’s time to grow up and move forward.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for supporting Salt Baked City. And thank you to our team of writers, photographers, and partners who help us stay focused on what matters: the people, the plant, and the path ahead.
—Cole Fullmer
Publisher, Salt Baked City
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of Salt Baked City.
