The Mining Journal is pleased to raise the curtain, so to speak, on a new feature and page today.

Altitudes, which will appear in the newspaper the second and last Tuesday of each month, will inform readers about recreational cannabis.

As Journal readersknow, the sale of recreational cannabis was overwhelmingly approved by Michigan voters in 2018. Medical medical marijuana had been legal in the state of Michigan for about a decade prior.

Since then, recreational dispensaries have popped up in the city and elsewhere in Michigan like, well, weeds.

From a news gathering and writing standpoint, our approach to all of this from the beginning has been to address the issue head on, to look at matter as a legitimate cultural and economic expression that, like it or not, it is here to stay.

Going forward, content on the page will include everything from cannabis’ place in higher education (no pun intended) the economic advantages these dispensaries offer host communities, the different strains available, consumption vehicles, growing operations, basically you name it.

We plan to talk to consumers, police officers, educators, the people who own these businesses and anyone else we can find that will shed light on something that most people never believed would happen.

In a nutshell, Altitudes amounts to uncharted waters for a newspaper the size and location of The Mining Journal.

Certainly, large metropolitan dailies in states where it’s legal, have long featured cannabis-related pages and publications. But in a small market like ours? Not to our knowledge.

But that’s fine with us. Our newspaper has long been the leader and trendsetter in Superiorland, so this is completely in keeping with that tradition.

Have an opinion? We invite and indeed seek feedback from our readership. Email us at bsargent@miningjournal.net.

And keep an eye out for Altitutes. You just might learn something.