DCAT TO AIR MARIJUANA COOKING SHOW

'Cannabis Cuisine' Focuses on Medical Food

For an appetizer, it was jalapeno poppers, with marijuana bud ground
into the cream cheese and bacon sauteed in marijuana butter.

The entree was pineapple-chipotle double-roasted swine that had been
sitting in a marijuana marinade for 12 hours.

On the side: mashed potatoes made, of course, with marijuana butter,
and asparagus seared with marijuana-infused olive oil.

Dessert came in the form of a chocolate chili tart whose graham
cracker crust contained marijuana butter. It was topped with "Gooey
Ganja Mango Sauce."

It isn't quite Rachel Ray, but a group of Durango marijuana advocates
has developed this menu to film a pioneering marijuana cooking show
for public-access TV.

"Cannabis Cuisine" is expected to air on Durango Community Access
Television sometime in late May. It is targeted at medical-marijuana
card holders who would prefer to eat their medication rather than smoke it.

Since Durango's first dispensary opened last year, the industry has
bloomed. Five dispensaries and one grow operation have been approved
by the city of Durango.

Applications for three dispensaries, a grow operation and a
combination dispensary and grow operation are pending.

The City Council last week declared a second moratorium on new
business applications for dispensaries and growers, this one until
June 26. Pending applications are still being processed.

"Cannabis Cuisine" organizers say they want to speed mainstream
acceptance of marijuana while informing viewers that cooking with the
Schedule I drug has evolved far beyond brownies.

Chef Ian Currie, a cook at Steamworks Brewing, prepared the appetizer
and entree. He holds a medical-marijuana card for various injuries.

Pastry chef Grace Kruse made the dessert and was designated Currie's
caretaker to allow her to handle marijuana.

"We're going up against some 70 years of marijuana prohibition," said
Corey Chavez, director of the marijuana legalization group Sensible
Durango and creator of "Cannabis Cuisine."

"It's so exciting to be part of its reintroduction into society," he
said.

Cooking shows allow medical marijuana patients to see what their
culinary options are, said Mike Meno, spokesman for the Marijuana
Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C.

"For many patients, cooking marijuana into food is the preferred
method of delivery," Meno said. "It doesn't involve smoking, so
there's no potential damage to their lungs."

"Cannabis Cuisine" looks much like any other cooking show. The camera
follows Currie as he slices the jalapenos and removes the seeds, and
grins with satisfaction as he removes the pork from the oven.

Currie sharpened his cooking skills at various Massachusetts
restaurants, including a stint as sous-chef at The Bank St. Grille in
Harwich Port, Mass. He insists nearly any recipe can incorporate
marijuana, especially ones that use butter, oil or flour.

Currie, who suffers from a torn labrum and meniscus and a slipped
disk, obtained a medical marijuana card after becoming fed up with the
side effects of pharmaceutical pain-killers such as oxycodone.

"I was done with having my skin itch. I was done with waking up in
sweats," he said.

Currie's interest in medical marijuana was heightened by his mother's
battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma. With medical marijuana, he said, "my
mom would not have lost years of her life to experimental
medications."

Nature's Medicine, a Durango dispensary, donated marijuana for the
show. Local businesses donated food for filming the pilot episode,
"Southwest Flavor," at Riley Mac's Market & Cooking School.

Much of the film crew volunteered, said director Matt
Dyer.

"They just did it because they believe in the movement," he
said.

The TV show appears to be the first of its kind in Colorado. In
California, a show called "Cannabis Planet" includes a cooking segment.

"It's wonderful to show how you can incorporate cannabis into your
daily life and your meals, beyond the brownies and cookies that
everyone knows about," said Brad Lane, creator and executive producer
of Cannabis Planet.

Lane said he attempted to air "Cannabis Planet" in Colorado, but the
show was rejected by Denver PBS affiliate KBDI. A KBDI spokeswoman did
not return messages seeking comment last week.

Chavez is planning a public premiere for "Cannabis Cuisine" in late
May, perhaps at the Abbey Theatre. Airings will follow on DCAT,
channel 22 on Bresnan cable.

Marijuana advocates are gearing up for a 2012 ballot initiative to
legalize marijuana statewide. Chavez said he likes its chances better
than a similar measure Californians will vote on in November.

"Colorado could be the first cannabis state," he said.