Editorial Standards

1Who we are

ProcureCulture is an independent publication written and edited by John Hirsch, a working cannabis buyer. It is not operated, sponsored or endorsed by any employer, dispensary, brand or cannabis company, including the dispensary where John works.

2Independence

No one pays for coverage in our editorial pages. Brands cannot buy inclusion in an issue, a Field Note, a ranking, a “best of” or a positive opinion, and they do not review or approve stories before publication.

We do not currently accept advertising or sponsorship. If that changes, paid material will be clearly labeled and kept separate from editorial work. See our Advertising Policy.

3A working buyer’s perspective

John is employed as a purchasing director at an Illinois dispensary. That experience is the point of the publication, and it also creates relationships readers deserve to know about. When we cover a brand that the store John buys for purchases from, we say so on the story. See our Disclosure Policy.

ProcureCulture never publishes an employer’s confidential information: no sales, inventory, pricing, margin, vendor-term or customer data from John’s workplace.

4Fact, opinion and experience

• Field Notes are first-person accounts of what John saw, tried and thought at an event or booth. They are opinion and experience, not laboratory testing or a representative review.
• From the Buyer’s Desk is opinion and analysis, clearly labeled as an essay.
• The Buy Sheet and Market Watch report facts and data. Where a piece relies on data, it says where the data came from, the date range and the method.

We keep factual claims separate from our opinions, and brand descriptions separate from our own words. When a brand describes its own product (a strain cross, an award, an expansion), we attribute it.

5Sourcing and verification

Before publication we verify names, titles, product names, brand names, dates and quotes, and we source statistics and material factual claims. We keep our notes and sources. Facts first. Assumptions labeled. Missing data stays missing.

6Products, samples and health

We write about how products looked, smelled, tasted, burned and performed for us, and why they might matter on a shelf. We do not make medical or therapeutic claims about cannabis products, and nothing we publish is medical advice. Effects vary by person.

Trade samples are common at industry events. When we received a product relevant to a story, we disclose it.

7Images

Documentary images, meaning photos of real people, booths, products, packaging and events, must be real. We do not publish AI-generated or AI-altered imagery presented as documentary reality.

AI tools may help with layout, typography, texture and decorative treatment. Images provided by brands or taken from their public channels are credited and used with their permission.

8How we use AI

We use AI tools to help with design, layout, transcription, research assistance and drafting. John reviews, edits and approves everything published under his name, and is responsible for it. We never use AI to invent quotes, sources, data, people or events.

9Corrections

When we get a material fact wrong, we fix it and add a dated correction note to the story explaining what changed. We don’t silently rewrite substantive errors. Minor edits for spelling, grammar or clarity don’t get a note.

To report an error, email JohnCliftonHirsch@gmail.com.

10Accountability

John Hirsch is responsible for everything published on ProcureCulture. Questions or concerns about our work: JohnCliftonHirsch@gmail.com.