CL-039 Beca Grimm’s LiveJournal Password is Probably a Saves The Day Reference

There’s always more to every story you read. As a writer, I’m perpetually intrigued by the choices other writers make—what to include, what to cut—and I’m especially interested in people who are super clear about who their work is for. Part of that is selfish: I host a podcast, called Boss Barista, that I describe as a feminist coffee podcast—I like to let people know what they’re in for from the get-go, and that they’re probably not going to hear light coffee chatter. And for the first time ever, I got to talk to someone who uses the exact same language to describe their own project. 

Beca Grimm is an Atlanta-based freelance writer and co-founder of the zine Dope Girls, which describes itself as a feminist cannabis culture zine. Beca also lends her talents to Good Beer Hunting, writing articles, also called Dope Girls, about the issues surrounding cannabis as it becomes legalized around the country. Along with her latest article, which profiles Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood, Beca tackles really fundamental questions surrounding the growing cannabis market. She also keeps one foot on the ground, reminding us that, as the cannabis market grows, there are people whose voices are often not heard. Dope Girls is an attempt to elevate those voices, as they talk about issues of gender, race, and clemency in their articles. 

Along with these serious issues, during this conversation we also talk about the grind of freelancing, and what it’s like to hound editors for money or feedback, and wax poetic about being a freelancer for GBH. Spoiler alert: it rules, partially because of our amazing editorial team, whom Beca talks about, and partially because you can actually count on getting paid. But moreso because the connection between cannabis and beer isn’t a far one, and as Beca discovers, there are more similarities than she ever imagined.