History by ©Sarah Becker Marijuana – It’s Legal! In 1792, Quaker Edward Stabler borrowed 100 pounds to buy stock for his Alexandria Apothecary Shop. Now a National Historic Landmark, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop’s history dates from 1792 to 1933. Medicinal cannabis was first introduced in the 1850s; on the Leadbeater families’ corporate watch. “Records do not tell us what feelings of uncertainty Edward Stabler may have harbored in relation to his venture,” Eleanor Leadbeater wrote in 1934, “but they do show that his business prospered to such an extent that he was able to return the loan and double his stock of goods during the first year.” Hemp: Cannabis sativa, an industrial crop; a highly profitable fiber crop used in the production of rope and such. The Commonwealth’s latest Industrial Hemp Law was enacted in 2015. Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines Cannabis as “the dried flowering tops of hemp plants which contain the euphoric principles ^1-3,4-trans and ^6-3,4 trans-tetrahydrocannabinol. It is classified as a hallucinogenic and prepared as bhang, ganja, hashish, and marijuana.” Cannabism: “a morbid state produced by the misuse of cannabis.” Marijuana: “a crude preparation of the leaves and flowering tops of [male and female] hemp plants.” “Two recent articles in Blackwood’s Magazine, on the ‘Narcotics we indulge in,’ have attracted more than ordinary attention: tobacco, hops, opium, hemp, &c.,” The New York Daily Times wrote in 1854. “Smokers, the intellectual class of them, especially, think, speak, and write better under its influence; and the mere fact, that they are inferior to themselves without it, is a good reason for supposing that it creates an abnormal condition….” On February 27, 2021, Virginia became the 4th state to legalize marijuana by way of the legislature–in this instance for adult recreation use. The Virginia House of Delegates passed the…
By Sarah Becker ©2018 Hemp’s Hectic History “History doesn’t drive economies anymore…,” George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller told the Washingtonian in May. He may be right. The Alexandria Convention and Visitors Bureau’s slogan, Still Making History gave way to the ACVA’s Funside of the Potomac years ago. How does Alexandria describe today’s customer groups, its external publics; then develop a marketing plan? Management guru Peter Drucker defines marketing as the “whole firm taken from the customer’s point of view.” How do you see through the customer’s eyes? It involves “massive surveys.” Marketing is needed “to reach customers and compel them to purchase, use and repurchase your product [or service].” A marketing strategy is the selection of a target market, the choice of a competitive position, and the development of an effective marketing mix to reach and serve the chosen customers. The market pick is preceded by market segmentation. Segmentation variables include age, sex, income, occupation, attitude preference and more. The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum may be the only Alexandria museum able to develop offerings with broad appeal: to historic and business travelers, women and minorities, the religious and scientifically inclined. I know because I inherited the Apothecary Museum with only 8,000 visitors and six months financial life remaining. Yet within a few years I increased the annual visitor count to 34,500; established the Mortar & Pestle Society; raised general operating and capital improvement funds, and an endowment. Buildings restoration over, the Museum, then owned by the Landmarks Society was ribbon wrapped and given to the city. By comparison…“2016 marks ten years of ownership and operation by the city of Alexandria,” the Office of Historic Alexandria reported on November 29, 2016. “The Apothecary Museum welcomes more than 15,000 visitors annually.” “The city doesn’t offer the attributes the new economy…