Northwestern Grad Tweets Pot

"For a good cause"

By STEVE RHODES

Updated 1:18 PM CST, Tue, Jul 28, 2009

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Gawker

Northwestern University graduate Dann Halem wants to be perfectly clear: he's not selling weed on Twitter because there weren't enough jobs in journalism - though that's a compelling storyline.

But he is selling weed on Twitter.

Gawker carried Halem's story this week as a cautionary tale of sorts about the job market for journalists.

"Yo society, there's something not quite right when, after an education of $100K-plus, one of the few available job opportunities for an aspiring writer (and maybe even for Twitter itself) is selling something called "Blackberry Kush.", Alexia Tsotsis wrote in "L.A. Weed Dealer Finally Finds A Use For Twitter."

Tweet this.

And the (ugh) prestigious Medill journalism school has been making noise recently about adapting to new business models in a world where traditional media is crumbling. The narrative made sense.

But Halem says it's not true.

"I left traditional magazine writing not because I couldn't make a living, but because I was diagnosed with a serious hormone deficiency," he wrote in a comment he posted at least three times to the Gawker story.

And he's not just selling weed to sell weed. "We're a licensed California non-profit trying to raise money to create opportunity grants for artists, writers, performers and musicans," he writes.

That might not get him onto the star alumni list, but on the other hand, he's probably making a better living than many of his peers also saddled with the $40,000 bill Halem says he incurred for his graduate studies.

And he is still doing some writing.

Just A Guy Thing relays a couple of recent Halem tweets:

- "TGIF! We have some new meds coming in soon. Right now, order a quarter and get a gram for free. Tax included, free delivery, we take plastic."

And:

"BB Kush, NY Soma, SD Strom, Forrest G, Green C, Baby Crunch, Spy Diesel, buy 1/4 get gram free. Baked goods, Grams, Joints avail."

Not bad. And maybe a book deal in it, too.

Steve Rhodes is the proprietor of The Beachwood Reporter, a Chicago-centric news and culture review.