First-person reporting needs real experience
If you did not attend, do not write as though you walked the aisles. You can produce a preview, review the programme or bring together documentary information, making the nature of the piece clear. An intimate narrative does not require invented smells, conversations or first-hand impressions. Readers deserve to know the position from which the story is being told.
The same rule applies to images. A conceptual illustration or generated image can accompany a subject, but it should not be presented as a documentary photograph of a particular edition. A clear caption prevents the design from manufacturing visual evidence that never existed.
Separate four layers of the story
In your notes, distinguish observation, statements, documentation and judgement. “A sample was on display” describes something observed. “The company claims a particular performance” attributes a statement. “The test reports this result” introduces a document. “The presentation was clear” is an editorial judgement. Mixing these layers turns opinions into facts without readers noticing.
The 2026 FAPE Code of Ethics provides a professional reference on truthfulness and independence. Using it as guidance means retaining the distinction between information and advertising, as well as respecting the context of sources. A report can have its own voice and remain precise.
Quotations cannot be reconstructed by instinct
If you want to reproduce someone’s words, keep an appropriate record and the conditions under which they were obtained. Do not put quotation marks around a paraphrase you only approximately remember. When summarising, make that clear through accurate attribution. The aim is not to make the writing less lively, but to avoid making someone appear to say something they did not say.
A promotional line repeated at a stand can be relevant as something to analyse, but it need not become the headline. Ask what it establishes, what it leaves out and who has an interest in it. That second reading is precisely the editorial work a reader does not get from a brochure.
Make relevant relationships visible
If invitations, sponsorships or commercial relationships affect the content, explain them in understandable terms. Transparency does not automatically remove a conflict, but it allows readers to know the context. A concealed recommendation damages trust more than a disclosed commercial relationship handled with judgement.
At the end, leave references readers can retrieve and correct any errors you discover. A report does not need to settle every question in the sector; it can choose one specific thread and develop it well. What readers remember may be a good question, an unexpected object or an explanation that clears up a misunderstanding. None of those requires turning the magazine into someone else’s shop window.
Take this with you
Write from a real position, attribute statements and separate advertising from evidence. Transparency can be part of the style too.
Sources you can open
The source may be in its original language. English publication does not change the jurisdiction or date discussed.
Follow the thread
Open the cannabinoid encyclopedia
Check the identity, research, uncertainties and documented forms of each compound.