Hi Folks, I hope some, if not all, of you are planning to submit a paper to the new Cannabis and Culture Special Topics area. If you haven't already, please consider submitting your proposal before the proposal deadline. I'm hoping to have a solid turnout for our first subject area PCA. Please submit, spread the word, and encourage folks to join us in Chicago.

Hello! I plan on reading a creative nonfiction piece I wrote this fall title "Rural American Mule". Taking place on a winter night in the year 2017, "Rural American Mule" follows a night in the life of a teenager who has been kicked out of their parents home and supervision because of dealing marijuana. On a night like all others for this boy, something goes awry during a deal and our narrator is forced to make a decision, revealing the harsh realities of a business whose commodity is criminalized. This piece is aimed at showing the subtle and blatant consequences that criminalizing a commodity does on an individual and a community.

Peter Hostert was born on November 1st 1998. He is the fifth of six children. Peter grew up in Macomb Illinois attending Saint Paul school before attending Macomb Junior Senior High School. After graduating Peter stayed in Macomb and attended Spoon River College. With one semester left before receiving his Associates of Arts Peter left Macomb to travel the country. After a year he returned, received his Associates and moved to Carbondale where he attended flight school. Deciding to transfer he returned to his hometown where he attends Western Illinois University and raises a spoiled Scottish Collie named Ember and two cats named Remus and Oona. He looks forward to reading and getting back into the saddle of his creative writing projects once he is finished with his Bachelors of English from Western Illinois University. He intends to reside in Rock Island Illinois with his partner of seven years.