Actress to speak about growing marijuana tonight in Palm Desert

An actress who starred in “The Blair WitchProject” and an author will speak about marijuana growing at UCR Palm Deserttonight.

The 6:30 p.m. talk is the last event in the campus’ Arts & Letterslecture series. The speakers are actress Heather Donahue and writer MarkHaskell Smith.

Donahue starred in the 1999 horror film “Blair Witch Project” at age24, and 10 years later became a marijuana farmer. Her book, “Growgirl: How MyLife After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot,” was published last year.

Haskell Smith reported for the Los Angeles Times on the Cannabis Cupblind tasting competition in Amsterdam and last year published a nonfictionbook, “Heart of Dankness: Underground Botanists, Outlaw Farmers and the Racefor the Cannabis Cup.” He is an assistant professor in the master’s degreeprogram for writing and writing for the performing arts at UCR Palm Desert’sGraduate Center.

Both authors will sign books after the discussion, and books will be forsale.