Dope History

Episode 9: Tommy Chong

Tommy Chong has been a lifelong artist. He’s a Musician, an Improv comic, a writer, a movie star, and much more, it is hard to pin Tommy down, he’s an original. Tommy had started an underage music club in his teens and ran a strip club as a young adult. From there are the tales of working for Motown, meeting Mohamed Ali, discovering the Jackson 5, and all of this is before his award winning comedy records with Cheech. This is all prior to "Up In Smoke" being created. Tommy walks us through his legendary career from teen musician to professional actor, writer, and director.

Episode 8: Jorge Cervantes

Jorge Cervantes is known as a prolific cannabis author around the world, but his story began in a small rural town on the west coast. It was in this conservative environment he first was exposed to cannabis and it was there he took his first toke. Like many kids raised in the 50’s and 60’s, he was taught many of the common lies about cannabis and having experienced otherwise, the lense through which he viewed things shifted. Jorge Cervantes has authored 50 books and DVDs, in 12 languages and his Marijuana Horticulture handbook is widely known as “the grow bible”. He started by self publishing is work and from there was able to sign with professional printers who could also handle distribution. Although his work had been translated to a dozen languages, there were many countries were his books were banned. That didn’t stop him from shipping his work, but it didn’t always reach the destination.There were other risks associated with being the author of books detailing the methods of growing this illegal crop. In 1989 Operation Green Merchant swept the nation and these types of materials and those providing them were targeted. Over his many years documenting thousands of grow rooms, Jorge has seen the technology advance from using traditional film to digital cameras. But did you know Jorge Cervantes has published grow books under another name?

Episode 7: Wolf Segal

What we consider commonplace today, was once cutting edge, and it was Wolf Segal who first wrote about Sea of Green as "Farmer in the Sky" in the pages of Sinsemilla Tips magazine. Later on, he smuggled out the blueprints for the SCROG technique under the watchful eye of the law to be published worldwide. Listen in as he describes the origins of these techniques and other insightful ideas he brought to the cannabis community.

Episode 6: Ed Rosenthal

Ed Rosenthal has always used his real name, it isn’t pseudonym that an anonymous author or advocate hides behind. This sort of open defiance is a good example of the steadfast and political nature exhibited by this cannabis royalty. Ed has managed to stay relevant through many waves, bumps, and turns in what is now referred to as the Cannabis Industry. He is an author of over 30 books, spanning four decades, detailing the cultivation of cannabis, cannabis history and also the emerging art of producing concentrates. Even the casual readers of cannabis magazines will remember his “Ask Ed” column in High Times Magazine throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Ed Rosenthal has been an important figure in the advancement of cannabis knowledge and legalization and at the age of 77, he shows no signs or interest of slowing down anytime soon. It was our pleasure in speaking with Ed Rosenthal and highlighting his well deserved place in Dope History.

Episode 5: Tom Alexander

Sinsemilla Tips was the catalyst for many advancements in the Cannabis growing community. Through Toms’ magazine, a new generation of growers learned about techniques like Sea of Green, Screen of Green, organic nutrients, lighting advancements and many other innovative cultivation practices. Sinsemilla Tips was worth its weight in gold to the growers lucky enough to get their hands on a copy.Operation Green Merchant was a new approach in the war on drugs. The primary focus of the raids were aimed at licensed business owners who sold indoor growing supplies such as HID lighting, watering systems and other accessories. These raids were conducted under the premise that these products, with legitimate legal uses, were being used to grow illegal Cannabis, making the shop owners just as guilty as the street dealers.On Oct. 26, 1989, Federal Agents executed Operation Green Merchant with raids on hydroponic stores in 46 states. By nightfall, 119 people had been arrested, over 6,500 cannabis plants destroyed and seven businesses were seized. Tom Alexander was one of those business owners.