Hydrolife Magazine December/January 2017 (USA Edition)

Politics isn’t pretty. In the United States during the 2016
election, up to 50 per cent of all eligible voters avoided the
ballot box, with apathy garnering the largest percentage at
the polls. But where cannabis is concerned, the people have
spoken, with four out of five states on the ballot legalizing
for recreational use, giving the country a total of eight states
promoting the recreational use of cannabis and a total of 28
states now legal for medicinal use.
Proposition 64, sponsored by Napster founder Sean Parker,
was California’s second try at legalization under the Adult
Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), winning with 56 per cent of
the vote. All eyes are now on California, as the progressive
state sits between Mexico and Canada—two countries
poised to go forward on legalization.
Having grown up in Southern California, then transplanting
to San Francisco in my 20s, then working in media in
Humboldt County at the top of the state for nine years, this
California girl can safely say the state is divided by more
than geographical or weather differences. Where cannabis is
concerned, there are no greater contrasts than the division of
big business to the south, farming to the north, and activism
from both sides. In fact, during the 2016 State of Marijuana
conference held historically on the Queen Mary in Southern
California, no debate was hotter than the one participated in
by farmers to the north, big business interests to the south,
and activists wanting to free prisoners and reduce sentencing
from America’s failed War on Drugs. Farmers spoke of losing
their way of life, big business looked to the future, and
activists demanded freedom from persecution.
HISTORY OF WEED IN CALIFORNIA
To understand the fight, it helps to know the history of
the plant in the country’s most progressive state. During
what’s touted as America’s last great surge of the human
spirit and revolt, California became the meeting place of
those looking to change the world and do away with the
status quo. In 1968, after the Summer of Love ended in San
Francisco, the hippies who congregated from every state
in the union made their way north. They called themselves
Back to the Landers. They lived off the land and grew
cannabis. When the first harvest was taken to town for
sale, distribution on the black market began.
by Sharon Letts
American citizens recently voted in some big changes
to the country’s marijuana laws. California, Nevada,
Massachusetts, and Maine all legalized recreational
cannabis for adults aged 21 years and older.
Officials particularly noted California’s referendum
as a gamechanger since it’s the most populous state.
Hydrolife contributor Sharon Letts examines what the
future holds for the industry in California and beyond.
Photo by Sharon Letts
Cheri Sicard, a mainstream author turned cannabis author and activist.
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