Hydrolife Magazine June/July 2017 (USA Edition)

learn
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It seemed there was little
the dynamic duo couldn’t
accomplish: they straddled an
international cannabis empire
that encompassed not only seeds
but coffee shops, dispensaries,
clothing, a medical research
company, a nutrients company,
and an international media outlet.”
“Franco, he loves Africa and he really liked Congo, especially
with all the Rastafarians. He liked the Congo culture because everyone
smokes marijuana. The police smoke marijuana, the army
smokes marijuana, and there are almost no hard drugs, so it’s
quite peaceful considering all the violence that goes on there,”
says Heiko, who has been friends with Franco for 17 years and
credits Franco with introducing him to the cannabis industry.
On invitation from the government, Franco decided to return
to the DRC in November 2016 with the director of science at
Green House Medical to conduct research on the potential
therapeutic application of cannabinoids in treating and
preventing local diseases.
“We found a lot of information that led us to believe that
cannabis can be used as a very good, low-cost, low-tech
medicine in the Congo to treat diseases like HIV, malaria,
and diarrhea,” says Heiko. Franco made a presentation to the
government, in French, about their findings, after which the
preliminary sketch of a licensed medical cannabis project in
the country began to emerge.
When Franco returned to the DRC again in December 2016 to
begin work on a medical facility, the country was in a state of
political upheaval. Amidst pressure from opposition politicians
and the US government to step down as the end of his second
term drew near, President Joseph Kabila continued to cling to
power as opposition forces vowed to take to the streets.
Amidst a massive security presence, the internet was
suspended and the country teetered on the brink of “chaos
and bloodshed,” wrote Guardian reporter Jason Burke from
his post in Kinshasa.
“The president was not in a position to resign, and there was
a bunch of tension caused by the opposition and corporations
that have all kinds of different interests in the country. So,
Franco got caught in the middle of the field where we were
setting up the project. Although we had protection from the
government, one of the minders wanted to take Franco back to
the city and bring him to the hotel, but Franco refused because
he was afraid that if he went back to the city—there was a
curfew going on in the city, nobody was allowed on the street—
he wouldn’t be able to get back to the plantation to finish his
work,” says Heiko. “So, Franco slept outside there, and that’s
probably where the mosquito bit him.”
It is believed it was at this point, unbeknownst to anyone, that
Franco contracted cerebral malaria.
On his journey home, Franco phoned his friends and coworkers
from Spain to tell them he had become ill.
One thing that is important to understand about Franco, says
Heiko, is that he is “never sick.” Energetic and fit, with endless
enthusiasm, he rarely complained and typically performed the
work of six men, he added.
Concerned, Arjan insisted that Franco go to the hospital,
thinking he may have picked up a parasite, but by then
it was Friday, the day before New Year’s Eve, and most
specialists were off duty. Not realizing it was an emergency,
Franco made an appointment for Monday and texted Arjan
to reassure him it was “all good.”
“On Saturday, he went into a coma. He died a couple of
days later,” says Heiko.
The diagnosis of cerebral malaria was later confirmed at
the hospital in Barcelona.
If Arjan Roskam was known as the King of Cannabis, Franco
Loja was informally thought of as its Jesus. Passionate and
soulful, with a reverent respect for the plant that infused all
aspects of his work, Franco was adored by those he worked
with. In the Congo, it was no different. Insisting they pay the
local workers roughly 10 times the average wage, plus perks,
his status there had quickly become iconic. At the news of
Franco’s death, Rasta musicians dedicated songs to him and
the local Rastafarian community made plans to paint a mural
of him next to the township’s memorial of Haile Selassie.
72 grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
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