GreenLeaf Feb 2021

J20
and energy to
learning more
and learn he
did. Even as a
kid he started
to write letters
to leading
activists and
researchers
like Jack
Herer and Ed
Rosenthal.
What's morethey
wrote
back! His
knowledge on the subject grew exponentially until
he was one of the most knowledgeable kids on
the planet when it came to cannabis. The more
he learned, the more he understood the racist
and vile reasons behind the prohibition of cannabis
in the first place. He learned how the word
"marijuana" had been intentionally weaponized
and twisted by racists into the new name for what
had been called cannabis for centuries before.
He learned how Harry Anslinger almost single
handedly turned the world against this amazing
plant using fear mongering and racist rhetoric. He
learned how the likes of DuPont and Rockefeller
were turning oil into medicine - and practically
everything else - who viewed cannabis as cheap,
effective competition. The more he learned, the
more he began to transform from affluent heir to
black sheep. Then one day in the woods at age
13, his future would quite literally fall out of the
sky and change his course forever.
A drug smuggling plane dropped its load over the
woods Rick happened to be wandering through.
After the smugglers gathered up their prize and
cleared the area, Rick found the spot where bails
of cannabis were dropped only minutes earlier.
Not only that, but he found a few broken bails
that the smugglers had left behind. Over time he
began to use it, sell it, then grow it and eventually
- he started to breed it. He had to keep his activity
low key, not only because of the draconian
laws of the time but also because of his family's
prominence. So, he remained under the radar
-- but he was hooked. He became somewhat of
a recluse as he obsessed over and hunted down
the rarest landrace strains he could find. He was
creating some of the best bud in the area and
getting recognized for it quickly. Unlike other
growers he knew, Rick tended to everything from
the bioavailability of the soil to the electro-magnetic
resonance shared between plant and grower.
He knew that he was raising champs and it
wasn't long before the cannabis world acknowledged
it and embraced him fully as one of their
own. It was still the early days of genome testing
and the pioneers of this new science wanted to
backtrack genetics to catalogue the lineage of
the most popular strains. When testing was done
on the genetic profile of two of the better-known
strains, Skunk and Northern Lights, both were
found to be the progeny of a strain called "Gainsville
Green". You guessed it! Rick Naya was the
breeder and grower of Gainsville Green and as
such is recognized as paving the way for many
of the top shelf genetics that followed. This was
formally acknowledged when Sensi magazine
dubbed him "The Great Grandfather of Hybrid
Cannabis". Despite his efforts to remain out of
the spotlight, Rick Naya was a rising cannabis
star. So, he did what any well-educated cannabis
connoisseur and activist would do. He ran with
it... hard.
Now at this point I could get into all the various
titles he's held and organizations he's run. I
could write the rest of the article just on that topic
alone. His upbringing and privilege were never
totally shunned, only redirected. The aristocracy
had shaped him into a multi-state, billion-dollar
operator. Rick was not timid about running huge
projects and had the education and professional
experience to back it up. He eventually found
himself in New Hampshire, with a respected
reputation and a solid mission in the cannabis
world and so he got involved. Really involved!
As an independent activist in the cannabis arena
representing the people in the state, he found
himself in roles such as director of New Hampshire
Cannabis Freedom Festival, Director of
New Hampshire Cannabis company, director of
New Hampshire Farmers Cannabis Collective,
Director of "A Newer New Hampshire" and Executive
director of New Hampshire NORML just to
name a few. There are more. Much more! But all
of these are things Rick has done - not who he is.
Who he is, is a down to earth, father-of-four, man
of the people. He's well educated, well versed