All language subtitles for Lady.Buds.2021.1080p.BluRay.H264.AAC-RARBG

Hey.

- This it?
- Yep.

- Priscilla?
- Priscilla.

- There's 50 of them?
- Fifty.

And what's the number on this?

3,000.

Fifty.

- All right. Thank you.
- I'll grab these.

I'll grab this one
and come back for the rest.

Voters legalize
the recreational use

- of marijuana.
- History has been made here.

The overwhelming passage
of California's proposition 64

means adults over 21
can now legally smoke marijuana

for recreational use.

With these scissors,
I dub thee free.

Prop 64
is a collaborative effort

between bright industry minds
to put protections,

restrictions,
and regulations in place.

So, to anybody
who has a marijuana offense

on their record
going back five, ten, 50 years,

will be eligible
to have their record cleared.

It's time for politicians
of all stripes

to come out of the closet,
in this respect,

and say what they think
on marijuana.

And prop 64
does limit the real estate

a grower can own
for the first five years

to only one acre,

and that's to allow
local farmers get a head start

before the big guys move in.

If investor capital

comes in before
the established industry

here in California
gets its foothold,

then what happens
to the 50,000+ farmers

across California?

I am a second generation
cannabis farmer.

Grew up in a back-to-the-land
hippy commune,

5,600 acres of beautiful
mendocino county.

My husband and myself have
a 40 acre piece of property,

and we grow
10,000 square feet of cannabis

on that property.

Just need to get this big mama.

- Oh, my gosh!
- It's just.

In the 70s, where I grew up,

everybody knew
what everybody else did,

but was all kinda hush-hush.

The helicopters would come over,
we'd all kind of hide,

and we were very worried
about getting busted.

My dad would say things
like, you know,

"make sure
you don't tell anybody what,

you know, dad does.

You don't want your dad
to go to jail," kind of thing.

So, yeah, you have to be
a rebel at heart, really,

to wanna follow through
with this.

I think the main positives
that have come from legalization

are that we really get
to step out of the shadows,

we get to come out

as relevant pieces
of this industry.

We've all been here
for so long as farmers,

you know, the time is now

to, like, propel
this industry forward.

We did that so good!

We met in 1981
in the ceramics lab

in missoula, Montana,
at the university.

And we found we had
ceramics in common and...

- Cannabis.
- In common.

I bought a small farm in 2011.

That's the farm
I've been living on since 1990.

It's been a great adventure
getting a crew together

and grow
all this beautiful cannabis.

And Joyce would come
at trim season

and then she moved up
and started doing some farming.

We make pain relief salve.

It's a medicine,
it's a beautiful plant.

It's healing
to work with the plant

because of
the medicinal reasons.

All of our product is organic

and we make the salve together.

And I think, yeah,
you have to be aware

that it's federally illegal.

So, when people
come in to this business,

they've gotta realize:
Are you willing to go to jail

and lose everything?

And so, we've been willing
to do that for years,

or we wouldn't be here.

It is on my bucket list
never to go to jail...

And I'm hoping that that,

You know, stays that way.

- Yeah. That'll be nice.
- Yeah.

That would be nice.

This is the beginning
stages of our dispensary.

It was an unused eyesore.

We purchased it and we literally
had to have it gutted out.

It's been quite an ordeal.

This is
the dispensary part of it,

where the patients will come in
and see the product,

and they'll be greeted
by a whole host of people

to help them as needed.

And here will be,
like, a multipurpose room,

where I'll have my classes
which is where I educate seniors

about the benefits
of medical cannabis.

It's gonna work.

Just to see the roof off

and everything
just coming together,

just fills my heart.

A ten-year vision
is now in operation.

It's been slow,
but all in divine timing.

It's all coming together
the way it's supposed to.

And even the bees wanna come.

We'd like to begin
by just saying thank you

for being a part
of this incredible journey

of a lifetime.

- It's a labor of love.
- Yes, it is.

Our dispensary will be geared
to the needs of seniors.

Most seniors that I work with

are on from 15 to 26 pills
a day,

and they're still not
getting any better.

Cannabis can help
almost every ailment

that seniors have.

There will be
seniors that's coming,

seniors that's working there,
and they're wisdom keepers.

That's who we are.

If somebody had said to me
12 years ago

I would be doing this work
in the cannabis industry,

I would've said, "ooh,
you been smoking too much.

Catholic school principal,
goodie-two-shoes sue?

No way!"

When you grow up in a system

that's set up against you
from the beginning,

you have to learn how to be bold
and stand up for yourself.

Anybody can be an activist.

Anybody who uses their voice

and tries to elevate a cause
or an issue is an activist.

And I don't also don't think
you choose to be an activist,

it's kind of like,
"hey, that's messed up."

So, you just start fighting
for it, you are an activist,

because you've been activated
and your soul has been like,

wait, enough.
That can't happen, that's wrong.

I tool some cbd.

And that cbd
revolutionized who I was.

Like, wait, I don't have to take
valium and Xanax

for the PTSD that I have?

Wait, I can smoke a joint
and have a great night's sleep?

And it just transformed

how I looked at the experience
with the plant

where I was just like,
wait a second,

this is actually medicine.

Love you.

I am a fourth generation

Mexican American,

lgbt and cannabis advocate
and activist.

What needs to happen
is that black and brown people

who've been
disproportionately affected

by the war on drugs,

they don't have
the bank accounts,

they don't have
the rich families

or the rich friends
that they can ask

to invest in the space.

So, for me, it was just,
"how do I give back?"

We thank you all
for joining us today.

We're here
and we're not going anywhere.

And we're ensuring

that more faces
that look like ours

not only have ownership,

but get that piece
of the pie back

that was robbed from us.

After 23 years,

my high school sweetheart
found me on the Internet.

And what was he doing?

He was farming cannabis
in humboldt county.

I was just, you know,
I was shocked.

And then I said, "you know,
my friends in New York

would really like some of that
humboldt county pot."

And I drove out to California

and I drove back
with several pounds of pot.

Then I had to get it
around New York City

to my friends
who wanted to buy pounds.

So, I gathered up
all my designer shopping bags,

And I would just
sling those Tiffany bags

over my shoulders.
They were filled with pot,

and I would just take them
round to the people that,

you know,
wanted to buy these pounds.

I, at that time,

owned two restaurants
in New York City.

I'd been
in the restaurant business

for 12 years.

I was tired.
I was looking to make a change.

So, I decided
to sell my restaurants

and come out to humboldt.

And I got here
and I was saying to Jeff,

"does he grow? Does she grow?"
And he goes...

"Everyone grows."
I went, "oh, okay."

Everyone grew.

The whole entire community,
everyone grew.

In the early 70s,

a great number of people
moved up to humboldt,

they were called
"back-to-the-ianders."

They wanted to farm organically,
live off the land,

and just kind of escape
everything that was going on.

We had the Vietnam war
of the time,

so everybody just kinda flocked
to communities like this.

There was a lot of
back-to-the-land couples,

and people were having babies
out in the woods.

I would say we were kind of
free-range children.

That's what we called them.

Romping around,
swimming in the pond,

climbing trees and stuff.

And that was kind of the nature
of the community here.

If you don't come home,

your parents are gonna assume
that you're at someone's house

and that you're not, like,
in the woods, lost,

with the bears
and the mountain lions.

I guess I grew up, in a way,
like, being really fearless

about a lot of stuff
and being really unique

and standing out
in a lot of ways.

And I think that pattern
has followed through.

Jeff was such a master grower.

They would
come to him for advice,

like, you know,
"how do I do this?"

And, "my leaves are yellow,
what do I do? What do I add?"

People weren't growing
like they're growing now.

They were having
to hide their crops

and grow them in trees
or under trees.

We tried to grow
in, like, BlackBerry brambles

where no one could see it.

Helicopters would fly
all around here for camp.

Campaign
against marijuana planting.

Camp lasted about ten years,
15 years,

and it was to eradicate
the cannabis.

They would fly over
and see a crop

and take it out in helicopters,
big huge bags of cannabis.

It was terrifying
for a lot of people.

And of course, they had
on kmud, the radio station,

they had helicopter alerts
every day. Like, at 11:00.

"Helicopters are flying
over seely creek."

"Helicopters are flying over
salmon creek."

"Helicopters are flying
at China creek."

It was pretty crazy.

Jeff was a paranoid person
to begin with,

and that contributed
way too much to his paranoia.

Jeff died in 2009,
so I miss him so much.

I miss him every day.

After Jeff's death,

you know,
you just have to keep going on.

So, one of the things
that happened was

I literally inherited the farms.

And that's what led me to

my current situation
with cannabis.

There are so many unknowns.

It is scary, not just for me,
but for all of my colleagues.

People just don't know
what's gonna happen.

You know, that great
Eleanor Roosevelt quote,

"do something
that scares you every day."

Well, that is
the cannabis business right now.

All right.

And I'm gonna take
this opportunity to let you know

that you've been listening to

all about the music
this morning, and I am mumzer

and I'm happy to be joining you
for your morning activities.

And I wanna ask you
all a question, okay?

Actually, a couple of questions.

How are you feeling
about this legalization thing?

How's it going for you
and your family?

And what do you think
about the end of prohibition?

Call in now
and let us know your opinion.

I know you're out there.

As of right now,
we 're in the safe zone.

You know, we've got
this five-year window period

to get it together
to start organizing.

You're gonna have to grow

the best that you can grow

and brand yourself
and work in co-ops,

and then you'll survive.
It's capitalism, after all.

I voted for prop 64
because I, for one thing,

thought if we got one person
out of prison

whose family life was ruined
for being busted

and sent to prison
for marijuana, then heck.

You know?

We knew we were gonna have
to keep fixing it for years,

and we will keep fixing it
for years.

I think it's really
gonna wipe out

this mom and pop farmers.

Because even now,

now that people
are going for permits,

when I see the size
of their greenhouses

and how many of them...

It scares me.

I have a lot
of friends and family

that are gonna have a hard time,
but you know what?

The people
that have done it right,

that have gone for
the legal permits,

that are doing
a high-quality product,

are gonna find that
as this legal market comes in

and dispensaries have to buy it
from a legal permitted farm,

they're gonna do quite well
over the next few years.

Big business

is barking all around
our heels right now.

And they're more skilled
and they've got more money,

and if we're not careful,

we're actually
gonna lose control

of the marijuana industry.
It's gonna be taken over

by people who don't,
in fact, share our values,

and maybe could care less
if we saved the environment

and employ people
at livable wages.

When people came to the table
to write prop 64,

they didn't invite
any compassion programs.

It was all
the big-business people.

And prop 215 was written
as a compassionate care act

to allow cannabis
to be put into the hands

of people who really needed it
as medicine.

So, as exciting
as January 1st is

and this new explosion
into a brand new market,

we have to be cognizant
that we don't lose the history

of why we're even able
to do this.

I grew up in a home
that was conservative Christian.

I knew I was queer
when I was really young

and I just needed to get away

to the most liberal place
I could find.

Where was I going
to finally be able to be me?

Everybody knows

That San Francisco
is one of the queer havens

in the world.

So, for me, it was just easy.
It was one of those,

wait, oh my gosh!

Look at that couple
holding hands!

And just, like, being like,
oh, I can't wait

to have a girl
that I could hold her hand.

People forget 1995,

the leading cause of death

for men between 22
and 44 was aids.

This was the gay plague.

It was literally called
"the gay plague."

Cannabis helped them
with the nausea

that they were having.

It helped them with
some of the wasting syndromes

that they were going through.

Cannabis afforded many people

the ability
to just be able to eat.

This was a death sentence.

I always tell people this was
a rite of passage for me.

The first time
that I transported a bag of weed

from point a to point b
in the bay area,

my friend was HIV positive.

These were my brothers.

Like, what do you do
for your brother?

You help them.

There were a bunch of women

who stepped into roles
as mothers and sisters

and platonic wives,

to just be able to help
our siblings during this crises.

The lgbtq community
was instrumental

in opening up this dialogue
about cannabis as medicine.

And that continued with people
like Dennis peron,

Scott imler,

and brownie Mary,

who made sure
that compassionate cannabis

was a component
through prop 215,

which afforded a patient
to be able to grow,

consume, possess cannabis.

He's real excited.

And so,
he's gonna be doing the food?

Hm-mmm.

How many people
are coming to the wedding?

- One fifty.
- About 150?

Hm-mmm.

Wait, more than that.

Well, because I think
I had to go to 120 on my side.

Wait a minute.
You didn't tell me that.

'Cause that's not including,
you know, staff and all that.

That's gonna take
some coordinating.

My son, kwamin,
when he told us that he was gay,

it didn't equate

what I had been told
about people being gay!

He didn't match!

This is somebody I knew
that didn't fit what I was told.

- Hello.
- Good to see you as well.

- Hey, babe.
- Hey, babe!

How was work?

It was because of you being gay

that changed me.

It was him telling us that

that really started me
to evolve into a real person

and started questioning
how I saw life.

What else
have I been lied to about?

- You know?
- Hm-mmm.

The cannabis stuff,
I say, well, shit.

Maybe they lied to me
about that, you know?

And so
it just kinda opened my mind

into a broader perspective.

And look at the gift I get.
I get another son.

I thought my party days
were over until you showed up.

Oh, no way!

Jamie and I met
on greenfield ranch,

where we both lived.

His dad owns property
just below our property

and my father has land
out in the center of the ranch.

Kinda have a similar history.

Ireahylove working with plants.

You know,
I'm pretty quiet, generally.

And so I was really into botany
and marine biology

and was working two jobs

and growing
a little bit of cannabis

and just started doing this
more and more,

and I really enjoyed
the breeding aspect of it.

Like, picking
a couple different plants

with different attributes

and figuring out what I thought
might make a good combination,

and it kinda blossomed
from there.

It's a little easier
to manage small plants,

but it's kinda fun to see
when they get really big

and, you know, you're proud.

Gardening was always
a huge part of my life.

Through the winter,
I'd get really antsy.

I just need to, like,
put my hands in the dirt.

And then once I did that
a couple times,

in springtime
I felt normal again.

I'm mom of two boys.
One's 16 and one's almost ten.

True is my sweet boy.
He's an animal lover, huh?

A hyena is your favorite animal?

- Yeah.
- First I've heard of that.

All right.

We're not getting one of those,
by the way.

Our farm is named river txai,

which is our older son's
two middle names.

He goes by river

and he's proud
that the farm's named after him.

And then, you know,
we have some true kush crosses,

the true berrymore,

and he's kinda excited

that his name
was all over things.

They're so used to it
and they kinda forget sometimes

when they're talking
to their friends or at school.

It used to be
more of a challenge.

We all have stories where, like,

the teacher literally pulls
a bud off the kids' sweater

and just puts it in the garbage

because they know what
the kids' home life is like,

and they're not gonna cause
a problem.

It's been a little bit
of a challenge

with the cannabis world
with our teenage son

in that he's really
interested in cannabis.

It's been a challenge
trying to educate him

and, you know,
not be hypocrites ourselves.

Did you eat?

Uh-uh.

I want him
to have a different life.

I really don't want him
to just go from high school,

being a teenager,
right into cultivating cannabis.

Come, sit, sit, sit.
Sit. Sit. Sit, sit.

So, I have something here
I need to interrupt,

- because this is...
- Okay, interrupt.

Stop. Just stop.

This is like

- a historical moment...
- We're gonna listen.

For the bud sisters.

"Dear sir/ma'am,

we have received approval
of your application

for a humboldt county
business license."

"You may receive your license
by remitting $12 for the year.

Please send payable

to the humboldt county
tax collector.

An envelope
has been provided for you..."

- Excellent.
- "...For your convenience."

How many years have we been
trying to get a business license

for the bud sisters?

- Four?
- Foun

this is the second... yeah.

We made a mistake
and put on the application

that we had cannabis
in our product.

- We...
- We're being honest.

No, we lied
and said it had cannabis,

so now
we're gonna tell the truth

and say
it doesn't have cannabis,

it's just made out of hemp.

So now
we can get a business license

for our salve.

Oh, we'll probably have to,
you know,

- be on our taxes a little more.
- Put out more money.

We're gonna have

to pay taxes now.

Better bookkeeping.

- Oh, darn! Let's burn it.
- Oh, god.

Welcome to
the 2017 golden tarp awards.

And we're here
with the bud sisters,

Pearl and Dr. Joyce.
Tell us a little about yourself.

Right, I make all the awards
for the golden tarp.

What's
your favorite part of today?

Oh, judging, of course.

We don't even have
our booth today

because we just
wanted to be judges.

This isn't mainstream cannabis,

this is artisanal,
exquisite cannabis

produced by people
who really care.

What we're trying to do
is show you

that these type
of production methodologies

and this knowledge base
and these people

have been existing
for 40 years here.

The fear right now

is that we're all
gonna get swept away,

all of us craft producers.

And the reality of it is
is that that's very possible.

But if you try to be relevant

by highlighting
what we do different,

and how we do it differently,

and make it accessible to the
population that purchases,

then pretty soon,
they have knowledge and choice

and that gives us a chance
to exist and survive.

And so that's really
the mission of it.

I've known Pearl and Dr. Joyce
for nine years now.

Pearl is just really a symbol
of what humboldt county was.

She is the small farmer.
She is the homesteader.

She is the person

who helped so many other people
understand cannabis cultivation,

and many people
who are successful here now

were trimmers for her
when they were younger.

And Joyce
is a brilliant educator.

She's able to take and use
that ability to help

a tremendous number
of people out using art.

They're a spiritual thread,
cultural thread,

but then a thread
that weaves it together

and that's what makes
humboldt, humboldt,

is people like this.

We are live
at the golden tarp awards,

first annual live broadcast.

And we're actually
gonna head right back over

to the judge's couch.
So, how's it going?

What's happening
over at the couch?

Very interesting.

Very beautiful bud.
What do you guys think?

Kinda more in the head
kinda high...

How can you tell?

You've smoked,
like, ten joints already.

Well, you know, being a judge

in the emerald cup
for so many years,

you really have to learn.

And a lot of it, you know,
if you don't like how it smells,

looks or tastes,

you don't even
bother smoking it.

And a lot of times
you light it up...

Judging 101
from sisters right here.

And you know right away.

You light that up,
no, that's not it.

The ganjier award
was something that we created

basically as a tribute

to somebody
who was unrecognized,

but absolutely deserving.

And for this award year,
I wanted to thank someone

who had been
a foundation in our community.

The people that settled here
in the late 60s, early 70s,

they were tough
and had a full pair of balls,

which is what you needed
to live here.

The person I think
that epitomizes that most,

and she's about to get
her mind blown,

is Pearl moon.

Wow! I'm totally blown out

and I'm really high...

'Cause I smoked
some really good weed today.

Yeah!

Yes, and right now,
you're gonna find out whose.

Pearl moon!

All right. Well, greetings.

Greetings out there,

humboldt, mendocino,
and Trinity counties.

All right, this is sunshine hee

bringing you

the Sunday afternoon
cannabis talk show

here on the mud.

Well, things are going on

on the political
and legal fronts for cannabis,

and we 're gonna be doing
an analysis,

looking at the next two...

Now, with legalization,

I hope to open a dispensary
that's really gonna support

the small growers
of this community.

When we found this building,
we said, "oh my gosh,

this is right in garberville,
it's properly zoned."

And the minute
I walked into this front room

I said, "this is
an unbelievable location

for a dispensary."

The primary manufacturing
space is here,

and that's the overhead doors
in the back.

We'll go take a look in a minute
and take a look at that.

If the state allows us
to go for that licensing,

we can do the further refining
and the lab work here

and then have this for packaging
and some admin.

Karyn's going through
four different permits right now

with the county

for everything from cultivation
to manufacturing

to distribution
and dispensaries.

I think Karyn's plan to bring
a revitalization project

to garberville
on that scale is great.

You know, a dispensary
and manufacturing facility

that provides year-round jobs

is a fabulous addition
to that area.

As we move
into this new transition

of legalization,

it's very difficult for the ogs,

or the original growers,
to make this transition.

Now, just so you know,

I put in the application
for the dispensary license

that will allow us to be
a tourist-driven dispensary

that celebrates
the culture and heritage

of the small family famer
that goes back 40 years.

And I'm really hoping
for a lot of community support

so that I can get
that distribution license

to be able to service southern
humboldt growers appropriately.

You know, the effort
to regulate marijuana

and to tax it is the effort...

- To recriminalize marijuana.
- Right.

All through the years
that we saw state legislation,

there was always
Mr. Big-money-man

standing behind it thinking,

"this is where I'm going to make
my many millions."

Mm-hmm.

And every one of them
was predicated on the idea

of let's get rid of
those small farmers.

- Hmm.
- Humboldt county cannot compete

with the efficiencies
that'll be developed

- in large farms.
- Course not.

What I'm saying on this
I've been saying for years.

Branding, branding,
branding, branding.

I try to explain
this is your brand.

Please become legal,
become compliant.

I know it's a bitch
to begin with,

it's hard,
it's a lot of paperwork,

but once you do that

you own the equivalent of

a napa valley vineyard.

Small pot farmers in California

say the state is not standing
by its promise to protect them.

Some say
they're being squeezed out

by expensive new regulations

and unfair competition
from big cannabis cultivators.

Some farmers accused

the California department
of food & agriculture, cdfa,

of going back on its promise

to temporarily limit
marijuana grows to one acre.

The one acre cap

was a provision
placed on prop 64

that allowed for small farmers

to still have a place
in the space

before mega grows came in.

This was something
that was in prop 64.

It was guaranteed to us.

The environmental impact report
said yes to it.

It was just the reason why

small family farmers
came forward

and decided
to go into licensing.

In order for us
to start issuing licenses

on January 1st,

we had to have
emergency regulations in place.

So there was
a very short time window

for people
to provide public comment.

It was five days.

Then the actual
emergency regs came out,

the text
of the actual emergency regs,

and in that text,

the one acre cap
had been lifted.

In less than 24 hours' time,

it went from being in there
to being completely taken out.

It's unjustifiable
that this policy was removed.

There is no good reason
why we should have large grows

sooner than five years.

And frankly, I think we should
be having a conversation

about whether
we need them at all.

I had a panic attack.

We had, like, a whole week
of everybody just flipping out.

Well, the lifting
of the one acre cap

was definitely special interest

that paid some money
or donated to a campaign

or blurred the lines
in some capacity

to get their needs met.

In the salinas valley,

marijuana entrepreneur
Steve deange/o

has been refurbishing
greenhouses

to grow cannabis.

He hopes by producing pot
on a massive scale

he'll become
a brand name in weed.

This place in the mojave desert

is planning on becoming
California's cannabis capitol.

This town has a huge number
of empty industrial buildings,

basically cannabis factories
in waiting.

A new gold rush, of sorts,
has kicked off in California.

At medmen, they're hoping lines
multiple city blocks long

will help them cash in on

what researchers project
to be $5 billion

in newly legal pot sales.

Our more mature stores
in California

are doing over $20 million
a year in revenue,

and we currently
have licenses for 45 stores.

So a lot of work to do,

but yeah, I mean,
revenue is big for me.

Former speaker of the house
John boehner,

you're all in in cannabis.

I'm all in.

This is the time
to go all in on cannabis.

I don't know

how many people are gonna
make it through the county,

let alone the state stuff,
and have a viable farm.

Many of the counties,
humboldt, mendocino county,

they have a cap
of 10,000 square feet,

so you're then capped
by your county,

and yet the state
is allowing mega grows.

Well, that means
the market's gonna be flooded

and nobody's
gonna be selling anything

and the prices are gonna be
going down again and, you know,

where does that leave
the farmers?

If you wouldn't mind
coming to gather on the gravel

or on the cement upfront.

Thank you all for being here
so much.

This is just really
a proud moment

for all of us farmers
in mendocino generations.

Mendocino generations
is a farm collective

that we started in 2016.

And basically,

we started thinking, oh my gosh,
there's a Tsunami coming.

Then what are we gonna do?

How are we really gonna survive
this legalization?

We have almost 60 farmers.

We're all over mendocino county,

from covelo to hopland

and all the way
up to laytonville.

About a year and a half ago,
I felt more passive.

Like, "please come buy
my cannabis."

But now I'm out there saying,

"meet these farmers.
Look at this cannabis.

Isn't this beautiful?
Here's our brand.

Look how far we've come."

Just really wanna honor
all of you

for sticking to it.

I know it's been super,
super hard and challenging,

and a lot of people
have been calling me saying,

"I'm giving up.
I can't do this anymore."

And I just want them
to feel encouraged

that there is hope

and there is, like, light
at the end of the tunnel.

I feel like we're stepping on
the first stone of the path

that we have been laying down
for the last couple of years,

and here we are.

This is our opportunity

to really honestly show
the world

who we are
and what we can do here

in mendocino county.

I can see
that chiah is a hard worker.

When you meet her, you're like,
okay, this woman is busy.

She has things to do.

You are one of maybe 50 people
she's talking to today.

And instead of
throwing her hands up

and being like, "oh my god,

legalization
is so hard and crazy

and they're screwing us."

She's like, "okay,
this is hard and crazy,

but we're definitely
not gonna to do it

without putting hard work in."

She's really looking at it
from the bigger perspective,

and also not just mendo gen,

but then taking that
to the county level

and then spreading it larger.

So I feel really fortunate
to be a part of it.

And it feels like a family.

That's the boost
by the lake county tangelo.

The boost
is a blueberry sweet tooth

by Morgan Wyatt.

And so, you know,

one thing
that we've been trying to do

is talk to people
about organic cannabis

and sun-grown cannabis
in a new way

and help people understand

that they've been shopping
at whole foods

and buying organic,

but they're walking
into a dispensary

and buying cannabis

that they don't even know
the origin of it.

They don't know
where it came from.

They don't understand
who grew it.

They don't know
anything about it.

And so what we're trying to do
is put that face to the farm

that they're getting
their medicine from.

J“ we got cannabis j“

J' we got thc j“

J' we got cbd j“

J“ it's my medicine
don't you see? J“

Love you, mama.

We're bringing you guys
over an order of salve.

Oh, good.

And then, we want you to try...

Our new aroma.

- Okay. So this is our new salve.
- This is great. Oh, yeah.

Put some on.
Put some on, it's different.

It's different than the old.

Okay. Well, I'm going to sit.
I'll put some on my knee.

No problem
finding places for pain.

Doesn't it feel good?

It's so silky and I feel it
tingling on my knee.

- Already?
- Yeah. Yeah.

And I do like the new texture.

- That's great.
- Hm-mmm.

They're making everybody
produce their labels

a certain way.

And the laws
aren't really conducive

for certain businesses anymore.

So we're kinda just looking at

how can we make
our business survive

and still have
our product out there.

Some of our clients
have gotten off their meds

- with this salve.
- Yeah.

And you know,
for me, that's exciting,

but yet really serious.

'Cause you wanna make sure
they don't run out ever.

Right.

We've run into that
a couple of times, you know,

and had to really have,
you know,

hurried up and made more
to get to some of these people

- that really needed it.
- Hm-mmm. Yeah.

'Cause they didn't wanna
go back on the horrible meds

they used to be on, you know?

So it's a big responsibility.

Well, like I said,

I'm grateful
I can have my medicine.

I don't know
what's gonna happen, you know?

Luckily we're on the older end
of this whole change.

Yes.

You know,
we had 40-something good years.

Yep. Hm-mmm.

The challenges
I've been faced with

in getting the dispensary going

is the process
of the planning departments.

We are losing money.

Seniors are calling me
every day.

"When are you gonna open?"

Yeah, we're going
to the third floor

instead of going up to planning,

so we can just see if it's...

Okay. That sounds good.

David coordinated the plans.

We're gonna have an answer
for him by this evening.

He's gonna review it
after they do theirs,

then he's gonna come back
to me tomorrow morning

to give the answer to you.

So, we'll see you
first thing in the morning.

Thank you. We appreciate you.

- Thank you.
- No problem.

You're always so helpful.

That's what I'm here for.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome. Bye.

The person
we were supposed to meet with

was in a long meeting.

What we were told
was that in the morning

we will receive a permit
to start.

If that doesn't happen,

we'll be there to confront
whoever it is we need to.

Hello. Can I help you?

- How are you?
- Good. How are you?

Good. Have an appointment
with cardella.

- Cardella? Okay.
- Yes.

- And your name is?
- Sue Taylor.

Sue Taylor.
I'll let her know you're here.

- Thank you.
- Mm-mmm.

David's out today.

However, I'm waiting
for Alex to get in,

so he can give someone
some instructions

so you can get your permit okay.

Oh, good.
Then I'm going to wait.

- Have a seat.
- Thank you so much.

Do you need anything?

- No.
- Okay. Let me know if you do.

Yes, it's been
a long and arduous task

in the process
of even getting the permit,

but when you're dealing
with medical cannabis

and you're a person of color,

you have to have it done
the right way.

You have to have it
done legally.

You can't do
like everybody else.

Everybody else just throwing up,
making a lot of money

and get the hand slapped,

close, and open up
some place else.

They're working on it.
He intends to finish it today.

It may not be in time for you
to pick it up today, though.

And we're closed tomorrow
because of furlough.

I know, I know.

This is not
a great process for you.

However, they're working on it.

Okay, I'll call you.

I have your number
and I'll keep you informed.

Doing this is really
making me test my beliefs.

We spent all our money.
Our family loaned us money.

They believed in us.
They believed in me.

You have to pay
those people back at some point.

Today is my hardest day,

when I got
that disappointment...

When you do all you could do
and you still get a no.

I moved out to Los Angeles.

So I went from moving,
wait for patients,

to being a part of
the seedy part of cannabis

in Los Angeles.

I met some people
and they were not good people.

During the late 1990s
and early 2000s,

I was impacted
by the justice system,

having been incarcerated
for a little over seven years.

And of course,
being incarcerated,

it changes everything about you.

People don't really understand
the effects

and the collateral consequences
of the war on drugs.

It just set communities and
neighborhoods on a trajectory

where lots of other crimes
were simultaneously committed.

Today, the racist war on drugs
continues.

We are in downtown Los Angeles

for the bureau
of cannabis control's

final listening session,
in terms of comments,

before we finalize regulation.

The conversation about equity
is so minimal.

And what we're seeing now
is they've thrown the baby,

the bath water,
the whole bathtub

out of the conversation

so that a select group of people
can profit off of this space.

So, we're just doing
everything that we can

to hold the state of California
and the industry accountable.

So welcome,

and thank you
for coming out here today

for our second
public regulation hearing

on the proposed regulations.

It's a little bit
of a different format

than you're used to
with the bureau.

We sit and we listen
and we have a court reporter

that's taking down
all of the comments.

We're taking notes.

But we don't respond
to anything that you're saying.

So if you have a question,

you gotta form it
into a comment,

because we're not gonna be able
to respond to it.

Speaker number two, please.

Hi, I'm Felicia carbajal,

a latinx community organizer,
patient and consumer

pushing for equity, justice,
compassion and repair,

compassionate cannabis 2.0.

I, too, am disappointed
in the lack of equity

being addressed
by the state of California.

Doesn't the bureau care
about equity?

Don't you care about the harms
that the war on drugs

has done
to communities of color?

We ask you to realize
and acknowledge

that black and brown communities
are more than worthy

of economic
and social investment

with action.

The world is watching.

We hope you do the right thing.

They already
made their decisions.

They've been dismissive

of lots of portions
of the conversation already.

So the powers that be,

to me, have already decided
the fate of cannabis

in the state of California.

Controlled chaos,
kca at the am. On 106.5

on a 2.3 fm
in the inland empire,

I'm Gary Garber.

Here with me
is Felicia carbajal.

She's wanting to be a delegate

for the California
Democratic party.

- I sure am.
- Why?

You wanna get into politics?

Well, I'm doing it personally

because there aren't people
who are cannabis advocates

and who are pushing
certain conversations

that are relevant
to our needs as a community.

And right now,
in the state of California,

people of color
own less businesses

that are cannabis related.

So we're just trying to do
is create an even playing field.

So giving people of color,
people who have been impacted,

people who don't have
those economic resources,

an opportunity to participate.

So how is your dispensary going?

We've had a lot of challenges
with the building itself...

Okay.

Because it was
in such poor condition,

and as well as
the lengthy process

- of the building permits.
- Okay.

Sometimes I get worn down

because people that knows
I've been at it for so long,

"when you gonna open?

When you gonna start
making some money?" You know?

To heck with these shoots
and stuff

and magazine articles...

And all of that.

But the way I see it,
by the time we open up,

all of those glitches
will have been all worked out.

You are listening
to kzyx philo, 90.7 fm.

So today, I think we have
a really great show.

Our topic is
"jumping through the hoops:

Is getting legal
getting harder?"

And my guest is chiah rodrigues.

What would you say

have been some of
your biggest hurdles personally

in this process?

Well, there's been a lot.

It's all the little things

that come along
with the licensing

and the permitting process.
They all add up, you know?

It's getting more
and more expensive to do this.

Well, what's the upside?

I mean, what...
I can see a lot of...

I know, there's
a lot of darkness here,

- it's not a lot of positivity.
- Why are you doing it?

It's a huge part of my life
and something that I believe in.

And my husband
is really dedicated

to growing amazing plants
and to farming sustainably.

And yeah, I mean,

we're just
really dedicated to this

as a huge part of our lives
and seeing the community thrive

and seeing the farmers thrive.
That ultimately is our goal.

And we, obviously,
want to be selling our cannabis

and having a thriving brand
and thriving company,

but it's not just
about making money in it.

It never was.

It's just
really about that relationship.

You know, I fell in love
with doing this,

and this is what I wanted to do.

So I wanted to not get
in trouble, you know,

and just
be able to keep on going

and doing what I loved.

And it's been a really nice way
to live our lives.

We wanna normalize it
for our children,

like, we've brought them
into the garden forever,

until the regulations
came down and said,

"now you have to have
a locked gate."

And yeah, that makes sense
on a certain level,

but it is really
a lifestyle choice.

I think it is about
having boundaries.

And that's hard,
especially now with a teenager.

It's nice that I work at home

and they see me all the time.

It can become challenging
for them sometimes,

'cause, like, true will,
like, come out and yell for me

and want me to be able to play.

'Cause they think
since I'm home, like, you know,

I can just stop what I'm doing.

And so that's
a little tough sometimes.

And same thing
for river, you know,

he'd see me around,
so they figure that I'm home

and I'm not really working,
but I am.

I don't leave to go to a job

and then come home
at the end of the day

and leave my work there.

Just having to learn
how to set office hours,

and plants
don't have office hours.

And so trying to find
a balance within that.

This, like, starting
a new business together

has been really hard.
Like, it brings up a lot,

but I feel like
we're stronger for it now.

And sometimes, I guess,

maybe it takes going through
some really hard stuff

to reinforce that foundation
and strengthen it.

I start my day this morning

really not knowing
what's going on

and having a night of...

Difficult nightmares.

There's no other way
to put this thing.

This is a nightmare.
This is just a nightmare.

Something that
you never thought would happen

because you're going forward
in legalization,

you're doing everything right.

You've got everything
ticked and tied,

and then
something like this happens

and you just...

I just wanna break down,
but I can't right now.

I have to stay strong
and keep moving forward.

On Thursday night,

we were to have received
a courier transfer of money.

So this is
a licensed, bonded courier

transporting cash
from la. Up to humboldt.

And it was
a significant amount of money

that we were owed and due
on that evening.

Well, a chb
had pulled over the car

for having
the incorrect mudflaps.

And we're just like, "what?"

And when they searched the car,
they found the cash.

So, we're nine months
into legalization

and we're still having
to conduct business in cash,

because banks
won't handle our cash

because it's still a federally
illegal proposition here.

So we're having to hire
courier services

to move cash around.

Now, it's not illegal
to transport cash,

but if the chb thinks

it's in further of anihegalact

which, on a federal level,
cannabis is,

then it does become
potentially "illegal."

And this is what happens.

The career services
stopped by the chb,

and the cash
is confiscated by the feds.

I'm dying to fight this

just because
it's the right thing to do.

I'm dying to fight this

just because of
the social injustice of it.

You know, it's not about...

Yes, the money is important,
okay, but it's also about

that this can't
keep happening us.

In order
to make this move forward,

we have to claim the money.

And once you claim the money,

then you have to
open yourself up

to showing all your receipts
for the money,

showing how you got the money,

and everybody
in our supply chain

then has to be on board.

Brass says
I can go ahead and hang?

Yeah.

They just feel that we did
what we were supposed to do.

We made payment, you know,

"it's not really my problem"
type thing.

Interesting.

Oh, yeah.
Not too happy about that.

Not too happy at all.

The phone call
I had with him was like,

"hey, you have our support.

That's totally not okay
that they did this."

But they weren't willing
to do anything to help settle.

Yeah. This is a big,
fucked up thing for me,

and I don't wanna
have to do it, right?

But they don't know me.
You know?

No, they don't know you.

They don't know
what you're willing to do.

- They don't know that.
- Right.

So, they're saying,

"hey, yeah. Go ahead, girlie.
Go ahead, try this.

Just go ahead and try it."
And I'm like...

Right. Put your neck out there.

Yeah. Yeah.
And I'm like, you know what?

Don't dare me like that.
That you got those brass balls?

You think
you got brass balls? Yeah.

- Well, I'm, you know...
- Right.

Let's just check it out. Okay.

I've gotta make that...
I got to run now,

because I gotta make
that lawyer meeting.

Okay. I'll talk to you
after I talked to him.

- Okay. Thank you. Bye.
- Okay.

That's what
it fucking comes down to.

They think I'll fold.

It's a hard business.
It's a very hard business.

Sometimes I really wonder
why the hell I'm doing it.

There was no word
on any significant containment

and the problem was the wind.

Wind gusts of
up to 70 miles per hour.

You can imagine how fast
that moves these flames.

Basically, there was
a fire in Potter valley

and then the redwood valley.

And that jumped the freeway
towards us.

So now it's on Reeves canyon,

which is the Ridge
on the other side of our ranch.

We got about ten phone calls
within five minutes.

And that was
about three in the morning.

So we got up
and, like, hustled hardcore,

like, packed as much as we coud
at that moment,

then we ended up leaving.

We've just been watching
all the news reports,

listening to the news.

Many of my friends' homes
have burned down.

It's just been
like a nightmare here.

There's a Ridge here
between us and the burned part.

So where you can see the grass,
right there, as the crow flies,

it's maybe like a half a mile,
but as the wind goes,

that's not very much time
at all.

That fire grew from 4,500 acres
the first night

to 32,000 acres in two days.

That's scary.

That's, like,
too close for comfort for me.

That was Ashley oldham.

She's one of my farmers
in mendo gen,

and her house burned down

and she's fighting
really hard right now

to be let back in
to her cannabis farm.

Hello. How are you?

Oldest truck
I've seen so far today.

- How are you?
- My name's Ashley oldham,

and I'm
a permitted cannabis farm

- in mendocino county.
- Okay.

And I would like to access my...

Okay. Have you gotten the permit
from the sheriff's office yet?

- I should be on the list.
- Okay.

Ma'am, how do you spell
your last name?

Oldham. O-I-d-h-a-m.

- And your first name?
- Ashley. A-s-h-I-e-y.

Okay. You're not here.
So you do have to go down

to the command post and check
with the sheriff's office.

If they're willing
to give you an escort

or give you your name to us,

we'd be happy
to let you through.

I'm a permitted cannabis farmer

in mendocino county.

I was told
that I'd be on a list.

I've been trying for two days
to get in.

Right now, we're not having

any type of escorts
at this point.

The update's gonna be
around one o'clock

to see if we can let anybody in
for any type of escorts.

I don't need an escort,

because the vineyards
are getting let in.

And I was promised

that I'd be treated
exactly the same as grapes

'cause I'm registered
with the county.

- Right here...
- At the fairgrounds,

and you need to have
your complaints issued there.

Okay? We haven't seen a list.
We don't have a list.

Okay.

Apparently they somehow had time
to file four pages

of grape farmers to get in,

but not the five
permitted cannabis farms.

We are in ukiah, California,

at the fairgrounds.

This is the evacuation.

There's a barn full of hens
and chickens and ducks and geese

and who knows what else.

There are a lot of horses here
that have been injured

and rescued, you know,
from out of the road

that got burns on them.

I have a nursery
in Potter valley, California.

I also have a cannabis permit.

Yesterday, Potter valley
was completely shut down,

but because I have
a nursery permit,

I was allowed entry,
front of the line,

to go in and check on my plants.

All of my other fellow farmers
with their cannabis permits

that have paid full fees

and are expected to pay
up to $5,000,

just in estimated fees,

were not allowed entrance
by sheriff allman.

The cannabis
has saved the economy

in this county.

- It would not be here like it...
- Our own sheriff said that.

He said if it wasn't for
the marijuana growers,

this town would be a ghost town.

Right!

And here we are trying,

trying to participate
in our communities,

which we already have
our communities.

We're reaching out
and opening up.

And to have the doors
shut in our face, it's wrong!

Yeah. Another great one
right here at kmud.

And we are in the middle
of our pledge drive,

so I encourage you
to call in now.

I know the money's not flowing
like it used to be.

The nonprofits, kmud,
the mateel, Healy senior center,

all these essential,
community-funded things

are scrambling for money.

Before, people dropped 500 bucks

and not think about it.

Now I know at kmud,
people give 20 bucks

or bring their change in.

And we have a pledge drive
going on, 95 brands.

It's like pulling teeth.

Idunno
if we're gonna make it or not.

So, how do I reach the ones
that don't come to mateel

and don't care?

They come in,
money, money, money,

and the people
that come and trim,

when they get paid,
they spend their money in town.

It was amazing
driving into town today

and hardly seen any cars.

Because usually
this time of year,

you can't find a place
to park in town.

Everybody's
up in the woods planting.

Oh, sorry. Not anymore.

It used to be like that,
but, you know...

Yeah. The fishing industry died,
the logging industry,

and that's what's kept
this area going,

is the cannabis industry.

Cannabis farmers
are doing the same thing

as everybody else.
They're buying cars,

they put their kids in school,
they buy groceries,

they do everything
that everybody else does.

And if that money
wasn't in the county

that we live in,

it's gonna severely affect
all businesses.

And what we're seeing now
is only the strong will survive.

Here, in humboldt county.

The small mom and pop grows,
I don't think are gonna survive.

I think the price per pound
has become so low

that it's not gonna
become profitable.

There's people
like whoopie goldberg

that has products out.

I mean, there's no way
that someone like us

could ever compete
with a business like that.

This big business that comes in,

you know,
they put up their big grows,

they put up
their big extraction facilities,

they buy the absolute most
state-of-the-art equipment,

and they have a burn rate

that can be months
and even years of losing money,

just generating cash flow,

so that then
they can sell that business

to some other,
big investment capital person

and make a profit.

But those of us
who actually have a business

that we're looking to at least
cover costs or make a profit,

we don't have those
millions of dollars behind us.

We don't have a long time
to lose money.

This grass lot will soon be
a marijuana greenhouse.

Cannabis investors
are seeing budding opportunity

in new towns.

Now, the California
growers association

is suing cdfa,

claiming it's letting big farms
squeeze out small growers.

We reviewed the permits
the state has granted so far

and found big cultivators

are flocking
to Santa Barbara county.

The land here is flat,
it's easy to build on,

and people have money to spend.

I definitely
went through my period of time

when my relationship
with cannabis wasn't good.

I wasn't respecting it.

I was just using it
purely recreationally

and started learning
more about spirituality

and different plant medicines
and teachers.

And that's my approach
to it now.

And so my older son,

I feel like his relationship
is not good with it.

We were kind of going through
some challenging family dynamics

for a while
between he and his brother

and he and chiah,
and, you know, and he and me,

and then
how that affected chiah and I.

And so we kinda had
one blowout too many

right before school got out,

and so he's actually
not living up here right now.

And I had tried to cut him off
from cannabis many times

and saying, you know,

that I don't want you
using cannabis again

until you can really look at
your relationship with it.

A really good therapy
appointment last week, and...

Just want him to come home.

It's tough, you know,
like, he's almost 18,

and like, I feel like
I don't have

that much more time with him
before he's gonna be gone.

I just...

I really miss him.

I was okay
and then I walked out here,

and now it hurts.

Ah, fuck.

In February,

like, I couldn't sleep
on my right side,

and I could not lay on my back,
'cause it hurts.

Like, put some of
your pressure here.

It hurts so much,
for, like, five months.

It was just kinda getting worse
and worse and worse,

and then around the middle
of July, it was like,

I couldn't do really anything.
I couldn't walk. I couldn't sit.

It was just horrible.

You know,
it's a day-to-day stress.

So we live off,
like, trying to survive

and doing the math all the time.

Like, counting
our square footage,

figure out how much,
you know, money we're making.

At least just give
an honest answer. Don't say,

"I'm gonna pay you tomorrow.
I'm gonna pay you tomorrow."

And then four months go by

and you don't do anything,
you know?

Do what you say you're gonna do.

One distributor,
he promised the moon

and gave us a line of bullshit.

And now who knows
where our product is.

Plus, Jamie and I,
like, we work together,

we live together.

Everything in the whole package
has been stressed.

No, see,
you missed this whole thing.

See, that's what
I'm trying to...

Same with this.

- This is where I cut...
- I don't think that...

I think that
that's gonna dry just fine.

But if you wanna cut it up,
go ahead.

That's what
we've been doing in the past.

Gonna look at it
under the microscope.

Ifeelhke you're going to.

Well, I'm trying to be cautious.
Don't give me lip.

So we gotta just keep
things good between us

as much as possible
and keep going.

And it's not a busy end of tow.

- Right.
- All the businesses

on the same side of the street
as you have dedicated parking.

- So it's really...
- It's just...

And the thing is,

and I tried to put
in the talking points,

is that planning told them

exactly what they needed
for the parking exception.

- Right.
- They said, "do this."

Right.

We did exactly
what they asked us to.

You're right. Okay. All right.

All right.
I'll talk to you soon.

- All right. Take care. Bye-bye.
- Talk to you soon. Bye.

Even she can't imagine
why the hell

the county would hold up
this whole entire project

over parking spaces.

In a town that doesn't even have
a stoplight.

We've been held up

overreahy
ancient parking restrictions,

but we're heading
in there today,

and I'm sure
we're gonna get our license

because we've done
a parking study.

We've done everything
they asked for.

We got this!

One nation under god,

indivisible, with Liberty
and justice for all.

The first
mc processing llc application

contains
a conditional use permit

for a dispensary.

And they are proposing retail

of medical
and adult use cannabis

and cannabis products.

A parking exception
would be required for these uses

on the site.

Robert sutherland,

humboldt mendocino
marijuana advocacy project.

The organization I represent

is an organization
of small producers

who will strongly depend
on this facility

at this time of fast-approaching
cnficaldeadfines

for this fledgling industry.

There is a poor parking problem
in garberville,

but bear creek road
is hardly a road at all,

and it dead ends

a few yards
past the project site.

It is basically
a little-used driveway.

Hi, my name is Sarah theeley,
I'm a neighbor.

And I am in support of approval.

I am also an employee.

Karyn prefers
to hire people local

within the garberville area.

I'm production manager
for processing.

It's been very hard for me
to feed my family of three,

not having this push through

and not having the hours
that I need.

I am one of the small growers.

My business plan is relying
on this going through.

You've heard
the economic difficulties

for growers.

Without my company,
a manufacturing company,

packaging and processing,

I can't pay growers.

I'm out of business.

If I can't pay them,
they can't pay their taxes.

It's heartbreaking.
It's absolutely heartbreaking.

And I wanted to keep my business
in southern humboldt.

My employees are there,
my growers are there,

my roots are there,
I live there.

So, just please let me know
what I can do.

I don't wanna be out of business
for another two months.

People are
really depending on me.

Thank you.

Thank you, speaker.

Well, I'm probably not gonna
make a lot of people happy,

but I gotta ask the question
that is just obvious.

Why is this even before us?

I happened to go back through
and look at the picture

that showed the zoning,

and the parking
needs to be on-site,

as we see in all projects.

Early on, on this project,

there should've been
a discussion

with regard to parking.

Is no possible way
that this site can work.

I don't even know
why we're seeing this one,

to be honest.
And it's very frustrating

seeing how things
are so different

for the cannabis industry

in comparison to,
what I will say,

more mainstream businesses.

I don't really support the idea
of a parking exception...

They might just
delay it a short time.

No! It's another month!

It's another month. Or more!

This is where
people are signing in

and we're engaging them, right?
When they walk up.

I mean, we already have them
in front of us.

So, like, we shouldn't
mince words over a table.

Voters are gonna be coming
probably from that direction

and that direction.

The first thing
that you say to the is "hi."

"Good morning."

The next thing
you're gonna ask them

is, "who are you supporting?"

And if they say
that they're only supporting

like, one person,
then you talk about Felicia.

Hi, my name's Felicia.

- Hi, I'm voting for you.
- Thank you. I appreciate it.

I work in cannabis.

I work at that intersection
of social, racial, gender

and economic justice,
so I'm pushing, like,

all of these issues
on a daily basis.

I'm already an organizer.

Tomorrow,
I'm gonna be back at work,

engaging people,
pushing city hall.

Ever since
we got married, really,

and proposition 8 passed,

we've been doing a lot of stuff
in the community.

Felicia's always taken the lead.

I'm sort of like the cheerleader
in the background.

She's been an activist,
like, as long as I've known her.

And I never really expected her
to actually, like,

run for something,
so this is really exciting.

I'm so proud
that she's been part of actually

making change in California
for cannabis users.

She puts herself out there.

Balloon flower, that's for you.

- Maybe my nephew might like it.
- Okay.

No more than four tomorrow.

- Okay.
- And one for the board.

- Inside.
- Okay, thank you.

Oh, I think
they're about halfway through.

And you know, you're always
looking at the top seven,

'cause that's who goes
to the convention.

The top seven men,
the top seven women.

And, you know, within that,
on most of the tables,

it doesn't look like
that big a spread.

So, it looks like
it's gonna be very tight.

That's what
I'm seeing right now.

Okay. I'm going
to list the top seven

and also the first and second
runner up in each category.

Number six.

Number seven is.

The first runner up is...
Carbajal.

- Carbajal.
- Carbajal.

I'm the first runner up.
I'm the first runner up, right?

I'm just excited 340 people

that I don't really know

decided they'd come out
and vote for me.

'Cause I only knew
maybe 50 of them.

So, do you think
it was the balloons?

It was definitely the balloons.

- Definitely the balloons.
- Definitely.

- Next time...
- Next time, more balloons.

Next time,

we'll have
our own balloon person.

We never slowed down,
but that's okay.

Hey! We got it!

Hi! You may not be seeing us
so much anymore.

- Yeah, god darn.
- Thank you.

Thank you.

This particular permit
should've took about three weeks

and it took us six months.
It's been a lot.

So, we finally got
it issued today.

Construction will resume,

which means we're about
four months out from opening.

So it's monumental. It's huge.

We plan to open around June,

probably
the latter part of June.

And so we're excited about that.

- Absolutely.
- Yes!

It will be
a 12-year dream coming true.

So, we usually harvest
in the morning.

They say that it's better
for the terpenes, the plant,

to harvest it at its peak.

Looks like that thing
in the center going up this way

might have something on it.

And there's a couple
of lower things here.

I think harvest
is exciting for people,

but generally,

it's the most stressful time
of the year.

But it's nice to see,
you know, things finishing

and coming
into their full potential.

My biggest concern right now

is having enough money
to get through harvest.

This year is different,
financially, from last year.

Last year,
we had money going into harvest

to pay
for everything to get done.

This year, we're waiting on
a bunch of distributors

to pay us out
for what they owe us.

You know, it's close to $100,000
and people aren't paying.

River came home,
so I'm pretty happy.

And I'm being hopeful,
you know, trying to trust

that it's gonna shake out well.

Learning how to communicate
a little bit better

is a challenge
for both of us, I think,

but I think we're trying.

River, if you could
make yourself some breakfast,

that'll be awesome.

This is a beauty.

This has been
a really difficult time.

My dispensary was never approved
by the board of supervisors,

so I just had to walk away.

But through a lawsuit,

I was recently able to recoup
most of that cash

that was taken away from me
by the feds.

Right now, all we're doing
is trying to just stay alive

in the business.

We're just trying to get it done
within the regulations

so that we can survive,
so that we can go forward.

I try not to get
too depressed about it.

I try to just say, okay,

this is just
a bump in the road here.

And once we get through
this next hump,

we're gonna be able
to brand our product better

and brand our values better
to the consumer.

And I get discouraged
that that may never happen.

And it goes into then
the bigger conversation

about small business
versus big business

versus is there any hope
for any small business,

small farmer,
small anything in our country,

in our society,
in our capitalism.

Will the consumer recognize
the value in our values?

I always thought
that would be the case,

and it just doesn't seem to be
the case right now.

Part of
the whole permitting process

has just really hurt
the small farmer,

the true small farmer.

Foranybody
that doesn't have the wealth

or the wealth behind them

and they are
trying to be a small farmer,

the laws and regulations
are weeding that population out.

People are running out,

they're abandoning their land
and leaving.

You got to have hundreds
of thousands of dollars

to permit your peace.

Not a lot of us
have that anymore.

I just went in and said
I withdraw from my permit.

Gave them a written thing,
you know, and everything.

And they said, "oh, cool."

Stamped it, you know.

And so I don't have
a permit any longer,

which I'm glad of,
because now I don't owe them

many thousands of dollars
like they wanted.

So, no,
it's a very sad situation

in this whole thing.

It's been very sad.

I wish I was 30 years younger.

I could really start doing this
and have a farm again.

Hlhave a small medical garden,

but, you know,
nothing like I used to.

We're making progress.
Construction is moving forward.

But until that's done,

I've been continuously going
from city to city,

state to state.

What messages about marijuana
do you believe?

The second question:

The messages about marijuana
do you not believe?

Before I started working
in the cannabis industry,

I really didn't know who I was.

Doing the work
has really helped me to love me.

And I love the work that I do.

I'm passionate about it all

becausellove
the gratification I get

when I'm talking to seniors
and they said,

"the cannabis has helped me.
Because of you, I'm better.@

you ask me am I excited about
getting so close to opening.

We're at the point where

we're doling out money
for the projects,

and we're right at the edge
of opening.

I don't have
any income coming in

other than my social security,

because I used
my retirement money

to do this project.

If I focused on that every day,
I wouldn't get out of bed.

So I don't focus
on what's going wrong,

I focus on what's going right.

Me being here in Washington, DC,

and me making a difference.

I focus on
my grandkids are healthy.

Jamal and kiki are healthy.

Kwamin, Khalid are healthy.

Blake is healthy.

But I do fall, and I do cry.

And I can't get up sometimes,
but it changes.

It change...

I surround myself
with people like that

so they can remind me,
no, don't focus on what is.

Just focus
on what you wanna achieve.

Focus on
how you're gonna get the money.

Not if you're gonna get it,

when you're gonna get it
and how.

Put the energies there.

So let's drink to that.

Can you drink and film?

- So I can toast to you. Cheers.
- Cheers.

Never in a million years
would I ever have thought

I would be here
at the capitol building,

talking about cannabis.

How cool is that?

Changes women
have to go through.

All right. Let's roll.

One of the major accomplishments
I would feel

is when cannabis
is federally legal for all.

Thank you for coming.

I learned
what this cannabis plant can do,

especially for elders.

Most seniors
will not touch the plant,

will not touch it...

Because it's still illegal
by federal law.

Seniors don't break the rules.

Now, I've read a lot of research
on the cannabis.

You know what got me

was the people
that I worked with

leaving wheelchairs, walkers.

The healing that I witnessed
changed my mind.

The day of the delegate vote,

I received
approximately 348 votes.

I lost by 26 votes,

but the assembly leader
from that area

was allowed to appoint
specific delegates.

So, because I was
first runner up,

I was asked to be a delegate
for my assembly district,

all the same.

I'm still optimistic
that cannabis is

and has the potential
to be a vehicle for change.

I still believe cannabis
affords you the opportunity

to be connected to one another.

So, I think
this plant's resilient.

She's survived millennias,

even though she's being
whored out currently,

she's gonna be fine.

She's lasted longer
than all of us on this planet.

She'll be fine.

And the thc
is the psychoactive effect,

and the cbd,
you don't get high on it,

but it really
helps your system to...

Reduces your swelling

and that really
improves your immune system.

Well, my job here,
I'm a bud tender.

And I sell the products
that we have,

products
that are in this dispensary

are all permitted
for humboldt county.

And are you guys experienced,
are you vapers,

- or do you do cannabis?
- No.

Last time I smoked
was, like, high school.

- Oh, okay. Oh, wow.
- Almost, like, 14 years ago.

How much are they?
What are their price range?

The large is 50
and the small is 30.

- Okay.
- Hm-mm.

A lot of this stuff,
I never understood it at all.

Like, the vape pens
and all the cartridges.

And now, of course,
I understand all of that stuff

and, you know,

which I've actually started
to vape myself a little.

Let me try this.
Just gimme a few grams.

Gimme a gram of the royal kush.

- Okay. Okay.
- And blue green.

I've always been my own boss,

so this has been
very interesting to have a boss,

and that's something
I'm learning at my old age.

That you have to kind
of kiss ass a little bit,

and that's okay.

'Cause I really appreciate
this job.

I love my time here.

- Yeah.
- I think the wonder wine,

'cause it still has a lot of cbd
in there and you'll...

I felt so good
about those people,

'cause I knew that
they were gonna walk out of here

and have a whole different life
once they try this medicine.

I've been pretty down
for a couple of years,

you know, the business ending
and everything like that,

but I can see
the other side now.

And it's kind of a step for me

into my next whatever
I decide I'm gonna do.

So, I'm reinventing myself.

I've come up
with my new product line.

Sexxpot launched this week.

I've gotta get it out there
in the marketplace.

I haven't made
one-on-one dispensary sales

in quite a long time.

And I'm taking a meeting
with medmen.

You know, medmen has been

kinda the bad boy
of cannabis, right?

They kind of epitomize

all the big money
that's come into the business

and has not given back,

not supported
small legacy farmers.

So, it really will be
interesting to see

is this a group

that is gonna support
a legacy woman producer?

It'd be great
if they brought it on.

Have to make it work for me
and for my company, as well.

Never thought I'd be here,
doing this, a year ago.

Excited. Terrified.
I don't know.

It's hard to tell
how I feel about it all.

Mostly, I feel really proud

and ready to take on
this next challenge.

That's for sure.
A challenge it is.

I was up in northern California

and regulations
started to happen

and we were uncertain
about the farm.

That's what
made me make changes,

was I didn't have the work
that I had

and wasn't able
to generate income.

So I had to, you know,

go back to other ways
of making a living.

And then I slowly just looked

for the perfect place
to make my heart sing.

And the ocean
just called me back.

Pearl's life has changed
because of the regulations.

Ever since I've known her,
she's grown cannabis.

This is the first year

that nobody has been doing
anything on the farm.

And I don't think
it's been easy for Pearl at all.

It's a big change

she didn't ever see
really happening in her life.

Nor me.

I think we'll always
stay extremely good friends.

Well, there's just
a special kind of love

and bond that we have.

I mean, we laugh a lot
when we're together.

I think that's a big part
of our friendship,

is that we like to see
the lighter side of life.

We just have
a great time together.

You know,
she's my sister friend.

I kind of knew
that we were gonna need to make

some kind of changes

in order
to have the farm survive.

Basically,
we were getting to the point

where last year nothing sold
between January and July.

We had also got ripped off
by a distribution company

the winter before that.

And we were like, well shit,
how are we gonna survive?

We're just not gonna have
enough money to make it through.

I would have said
that you were crazy

if you would've told me

that I'd be working
a full-time job

for a distribution company.

I would have never saw myself
doing something like this.

Last time I had a real job

was when I was pregnant
with river.

Yeah. It was a big shift for me
to go to work every day

and, like, have a boss,

or actually have five bosses.

One of the things
I'm gonna be covering

is the entire week's growth,

sales calls and meetings
for the coming week.

Cannabis, flower.

So I'm going to delegate
this out.

Can you just
definitely send a report?

But this report has to be in
every Monday morning, right?

Need it by nine o'clock.

Okay.

I talked about this last week,

we have to stay connected.

[Need to know what we 're doin,
what's our strategy, you know.

I wanna have
more communication on that sid.

And then we need to really
start talking about technique.

So, how we can...

When I walked into the space...

It was amazing.

I am ecstatic,

but more importantly,
I am very grateful.

One of the reasons why
we haven't quit

in the 12 or 10 years
is because the passion is deep.

All these new people
coming in to it.

People who are just
coming in it for the money,

they won't last,

because they'll run through
obstacles

and they just quit
to another venture.

We didn't quit.

Our vision and mission is clear.

She's been at this for years,
and it finally came to pass.

I'm so proud of her.

How she lives her life
is how she also does business.

There's no separation.

I never thought I would live
to see this happening.

This is beautiful.

You see, most other races,
they give legacy.

They have legacies
for their family.

African-Americans really don't,

and this is an opportunity
to have a legacy.

And I wanna show them, too,
that don't give up.

I don't care
where you find yourself.

No obstacles, nothing.
You keep going.

If it's dear to your heart,
don't let anything stop you.

Nothing at all.

I feel really proud of us.

We have learned more
than we ever thought we would.

We did things
we never expected to do.

We pushed ourselves
to the full extent.

We 're freaking pioneers
at this point.

Like, we 're gonna
look back at this and laugh,

like, oh my god,
that was crazy then.

Could you imagine
we actually did that?

So that in itself,
it's a pretty epic tale.

Well, that's a wrap for me.

But before I go,
I wanna ask you all something.

Who is the winner here?

A lot of players are gone,

but we are still here standing.

Stay strong, people,

and make sure
you're on the right side.

And always remember,
pass that doobie to the left.

This is mum signing off
right here on kmud,

people powered radio.

Thanks for listening.

In the corners of the leaf

you can see this right there

starting to get little feathers
in there.

That's starting to sex out.

- Which means?
- A female.

It'll have a pod
if it was a male.

Is one more potent than another?

Female is much more potent
than male.

It's probably ten times
as potent as the male.