FREEDOM!

Local Cannabis Cultivators at the Remedy Find a Home and Safe Haven in
California

It is easy for cannabis-using Californians to forget how good they
have it. As of January 1 this year, possessing an ounce or less of
marijuana is an infraction punishable by a $100 fine and no criminal
record. If you have a medical-cannabis referral, it is basically legal
for you to possess, ingest and grow marijuana in California.

Not true in America's south, where medieval marijuana laws can ruin a
pothead's life. In Florida, 25 marijuana plants is a felony that could
get you 15 years in prison. If you get caught growing one plant in the
state of Virginia, you can end up in prison for five to 30 years. Any
amount of weed can get you a prison term of a year in Tennessee and
Alabama.

"Back home, they hold you back from being yourself," explained Bear,
the manager of local cannabis club The Remedy. "You can't even mention
weed. We are from the Bible-belt, redneck, Republican South."

Russell, Troy, and Bear are three Southern gentlemen who run The
Remedy, a medicinal-marijuana dispensary that grows all of its own
pot. Cultivating and nurturing weed is their passion, one that they
used to have to hide as if they were members of Al Qaeda.

"From seed to sale," boasted Russell. "I know everything about our
product from the roots up."

The Remedy's short but sweet homegrown menu has OG Skywalker, Casey
Jones, Green Candy, 707 Headband and an heirloom Juicy Fruit strain
that survived because of one found seed. Another strain, which I
haven't seen much, is Sweet Island Skunk, a 70-30 hybrid from the
Federation Seed Company, which went out of business in 2009, and is
probably only found at The Remedy.

According to test results from Halent Laboratories, The Remedy's
Cherry AK-47 has a mind-boggling 27.6 percent THC level. It also makes
its own hashish using its many strains of AK47.

Over the last three years, Russell, Troy, Bear and their families,
plus other like-minded friends, all medical marijuana growers from the
South, have moved to California. Making their homes in the foothills
of the Sierra Nevadas, they've enjoyed their adopted state and grown
medical marijuana without fear. But the trade-off is being away from
family and friends.

"We let go of a lot when we moved here," said Bear. "We have a lot of
inner grief from leaving home, but California is where dreams are made."

I asked them what is it that they like best about living in
California, and all three answered simultaneously:

"Freedom!"