Great Moments in Weed History delves deep into humanity's 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) to explore the humor, heart, and historical...
Seth Ferranti: From LSD Kingpin to Weed Fugitive to Jailhouse Journalist
This episode features an outlaw, a fugitive, an inmate, a journalist, a weed dealer, an LSD distributor, a defendant and an accomplished filmmaker. And they’re all the same person.
I first started reading Seth Ferranti’s writing back in the late 90s, when he was the official prison correspondent for VICE magazine, while serving a 21 year sentence, after getting busted for possession of 100,000 doses of acid and then jumping bail and living as a fugitive for two years while on the US Marshals’ 15 ‘Most Wanted’ list.
And that's just the start of Seth's story....
PATREON
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EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 130+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
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1:02:27
Ramon Reyes Went From Slanging Dime Bags to Leading an Industry
Ramon Reyes started out selling herb on the streets of NYC as a teenager and subsequently climbed through the ranks of the underground, the gray market and the legal industry to now run a licensed dispensary in the same heavily Dominican neighborhood where he grew up.
Along with partner Vlad Bautista, Ramon originally co-founded Happy Munkey as a speakeasy style consumption lounge after a trip to Amsterdam convinced him that the truest expression of weed culture is being able to share the plant with friends and strangers. Now the name Happy Munkey hangs above two of New York City's newest dispensaries, where you can find Ramon right back out on the street, only this time it's to literally open the door and serve as ambassador into the world of legal sales.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 130+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
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1:09:19
From 'Blair Witch' to GrowGirl
In 1999, this week's guest starred in one of the most financially successful films of all time, but the circumstances around the making and marketing of Blair Witch Project meant that her incredible accomplishment actually came with a lot of very steep downsides.
A story that’s briefly chronicled in her memoir: Growgirl: The Blossoming of an Unlikely Outlaw… by Heather Donahue (now known as Rei Hance).
On paper, it certainly sounds like a dream come true. You star in a micro budget movie shot for just $60,000 that becomes a $250 million box office smash. But when her star turn struck gold, Rei was both the face of the franchise and fully hidden from sight.
It’s a wild story, even by show business standards, but Rei and I talked almost exclusively about weed. Because after she left Hollywood behind, she ended up spending a few years in a place she very lovingly called Nuggettown, a Northern California medical cannabis farm back in the beautiful gray market days of the early 2000s.
Revisiting those days more than twenty years later filled me with a beautiful flush of nostalgia cut with a bit existential longing. It was a wonderful conversation and I’m excited to share it with you as our first great moment in of 2025.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 130+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
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1:00:36
Holidaze Special: Santa's A Psychedelic Mushroom Shaman
Celebrate stony seasonal traditions old and new with our GMIWH Holidaze special. In addition to our annual retelling of the story of Santa's origin as a Siberian psychedelic mushroom shaman, we also enjoy Santa's Secret—a song from the 1940 about St. Nick and his 100 foot long reefer, and revive the seasonal tradition of Jay Thomas telling David Letterman all about the time he got too stoned and then had to drive the Lone Ranger home.
Thank you to everyone who listened to the podcast this year and especially those who support the show on Patreon. Please share this episode with a friend and subscribe to the podcast for more Great Moments in Weed History in 2025!
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 130+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
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1:09:18
In Search of A Cannabis Utopia
Back when cannabis was barely legal, an eco-minded off-the-grid ganja farm strived to create a sustainable vision of decentralized, utopian agrarian life that put people and the planet above profits. Return to a moment in the past full of hope and promise that just might point the way to a greener future for everyone who loves the plant and the culture.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 130+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
Great Moments in Weed History delves deep into humanity's 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) to explore the humor, heart, and historical importance of the planet's most revered and maligned plant. Hosted by David Bienenstock.