Episode 1: Introduction to Dope History

Hi my name is Tad Hussey. And I’m Chad Westport. Welcome to Dope History. Cannabis has been cultivated since the beginnings of civilization, as humans have sought for altered consciousness and spiritual connections beyond that of their daily existence. Everyone has a story when it comes to their experience with cannabis and our vision was to preserve and share these stories in a way that allows listeners to better understand the profound impact this plant has had on our lives. Dope History weaves you through the lives of those who have been touched by cannabis or have had an influence on the events that shaped our laws or relationship with this plant. Dope History offers a unique perspective, where you can hear the stories directly from the mouths of those who experienced them, from social defiance all the way through to social acceptance. In these interviews, there’s stories of passion and lifelong dedication, but also stories of stumbling into unexpected situations that have completely changed the direction of people’s lives. There’s good and bad, funny and sad, and everything in between. My hope is that some of these names may be familiar, but many more will be new to you. In the process of getting to know these people, you may learn a little more about the history and also gain a little more appreciation for the cultivation, art, and the deep struggles that folks went through to gain legitimacy and legal access to this plant. Here at Dope History we are not striving to share facts and figures and be historically accurate. Instead the goal is to let the speaker share their perspective of the events of their life as they experienced it, from their own point of view. This isn’t a podcast for cultivation or politics or even activism. This podcast is just about sharing some incredible life histories and hopefully some fun stories so sit back and enjoy!

You can find us at Dopehistory.com, on instagram and facebook at DopeHistoryPodcast, and on Patreon at Dope History for additional content and ways to support the podcast. And for those of you that are interested, I thought I’d include a bit more about how this podcast came to be. Tad owns KIS Organics, which is an online retailer of organic amendments and living soils with a science-based approach to cultivation. I’m also a partner in Kaizen Consulting with Nate Gibbs of Goldleaf Gardens and Dr. Ben Higgins. I currently have a podcast called Cannabis Cultivation and Science, which has had over 1.4 million downloads at the time of recording. Through the podcast I met Nelson Lindsley of Poetry of Plants. Nelson is a cannabis consultant based out of California and through our correspondences we became good friends. The idea of Dope History came from one of many phone calls and how someone needed to preserve the narratives of all the folks who came before us that allowed for cannabis to gain legitimacy. Chad's journey with the cannabis plant began decades ago. Since legalization, I have worked to educate new growers through a variety of channels, and I was excited to become involved with the Dope History Podcast. Currently, I am a staff writer for Sensi Seeds in Amsterdam. I create content for my Chad Westport channel, also the Future Cannabis Project channel, and now for Dope History. My daily life involves talking with scientists, authors, cannabis breeders, and award winning growers. These candid conversations are always enjoyable for me and I’m happy that we are able to capture them through this podcast for you.

Our first season includes 2 posthumous guests, emphasizing the importance of capturing these stories. We have Tom Alexander, Eddy Lepp, Keith Stroup, Ed Rosenthol, Wolf Segal, Jorge Cervantes, Tommy Chong and Madame Cannoli sharing Frenchy Cannoli’s life story. Our 2nd Season is going to feature breeders like Mr. Soul, MeanGene, and many others. We’ve already started recording other exciting guests for future seasons too.

The final piece of our team