Harold Derber pioneered the modern narcotics trade with his groundbreaking invention: the mothership. By operating a fleet of clandestine motherships floating in international waters, Derber eventually became the most prolific supplier of illicit weed in American history.

In this interview with David Tuch, author ofThe Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade, we tell the tale of a larger than life outlaw, a story full of action, adventure, intrigue, espionage, romance, mystery, murder and of course the smuggling of massive amounts of weed.

Get ready to experience a beloved annual tradition as we celebrate the many surprising ways that Santa Claus is based on old trippy traditions around psychedelic mushrooms.

So please, buckle up your sleigh bells, roll up and get ready to take a wild reindeer ride with Santa, Bean and Abdullah Saeed, former co-host of Great Moments in Weed History. 

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

In January, Martin Olive was shot seven times outside the Vapor Room dispensary, which he co-founded in San Francisco in 2004. 

Located in the legendary Haight Street neighborhood, the Vapor Room was known for its extensive compassion program offering free cannabis to patients in need, and for the vibrant community of mutual support that took root in its on-site consumption lounge.

Over the past year, Martin has made a truly miraculous recovery. We discuss his shooting at the end of the interview, including his very intentional approach to integrating cannabis into the healing process.

But first, we talk at length about his journey from slanging bags and smoking head stash as a teenager, to operating one of America's most respected and enduring first wave medical cannabis dispensaries.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

The most heinous legal and human rights abuses of our current political moment all have their roots in the War on Drugs, from corruption and racism, to propaganda and mass incarceration.

Our guest this week, Dr. David Farber, is a distinguished professor and the author of War on Drugs: A History. Together, we explore how the drug war served as a pilot program for American authoritarianism.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

In 1987, real life outlaw growers in Humboldt County, CA made a low budget monster movie called Ganjasaurus Rex, a cult classic that we explore in this episode with special guest Jon Gabrus (Staying Alive, 101 Places to Party Before You Die).

Attention anyone currently in Humboldt County, where the film was made and the story was set, Bean from GMIWH will be hosting a Ganjasaurus Rex screening + Harvest Celebration at the Mateel Center in Redway, CA on Saturday, November 8th.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

Fed up with finance d-bags enshitifying everything? Well, I can't stop them from trying to take over weed too, but I did just tell one of the worst offenders to hit the bricks, only with much more colorful language.

Adam Bierman—co-founder and former CEO of a massive cannabis dispensary chain called Medmen—was originally pitched to me by his publicist, upon publication of his new book Weed Empire: How I Battled Gangsters, Investment Banks, and the Department of Justice to Build the Cannabis Industry in America.

Now, to steal a phrase, that’s a book title so full of crap there’s a colon right in the middle of it.  For a more honest take on the MedMen saga I recommend this 2020 deep dive from Politico.

Anyway, our interview ended kinda abruptly, but maybe you'll find it cathartic to hear me tell this guy to STFU. I also explain why he deserved it and more. And yes, Medmen is the company that was ruthlessly parodied on South Park.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

An underground chemist, acid-soaked sound engineers, a bestselling author, and a psychedelic band all set out together in the 1970s in pursuit of audio perfection. Together, they created and destroyed a legendary sound system known as the Wall of Sound, which was as tall as a school bus is long and more than a hundred feet wide. 

Author Brian Anderson explores this wild journey in his new book Loud and Clear: The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound and the Quest for Audio Perfection.

And oh yeah, they hid all kinds of secret compartments in the speakers so they could smuggle their own homegrown Cali weed from show to show.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

Caleb Chen is a weed enthusiast, researcher, reviewer and academic, who runs "The Highest Critic," and is well on his way to earning a doctorate in the subject. He's also a Ganjier and a reviewer with Budist.

Caleb joins the podcast for an engaging discussion of what's cutting-edge in cannabis, or "hype weed" as the young people like to say when it comes to our favorite plant.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.

From ancient traditions to the evolution of modern cannabis culture in Morocco, India, Egypt, Nepal, and other traditional hashish regions, get ready for a fascinating time getting high on history with Dr. Maziyar Ghiabr, Director for the Centre of Persian And Iranian Studies at the University of Exeter’s Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies. 

Maziyar is also the author of a fascinating new book called We Smoke Flowers: On Being High in Postrevolutionary Iran that traces the custom's roots to a pre-Islamic faith called Zoroastrianism, and explores its flowering in modern day Iran.  

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.

Amber E. Senter’s impressive legal cannabis career began with years of underground weed growing, hashmaking and edibles slanging.

Amber is the founder and CEO of MAKR House, a cannabis house of brands, and she has served as the Chief Operations Officer of a prominent cannabis dispensary.

In addition to her various business ventures, Amber is also co-founder and Executive Director of Supernova Women, an organization formed in 2015 to empower Black and Brown small business owners in the cannabis industry. In that role, she assisted in the creation of Oakland's social equity program, the first such program in the country.

But before all that, Amber was a shy young weed nerd who anonymously haunted internet message boards looking for tips on how to improv her craft.

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 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.