The Cannabis Connection

This week on the show, we welcome John "Johnny Greenfingaz" Hamala and Elizabeth Benney of The Green Spot Santa Cruz.  Johnny is a well-known figure in California's Cannabis Scene. He is CEO & Owner of GreenFingaz Farmz, a 72,000-square foot outdoor greenhouse cultivation facility o the California Gold Coast. He is also President and CEO, along with partner Elizabeth Benney, of...

Sean Ryan is a longtime California cannabis cultivator, entrepreneur, and founder of Murphys Ridge, a veteran-owned craft cannabis farm and brand focused on quality, wellness, and culture. With decades of cultivation experience, Sean is passionate about living-soil growing, supporting the cannabis community, and building a business rooted in authenticity and purpose.    As a T3 complete paraplegic...

Shawn Colligan is a Santa Cruz, California native and cannabis industry pioneer. Born and raised on the Central Coast, he co-founded Lemon Tree and secured his own residential agriculture cannabis license in 2019. Over the years, he has collaborated with artists including Young Dolph, Kool John, and B-Legit, while earning recognition and awards at events such as High Times. Drawing on deep roots i...

Aaron Zeeman, better known as Professor Potgrower, is a Hawaiʻi Island  cultivator, breeder, author, and cannabis culture writer who has spent  more than 30 years in Hawaiʻi. He is the founder of Big Island  Genetics, author of The Hemp Ritual Handbook: A Slightly Disrespectful  Guide to Cannabis Culture, and a contributor to SKUNK Magazine. His  work focuses on Hawaiʻi’s legacy genetics, the peop...

Our guest today is Danny Sheehan. Danny is a constitutional litigator who has worked on some of the most important cases in modern American history. From the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate scandal to Iran-Contra, Danny now serves as Chief Counsel, President & Co-Founder of The Romero Institute.   We explore the importance of mobilizing the citizenry to vote this coming November. We encourag...

Today, we welcome Kerry Hurley, NorCal Weed Gal, an Emerald Triangle native and cannabis culture historian. At 16, she consciously decided to become a regular cannabis consumer to avoid the pitfalls of alcohol, drugs, or other addictions, like shopping. As a teen, Kerry noticed that every adult had a "vice" and wanted to design her life to avoid waking up at 30 and finding herself with a...

This week, we welcome Brian Applegarth, who is in town to celebrate Wo/Mans Alliance for Medical Marijuana WAMM and its place in Santa Cruz and California cultural history, adding it as a cultural landmark to the Cannabis Trail. The Cannabis Trail is a California cultural tourism initiative that preserves and shares the people, places, and stories that helped shape California cannabis history.  Br...

Richard Jergenson lives in the Emerald Triangle in the beloved community of Willits. Richard is a product of Berkeley, the baby boomer generation, and the 1960’s counterculture, as well as a co-founder of the Protopipe business, over 50 years ago.  Richard is a natural archivist; as a young historian from the 1960’s Richard began saving and storing the amazing posters, books and cultural icons of...

Today on The Cannabis Connection Show, we welcome back Grant Palmer, CEO of Canna Cruz Dispensaries. Founded in 2008, Canna Cruz has grown into California's number one privately owned, vertically integrated dispensary chain, with five locations in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Aptos, Salinas, and Seaside—plus its own cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution. Canna Cruz Salinas took home 1st pl...

Canyon Creek Family Farms is a legacy, small outdoor family-owned and run farm in the Trinity Alps, Trinity County. Owner-operators Michael and Lorien Curran have a combined 50+ years of cultivation experience; this is Michael’s 32nd season growing cannabis here in Canyon Creek, where he was born and raised. Using organic and regenerative farming techniques, native soil, and alpine snowmelt, we gr...

This week on the show, we welcome Michael Strupp to discuss his work pheno-hunting and cultivating some of the finest, award-winning cultivars in California.  My personal goal this week was to investigate the source of this year's award-winning Dutch Treat cultivar, which captivated my imagination and evoked the nostalgic glory days of some of my first smokes, trim rooms, and grows.  Michael...

Happy 710! Really enjoyed this chat with Ian. We covered deep insights into the history of key cultivation hubs across Humboldt County. We explored cannabis as a psychedelic and catalyst for neuroplasticity, contributing to protest movements across California. We also do a nice genetics segment shedding light on key lines from the Emerald Triangle and beyond.  Ian C. H. Hogan is a writer from the...

Today on the show, we welcome Genine Coleman to discuss the Legacy Cannabis Genetics: People and Their Plants Research Dissemination Event on June 26, 2026, from 1:30-4:30 PM at the Capital Events Center in Sacramento.  This Free public event will present findings from a first-of-its-kind, multi-year community-based participatory research project examining California's legacy cannabis genetic...

Today, we welcome Cole Chapman of High Hill Cannabis! High Hill Farms is a fully permitted, owner-operated cannabis farm nestled in the Foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Spanning 15,000 sq ft, we cultivate 100% organic, sustainable, and regenerative cannabis in native soil. Our plants thrive in greenhouses, basking in natural sunlight, with cool nights and warm days contributing to the exceptional q...

April is the creator of Weird Spooky Storytime and the spooky girl persona @spookygirl831. With a B.A. in Social & Behavioral Science and a passion for research, April began diving into local history, folklore, legends, and paranormal stories throughout Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas. What started as late-night research rabbit holes eventually turned into creating videos about the strang...

Budularo is a family brand. Founded by Tony Budularo, his son Isaac, and his son-in-law Dave Perkins. Tony Budularo has been growing for 53 years and is a world-renowned connoisseur known to have received many proven genetics from all over the world. His seed collection is coveted by growers from many continents. Led by his son Isaac and Dave, Budularo cultivates long-flowering sativas and hazes i...

Happy 420! This 420, we welcome James Leitz, the Creator and Executive Producer of the California Cannabis Awards & Experience at the California State Fair. With over 30 years in sports, media, and live event production - including two decades at WMEIMG - he's built global campaigns and experiences for some of the world's biggest brands. Today, he focuses on emerging industries, help...

This week on the show, we welcome Jeremy Warren and Richard Philbrook of Dark Heart.  Founded in Oakland, California in 2007, Dark Heart helped shape the modern cannabis industry through pioneering work in tissue culture, pathogen detection and large-scale genetic development-protecting and advancing the plant through years of meticulous cultivation.  Jeremy Warren is the Director of Plant Genetic...

This week, we welcome Vanessa Lovarato to the show to share her wisdom on integrating weed into your favorite dishes and indulgences, such as chocolate, butter, and beverages.  Born in California and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, television host, chocolatier, and food writer Vanessa Lavorato graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in art history and Italian. But the biggest lesson she took from sc...

Today on the show, we welcome Kagyu of Coastal Seed Genetics. Our last show was 9 years ago. Kagyu's first cannabis garden in Santa Cruz was in 1969, and he has over 50 years of experience cultivating and preserving landrace lines.  At Coastal Seed Co, our mission is to preserve and advance legacy plant genetics with integrity. We are committed to safeguarding heirloom and landrace lines, pro...

Today on the show, we welcome Alex Tice to discuss Arizona Cannabis, Skateboarding Culture, Self Expression, and Radical Habits.  Alex Tice is the COO and CRO of Flow Distribution and a founding member of the company, where he leads sales, manufacturing coordination, product development, and marketing strategy. He played a key role in growing Flow into one of the largest cannabis distributors and...

Today on the show, this one is a long time coming, years in the making. Welcome Reba!  Reba, also known as Grateful_Cultivator, is a friend of cannabis. She has been cultivating since the Prop 215 days in the late '90s in Humboldt. She has a deep reverence for the plant, healthy soils, and wild spaces, with experience in most cultivation methods and particular expertise in organic and regener...

Today on the show, we welcome Q, Miguel, and Raven of Renegade Theater speaking about their April production of Reefer Madness. Renegade Theater Co. is a community-based theater company in Santa Cruz, CA. Renegade is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit that creates theatrical productions meant to challenge the standard expectations of theater. The show benefactor for Reefer Madness is The Last Prisoner Proje...

Indicus “Indy” Riggs owns and operates Galactic Farms, a second-generation regenerative farm and apiary. Indy is a founding member of the Cooperative Agriculture Network (CAN), an organization that aims to facilitate the development of cooperative enterprises in the agricultural sector. He is the vice-chair of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA) Board of Directors, a member of HCGA's...

Barron Lutz is the founder of Nasha Hash, a Humboldt-based company specializing in premium solventless hash. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Barron has dedicated his career to refining cold water extraction and advancing solventless techniques inspired by traditional Himalayan methods. Known for his technical innovation, he has designed and developed custom washing and processing equipm...