In This Episode
Rob McNealy interviews cannabis re-legalization activist Kathleen Chippi about updates to Colorado Cannabis legislation.
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Kathleen Chippi’s Bio
Kathleen Chippi has been an advocate for the re-legalization of the cannabis hemp plant for all uses for the last 20 years. In 1993 she was the first person to process hemp seed for nutrition into packaged foods that were sold in over 2,400 stores worldwide under the names One Brown Mouse and Heavenly HempTM.
In 1999 US customs and the DEA banned all hemp imported and Kathleen was threatened with a 10 year mandatory minimum. It took the supreme court almost 5 years to rule that hemp was indeed legal which was too late to save the flourishing hemp industry of the 1990′s.
In 2000, Colorado voters welcomed the newly passed constitutional right to medical marijuana. Kathleen has been a patient and an active participant in the politics of mmj since. In the spring of 2009, Kathleen registered her mmj dispensary with the state of Colorado and was issued one of the first retail sales tax licenses for mmj in CO.
The One Brown Mouse/Cannabis Healing Arts dispensary received rave reviews from the Atlantic monthly, the Westword secret shopper and patients statewide. People drove for hours to sample over 75 stains of grade A mmj and some of the best food and tincture available statewide. The inventory was supplied by patients and caregivers in the area. One Brown Mouse serviced over 2,000 patients by the start of 2010 and help jump start the local economy.
When the CO state legislature passed HB1284 and SB109 in the summer of 2010, Kathleen temporarily closed her doors (voluntarily) to fight the unconstitutional language and regulations in the courts on behalf of all patients, caregivers and physicians, statewide. She currently runs the Patient and Caregiver Rights Litigation Project (PCRLP), the only group in the state actively pursuing court actions on behalf of everyone.
Kathleen also has recorded an extensive video library containing the history of Colorado cannabis meetings, hearings, rallies, actions and events spanning the last 18 years.
Ryan grew up working for his family’s crane rental and steel fabricating shop in the town of Concord which is in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. During Ryan’s early years at Gaunt Machine and Iron Works, he learned from his grandfather and father how to run and operate a small business. After high school, Ryan enlisted in the US Army Reserve as a crane operator for the US Army Corp of Engineers. He served for six years and earned his honorable discharge in 2002.
