As co-founder and owner of Seattle-based ShadowCatcher Entertainment, I have been the Executive Director on the development, production and distribution of many internationally distributed feature films and documentaries.

When Jerry Joffe told me about his idea to collect the oral histories of early cannabis growers, I knew that it was an important idea and that he was the perfect person to produce it. I have known Jerry since he first started growing cannabis in the early 70’s in the Oregon coastal mountains, after which he moved to Eugene to start a media company. I have been impressed by his successful career producing and directing educational films for students, national organizations and museums.

Based on our long friendship and his successful professional career, I made a substantial donation to and hosted a successful fundraiser for HomeGrown Stories because I believe that we need to record the history of cannabis cultivation in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. These stories reveal the development of a relatively unknown part of American agriculture, as they shed light on the family relationships in remote communities where growing marijuana has become one of the main cultural and economic forces.

Less punitive law enforcement and the diminishing stigma around cannabis are steadily changing our society’s attitudes toward the growing and use of this remarkable plant. I strongly believe that the time is right to interview our cannabis pioneers. Since some of the early growers have passed away, it is crucial that we record these stories now, as well as those of the succeeding generations, who continue the tradition that they learned from their parents and grandparents.

It is never easy to document an illegal industry, but once it becomes legalized, there is a great demand from historians and the public to know more about those original outlaws. If you believe, as I do, that it is important to record these personal stories, then please join us by making a charitable contribution through Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry to HomeGrown Stories.

Thank you.

David Skinner
Executive Producer, ShadowCatcher Entertainment

 

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There is a huge hole in the last half of the 20th Century historical record of northern California. Only some of the history of the back-to-the-land movement, environmental activism, and the re-prioritizing of values and life goals have been recorded. Because of its illegality, the dramatic economic and cultural affects of cannabis cultivation in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity Counties have largely been relegated to rumors, sensationalistic journalism or are simply untold. Having lived in Humboldt County, CA during this interesting era I understand why the true history had to be hidden. Now that cannabis is becoming mainstream, I agree that the time has come to save the stories of what it was like to be an early cannabis grower and live in communities where cultivation was one of the main activities.
 
As a historian and professional archivist for Humboldt State University for 15 years, I feel the preservation of early cannabis culture is of invaluable importance. I have researched cannabis growing during the last half of the 20th Century and published “Bibliography for Marijuana in North West California” and “TIMELINE for Marijuana in Northwest California.” They are available at: http://www2.humboldt.edu/hiimr/

How will anyone, in 20 years time, get any accurate picture of these times in this region? Oral histories are a great way to get first hand accounts of people’s personal experiences growing cannabis. Jerry Joffe’s planned production, HomeGrown Stories, which is based on comprehensive interviews and preserving documents and photographs, will help fill in this historical gap and allow people to explain in their own words what it was like to grow during the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting and other unsuccessful eradication efforts in northern California.
 
Finally, legalization across the country has helped cannabis pioneers feel safer about breaking their silence about the cannabis agriculture, social milieu, and economy in the Northwest corner of the nation.  Knowing this history will help people understand how legalization has moved so quickly in the Pacific NW and how the modern industry owes so much to these cannabis pioneers. HomeGrown Stories’ documentation efforts are essential to saving this history of a truly outlaw (not criminal) culture and economy.

Edie Butler
MA Public History and Certified Archivist, Emeritus
August 2016

 

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I have worked as a professional archivist for thirty years – first with the Oregon State Archives, then with Pacificorp and for the last 18 years with Multnomah County Archives. I have served professionally in many capacities including the President of Northwest Archivists and on the Exectuive Council of the Society of American Archivists. I have loved Homegrown Stories from the minute I heard about it. The mix of business, agriculture, politics, law enforcement, and culture in the California and Oregon cannabis production industry has been suppressed for decades. But America’s history is more than just the stories of the rich and famous. This project allows us to hear the stories of everyday Americans who influenced both regional and national cultures in profound ways. Regardless of ones opinions about the activities documented, it cannot be argued that these stories are not vital to a full and true history of this region. Jerry Joffe is the perfect person to tell this story. He has intimate knowledge of the industry. He has a long and distinguished career in using interview and video to tell compelling stories. He has a broad and inclusive sense of history. In A peoples History of the United States, Howard Zinn noted that “there is an underside to every age about which history does not often speak, because history is written from records left by the privileged.” Your support of Homegrown Stories works against that privilege and allows a more complete and more authentic, American history to be written.

Terry Baxter
Archivist, Multnomah County, Oregon

 

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My work for the past 30 years has been documenting heritage traditions of the Pacific Northwest for the Washington State Arts Commission. Jerry Joffe’s collection of HomeGrown Stories is one of the most important and innovative oral history video projects that I have seen in these years. It uncovers insights into the science and lore of cannabis cultivation as well as the dramatic changes in our cultural landscape. Bravo to Jerry and all the growers who are coming forth with their stories.  Few producers have the media skills and community trust to complete this work. He has been an award-winning and prolific NW producer for almost 40 years and is uniquely qualified to record, edit and archive this valuable collection of stories.”

Dr. Willie Smyth
Washington State Folklorist 1991-2014

 

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