Willie's Guide to Weed: Moon Made Farms

"From the inside out I feel like it’s possible for people to change, for cultures to change, for communities to change, and for consciousness to shift." - Tina Gordon

Tina Gordon’s energy is infectious. She is calm and collected, but so full of life that it seems like the air around her is buzzing with possibility. I’m sure this charisma is part of what drew her into music. Tina is a drummer, formerly playing with bands in varying genres from punk, to rock, to metal. She was an integral part of the San Francisco DIY scene and traveled across the country living a life much different from her present situation. Tucked into the mountains of Southern Humboldt County California, Tina is almost off the grid. Her home is a refuge, passed down from one generation of incredible women to another for the purpose of cultivating what feels like sacred ground. Really, I swear you can feel the presence of something special when you step onto the soil of Moon Made Farms. My body felt it. The road to Moon Made is an hour directly up a mountain with nothing but twists and turns and waving fields of grass below. By the time we made it there, I thought I was definitely going to vomit from motion sickness. But five minutes after stepping onto the rich soil and breathing in the air so sweet it’s almost saccharine, my nausea disappeared and my equilibrium recovered.

Tina’s life journey brought her to Moon Made through the indelible Joani Hannan. Hannan was a vanguard female jazz drummer who traveled the world in the United Service Organization before eventually landing on California’s Southern coast. After years in Los Angeles where she not only acted in movies alongside the likes of Marilyn Monroe, but also started one of the premiere underground LGBT clubs of the time, Joani headed North to Serendipity Collective, the land that would eventually be Moon Made Farms. Joani and her partner Marion lived on the land for years, often hosting friends and acquaintances who had driven up from the city to visit. One of those visitors in particular was Tina.

photos of Joani and Tina via Joani Presents - Georgia (Joan) Hannah

“I came to this property and met a woman named Joani Hannan. After I met her I decided I needed to make a documentary about her. She was such an incredible character. So through a course of events I ended up relocating to this area, making a documentary about Joani, and during that first year up here I started working with cannabis.” Tina’s creative vision not only resulted in a critically-acclaimed short film on Joani’s impressive life, but a relationship with Joani and Marion that led to the creation of  Moon Made Farms. “Over the course of the time when I was making a documentary about Joani we became dear friends. I became dear friends with both she and her partner Marion. They were both at the time in their seventies. One day about a year into living here they called me up and Marion said, ‘Tina, I never want to pick up a bag of chicken shit again. You wanna buy the place or what?’ So I figured out how to make that happen.”

Since then, Tina has transformed Serendipity Collective into Moon Made Farms. Continuing in the spirit of revolutionary Joani, Tina works every day under the creed: “The free thinking of one age is the common sense of the next”. The quote by 19th century poet Matthew Arnold was emblazoned across the back of Tina’s shirt (get yours here) the day we spoke with her and it soon became apparent that those words are etched into each movement Tina makes. She led us across the 40 acre farm introducing us to each garden - each plant near half way through their growth - explaining how different strains offered so much more than different highs: the fragrances released from the terpenes of the plant, the taste once it meets the palate, and the ratio of CBD to THC (Tina sent me home with a healthy sample of a strain with an equal ratio of THC to CBD offering a less intense high alongside the calming effects of CBD). Every part of Tina’s farm is dedicated to encouraging the ancient land to flourish in all the ways it can. Everything comes from the land from Tina’s self-sustained living soil made thanks to a nest of rabbits and Tina’ and company’s own compost, to the flower beds made from rocks and fallen limbs from the property.

“Moving from the city up here, it really was this awakening to the natural world and the natural forces. It wasn’t until I started cultivating cannabis that I started tuning in to what it means to have fresh air and clean water. Plants respond to the attention you give them and the intention.” Tina’s intention with Moon Made Farms extends beyond the grounds itself; she is a board member of the International Cannabis Farmers Association and is active in furthering cannabis legalization and education (she even signs off on texts and emails with a hopeful and determined “Onward!”). Tina’s positive outlook and motivation can also be linked back to her experiences as a musician: “When I was playing music, I saw a lot of people who were destroying themselves; who had really hard habits with alcohol and with drugs that were not benefiting them. There are a lot of people who play music who are terribly shy, who are introverted, who have something that they want to share with the world but its really hard for them to get out in front of people. Part of what I think cannabis has the potential of doing is helping people in these situations so they can access their creativity and understand and get a better sense and a better grip on how to be good to themselves, and how to balance themselves so that they have the access and the ability to share the gifts that they have.”

Through her work with Willie’s Reserve and Flow Kana, Tina takes a step closer towards her goals every day. Find her strain “Pineapple Wonder” at a dispensary near you and stay tuned for more from Tina and Willie’s Reserve from the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa, California this weekend where Tina will be a featured speaker.

Willie's Guide to Weed: Huckleberry Hill Farms

“It’s really my goal when people come to my farm….I want them to leave this farm as different people.” - Johnny Casali

With the action of famed West Coast cities constantly in the media, it is easy to forget that the majority of California is country. This is farmland; there are trucks and ball caps and Carhartt jackets everywhere. Everywhere that is, when you are in town. Huckleberry Hill Farms is just up from Garbersville, also known as the entrance to the Avenue of the Giants; a road known for the impressive Redwood trees and it’s popularity among family roadtrippers. The road to Huckleberry Hill is remote and winding. Though it’s been said many times, the Redwoods are breathtaking. The sun trickles through the branches as we pull up to an unassuming gravel drive and pull up next to the house.

Johnny has lived on this piece of land tucked up in the hills of California’s Emerald Triangle (the largest cannabis-producing region in the United States) for decades. “This is my family home. I’ve been here for 45 years. Really since I was ten years old I was following my mom around, not only taking care of the vegetable garden that included tomatoes and zucchinis, but that also included taking care of the cannabis plants,” Johnny says as we make our way up the gravel path to the voluminous cannabis plants just up the hill. “Certain people believe that certain things are harmful, and I wasn’t brought up that way,” he added, “I realized that [cannabis] had a lot of medicinal value to it from way back when.”

In this area of the world, Johnny’s story might not seem alarming. There are many folks throughout Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties who have seen their loved ones, neighbors, or even themselves put through incredible hardships because of their cannabis-reliant livelihoods.

At 19, Johnny took over the family farm after his mother left to travel the world and pursue her dream of commercial fishing. “To take care of the property, to maintain the roads, to maintain the house, and also to take care of the cannabis” he explains, putting into practice the craft his mother so carefully taught him. As he walks us through the plants, he recounts tales that seem otherworldly to those of us who didn’t grow up with knowledge of the cannabis world: constant helicopters hovering on the search for farms, federal agents descending from the sky, and varied techniques for farming in secret. A few years and an accumulation of 1,500 cannabis plants later, Johnny awoke to 30 federal agents at his door, guns at the ready. “When I was 22 my best friend and I got turned in by a neighbor [in them] trying to make a point that they were going to put a stop to growing cannabis,” he reveals. After four years in and out of court, Johnny went on to serve 8 years out of his 10 year sentence. While he was away, his mother passed and the farm stayed empty. “Really that was one of the toughest things I had to deal with then,” he continues, “When I ended up getting out of jail and this permitting process opened, I was able to do something that I grew up doing and that I had this passion and love for. It was just like this blessing. I knew my path forward.” When Johnny returned to the farm after so many years away, many members of the Southern Humboldt community gathered to greet him as he arrived ready to work and put Huckleberry back together.

You can tell Johnny carries the weight of his experiences with him, but, with his determination and support from his community, his spirit has survived. As he walks us around the farm explaining that every single step in the process is done by him, alone, you can feel his energy and excitedness to finally share his life’s dedication. “The minute I walked into jail,” he reflects, “I saw so many bitter people and angry people. I refused at that point that that’s how I would come out because then that would be a life sentence. I’ve always been a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, whether or not at the time we know what it is. I just made the best of that situation.” Now, Johnny’s life has fully returned to his home of Huckleberry Hill. Every morning and night he is there to tend to his plants. He has no hired farm hands or helpers; it’s just him. His touch is present in each aspect of the calm and beautiful grounds. Flowers surround the house and some of the outdoor cannabis plants; he’s placed small Buddhas and mementos around, some signifying specific plants he intends to donate to different organizations, one in particular to a local veterans association. I mention the bountiful bees buzzing around and he casually mentions he has his own hive with fresh honey as well.

As for the cannabis, Johnny is one of many independent farmers growing strains for Willie’s Reserve and their partners Flow Kana. “The strains that I grow here on my property are always going to be in honor of my mother,” he explains. Johnny still grows his mother’s “Fruit Loopz” strain, and each of his own strains are crossed with it as an homage to her memory. You can find Johnny’s “Huckleberries” strain - a sativa leaning cross of Fruit Loopz and Zkittlez with an intense fruity aroma, offering a mellow high according to Willie’s Reserve -  at a dispensary near you. Johnny will also be joining the Willie’s Reserve team and Willie himself at the Emerald Cup (one of the largest organic cannabis competitions worldwide) on December 15th and 16th in Santa Rosa, California. For more on the Emerald Cup and tickets to the event visit: https://theemeraldcup.com.

Oklahoma Legalizes Medical Marijuana

Our neighbors to the North have become the 30th state in the US to legalize broad access to medical marijuana as of yesterday's midterm vote which passed by 57%. Okies will now have access to marijuana through their doctors with state-verified cards, and those who don't get their cards will have some level of protection, as the offense will be lessened for those carrying less than 1.5 ounces stating "a medical reason". Congratulations, Oklahoma, for passing State Question No. 788! Toke on.