STEPHANIE LANDA

STEPHANIE LANDA

President, Board Member

Why are you part of Freedom Grow? I am the founder and current President of Freedom Grow Forever. I have always had a desire for truth, justice, and the American way to light the way into our future. From my earliest teenage years, I have loved smoking marijuana. Of course, I enjoyed getting high, but I was and still am plagued by digestive problems that are relieved with a few simple puffs. In the 1960s, I became involved with the civil rights movement. Together with attorney friends, we defended American Indian rights in federal court. During this period, I was also practicing recycling and organic gardening. In subsequent decades, as these things have gone mainstream, my activism went somewhat dormant until the advent of medical marijuana. I had a new cause I knew would help many people. By 1996 when medical marijuana came to California, I was probably a bonafide expert when it came to marijuana knowledge as I was one of a small elite group of people who had been involved with growing the plant for almost 30 years up to that point. I wanted to share that knowledge with everyone. In 2002, I moved to San Francisco to build a 14,000 square foot state-of-the-art cannabis factory. This factory was raided and it resulted in a 5-year stint in federal prison. While in prison, I continued my activism by organizing a class about Social Injustice. The reading assignments revolved around historical heroes like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez who all preached nonviolent resistance. It was during this time I became aware of the importance of having some money. In prison, things like stamps, writing materials, and phone calls to loved ones are not free. Clean socks, clean drinking water, and medicines aren’t free either. If you don’t have money, you do without. This is what some marijuana prisoners are facing for the rest of their lives? I say no, not if I can do anything about it. This is why Freedom Grow Forever exists. We need to help these people who are serving LIFE in prison.

Other highlights of activism – Founded LPOP (Landa Prison Outreach Program), former board member of The Human Solution, volunteer for CAN-DO

More about Stephanie – During my hiatus from high profile activism in the 80s and 90s, I took the time to find a mate who would fulfill my desire to have a child. I now am the proud mother of a homeschooled millennial. It was one of the most difficult periods of my life, but it turned out to be well worth it.

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