All In The Family: Growing Up in a Weed Brownie Family w/Author Alia Volz of "Home Baked'

Growing up in a weed family during the Reagan administration, the racist War on Drugs, how the "Sticky Brownies" empire helped San Francisco's first LGBTQ+ medical patients during the AIDS crisis

This is Pipe Dreams by The Weed Witch, a newsletter, podcast, idea sampler platter and content wildcard featuring stream-of-consciousness tales and divine wisdom from free-thinking societal outliers, a.k.a. the weed witches.

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Hey everyone,

We did it! We are officially a newsletter and a podcast in this Substack journey joining forces with Anchor.FM. Nearly two years into this horrifying/magical foray into a brave new world, as promised, I decided to reach out and connect with other unconventional types breaking the mold in a new interview series. Better late than never!

Just in time for weed witching season, today's guest is Alia Volz, author of Home Baked, My Mom, Marijuana, and The Stoning of San Francisco—a journalistic memoir that came out last year that is a riveting tale worthy of becoming National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist.

In her book, Alia documents growing up in a weed family during the Reagan administration, the racist undertones of the War on Drugs, how the "Sticky Brownies" empire helped San Francisco's first LGBTQ+ medical patients during the AIDS crisis, making decisions based on the occult, watching the legal landscape shift from a community to a corporate culture, and, of course, brownies. Give it a listen, like and share.

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Question of the Week: What’s a weed witch? Discuss among yourself in the comments.

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FAQ: "How Do I Make Weed More Equitable?”

Interested in helping to right the wrongs of the past towards a more equitable future for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ forerunners? Check out these organizations;

• The Last Prisoner Project: Let’s get people out of jail for minor cannabis crimes and help reform the War on Drugs.

• Cage Free Cannabis: Make sure your weed is doing some good to the environment, economy and repairing communities.

• Cannaclusive: Calling for racial justice in corporate cannabis.

• Women Grow: Creating safe, inclusive pathways for women in weed.

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