Sespe Creek CEO, Chelsea Sutula and Marketing Manager, Michelle Rosenblum, alongside Shangri-La Owner, Jeff Kroll, stepped up once again to advocate for a common-sense cannabis consumption ordinance. The Ojai City Council considered a proposed revisal from the city staff for an ordinance that would allow the three licensed dispensaries to have adjacent or onsite consumption lounges in the industrial zone. Read more
Sespe Creek is endorsing YES on Measures A and B along with every environmentally sensitive group in the region. Big oil has made this issue the most funded ballot measure in Ventura County history, putting $10 million into a campaign designed to frighten and mislead consumers — all to avoid complying with current environmental reviews when seeking to drill new oil wells. Read more
We wanted to help our Ojai patrons better understand what’s going on in light of the recent passage of Measure G in Ojai. Voters approved Measure G in Ojai by 69.2% of the vote. The text presented on the ballot was “Shall the measure approving an immediate 3% tax on cannabis businesses, which will potentially add $465,000-$1,550,000 annually to fund general city services, and approving authority for the City of Ojai to increase the tax on cannabis businesses up to 10% of gross receipts in the future, until the voters decide otherwise, be adopted?” Read more
If you live in Ojai, the city of Ventura or unincorporated Ventura County, you have a cannabis-related ballot measure to consider this voting season. We offer a breakdown of our position on each of these three initiatives, but no matter where you stand on these issues we hope you will act NOW to request a mail-in ballot, then make a voting plan to drop it off at a local ballot drop box and avoid potential delays using the USPS. Read more
Farmer and the Felon™ is determined to preserve the countercultural history of the prohibition era while advocating for social justice for the cannabis prisoners in the here-and-now. As industry veterans dedicated to cannabis freedom, they aren’t interested in being just another weed brand. Read more
There’s an old adage that says: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. For Chelsea Sutula, CEO of the Sespe Creek Collective, this statement has never rung truer. Following a devastating arrest, seizure of business and personal assets including her pets, and a long-fought legal battle that ended in complete exoneration, Chelsea knows first-hand that despite her best intentions to bring cannabis to the masses, her journey has been fraught with challenges. Read more
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been three years since California voters went to the polls to voice their support for legal, accessible cannabis.
The vote on Nov. 8, 2016 cleared the way for Sespe Creek’s opening one year later, as Ventura County’s first-ever permitted cannabis dispensary. Read more
Legalization is sweeping the country (and the world), but so many prisoners of the drug war remain incarcerated. People serving life without parole for a nonviolent offense, like Michael Pelletier (featured here), and Craig Cesal, a first-time offender whose involvement was limited to repairing trucks that had been used in smuggling operations. Read more
Deedee Kirkwood is a 70-year old mother, grandmother, wife, artist, playwright, and cannabis activist. In 2012 she was producing her stage play, Toke, in Sacramento when she met activists from Americans for Safe Access. She was invited to an afternoon tea, and was devastated to discover that some in attendance were facing court cases for non-violent drug offenses that would tear their families apart. Read more
UPDATED: MICHAEL WAS GRANTED CLEMENCY IN JAN 2021.
Michael Pelletier is serving life without the possibility of parole for a nonviolent cannabis offense. He has been a paraplegic since a farming accident at age 11, and has been in a maximum security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana since age 50. Read more