From the Publisher
Welcome to Cannabis by the Sea
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with coining “change is the only constant in life.” Well, I’m convinced he was correct and far ahead of his time! If you had asked me a month ago if I saw being a publisher in my future, I would have laughed you out of the room. Well … here I am. Guess the laugh is on me! A few years ago, a spark of an idea was hatched by a good friend of mine, Tina Fanucchi-Frontado, then CEO of KopSun LLC, the original publisher of Cannabis by the Sea. On April 20, right in the middle of the COVID-19, KopSun launched the first issue of CBTS to rave reviews. June 20 brought the second issue and shortly thereafter, change happened. Due to current times and after much consideration, KopSun decided to bring their work to a close. For almost four years the partners of KopSun, Tina Fanucchi-Frontado, Amy Marie Orozco and Leigh-Anne Anderson, worked steadily to shed light on this powerful plant through online and in-person education. They helped to normalize Cannabis as medicine and put it on the map in Santa Barbara County. After working as Creative Director for the first two issues of Cannabis by the Sea and seeing the reception it was receiving and the potential to further educate so many, I just couldn’t let this magazine fade into history. So, along came some new change, right when I thought I couldn’t take any more. After discussing with my husband Peter and making sure that KopSun partner Amy Orozco would continue as Editor (without her, there was no magazine!), I slipped on the publisher hat and am now so proud to bring you Vol 1, Issue 3 of Cannabis by the Sea magazine! In a world of change, the focus of the magazine will not. We will continue to be dedicated to information and education on the health and wellness properties of cannabis. In our Summer Issue we featured “Pot Lifers – the Ultimate Run-on Sentence,” written by Justine Sutton, that told the story of DeeDee Kirkwood, aka the Pot Fairy, and her efforts to bring to light the number of people serving life sentences in prison for nonviolent cannabis crimes. On August 8, Derek Harris, a military veteran who was sentenced to life in prison for selling $30 worth of marijuana was resentenced and will be released. Harris was arrested in 2008 in Louisiana for selling an officer .69 grams of marijuana … he has already served 9 years in prison. While it is good news to hear that Mr. Harris will be released, it continues to boggle my mind that convictions for this type of “crime” are so harsh. In an ironic twist, when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown was imposed in March of this year, marijuana dispensaries were deemed as essential and were allowed to remain open. The essay by Peter Dugré on the following page talks about this very thing. We hope that this issue provides you further insight and maybe some new perspectives about this amazing plant. We want you to keep in touch with us, let us know if you would like to see something featured in Cannabis by the Sea. You can email us at info@cbtsmagazine.com. Oh, and subscribe to the digital copy via our new website www.cbtsmagazine.com. Thank you for your continued support. Stay safe. Be healthy. Wear your mask. Be kind. Looking forward to sharing our Winter issue with you on December 20. 6 Cannabis by the Sea Fall 2020
- Melinda Bie
