CANNTHROPOLOGY

WORLD OF CANNABIS PRESENTS

Throughout modern history, countless artists and musicians have used marijuana to help enhance their creativity …but far fewer have actually featured it as their subject matter. Many of those who did helped forge new genres of “degenerate” art—like jazz, comic books and concert posters—that would eventually establish them as counterculture icons. One such artist is Pat Ryan.

CANNABIS AMERICANA

Celebrating the weed-infused work of underground art icon Pat Ryan

EARLY LIFE

Raised in suburban Long Island, Paul Ryan heard his artistic calling early— beginning to paint and draw cartoons by the age of eight. A born rebel, Ryan became enamored with Mad magazine, whose irreverent satire was “exposing the shortcomings of the Leave it to Beaver generation of Americans becoming homogenized.” He spent his teenage years in the jazz clubs and coffeehouses of Greenwich Village—getting into Dylan, Kerouac and Ginsberg. Then in 1962, Ryan moved out to Hermosa Beach, where he discovered the SoCal surfer scene, weed and psychedelics. After working as an art director for an ad agency across the street from the Whiskey a Go-Go and taking lots of acid, he soon grew disillusioned by the phony LA scene and wanted out.

BEST BUDS

In 1971, Ryan moved up to Marin County, where he opened a tiny studio and jumped headfirst into the area’s art scene. Within months he met a kindred soul who would become his best friend and partner for the next decade—comic artist Dave Sheridan.

Ryan moved into Sheridan’s studio, and the two formed a company called C.O.D. (Consistently Over Drawn!) Grafix and began cranking out content. Sheridan created the comic character Dealer McDope and collaborated with Gilbert Shelton and Paul Mavrides on the cult classic The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers; Ryan produced a series of Native American-themed paintings and a comic about hitchhiking called Hit the Road (1972), which Sheridan helped him get published.

In 1974, the doobious duo relocated into a large building in San Rafael that served as a collective studio space for local artists, including rock poster greats Alton Kelley, Stanley ‘Mouse’ Miller and Victor Moscoso. Officially named the Concrete Foundation of Fine Arts, the collective was better known by its nutty nickname: the Peanut Gallery. To raise money for rent each month, the Peanut Gallery threw huge parties dubbed the “Black Death Parties”—named after the Black Death beer Sheridan brewed.

THE CANNABIS HOMEGROWERS ASSOCIATION

During these salad days at the Gallery, the two partners came up with the idea for a series of marijuana brand label parodies they called the California Homegrowers Association.

“We’d sit around smoking joints and coming up with fictitious brand names,” Ryan recalls. “We made a whole list of them … that’s what became the California Homegrowers Association.”

Some of the iconic phony brands they created included Harvest Moon, Sticky Fingers, High Society and Space City—each of which was illustrated with a humorous charm inspired by the well-known CaliforPresident Reagan launched his notorious nia agricultural labels of the day. “Just Say No” anti-drug

They planned to use the images campaign, leading to to market a line of merchandise to the closing of stoners all over America via head shops and ads they placed in High Times magazine. Unfortunately, however, the products hit the market head shops across the country and kneecapping their in 1982 just as President Reagan dream before it had a launched his notorious “Just Say No” chance to take off.

anti-drug campaign, leading to the closing of head shops across the country and kneecapping their dream before it had a chance to take off.

ARTISTA GANG

In 1979, the Peanut Gallery was evicted and reconstituted under a new name: the Artista Gang. Throughout the 1980s, “Gang” members designed album covers and concert posters for several classic rock performers, including Journey, Santana and the Grateful Dead, as well as Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits, for which Ryan did the lettering.

It was also during this time that Ryan created his famous “Indoor Bud” painting, which now resides in our World of Cannabis collection; prominently featured against a red background, it’s a dense, dark nug that sparkles with crystals—an effect he achieved by coating it with clear acrylic paint and then sprinkling glitter on it.

That nug image ended up gracing the cover of the Fall/ Winter 1985 issue of Sinsemilla Tips magazine. But that wasn’t the only reefer rag Ryan was featured in during this period: In 1983, High Times ran an article on the Homegrowers Association in their March issue and featured the t-shirts in their December gift guide, and the following year ran a few of Dr. McDope comics drawn by Ryan.

Like the Peanut Gallery, Artista Gang were notorious for their wild parties. One particular rager in 1983—held at a clubhouse in an upscale San Anselmo neighborhood called Sleepy Hollow—featured the group’s first-ever cannabis judging contest. Strain samples were brought from all over California, and according to Ryan, the winner was a clear standout.

“The winner was a guy from Santa Cruz named Dave Watson, a.k.a. Sam the Skunkman,” Ryan recalls. “He had something so sticky and outrageous, nobody had seen anything like it before. He won hands-down.”

The Artista’s parties and cannabis contests continued to grow, as did their roster—eventually numbering over 700 members. Sadly though, Dave Sheridan would never get to see what Artista would evolve into; diagnosed with lymphatic cancer on March 3, 1982, he died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage less than a month later—just a week shy of his daughter’s birth. He was only 38-years-old.

HIGH IN HUMBOLDT

In 1992, Ryan moved from Marin County up to a log cabin in the Emerald Triangle, where he spent several years living pioneer-style and cranking out over 50 event posters, as well as a series of t-shirts featuring new characters and brands he created, such as Seaweed, Redeye and Hightops. Then in 1999, he moved back down to Sonoma County, where— with some assistance from his pals in Humboldt—he started growing his own “really wicked bud” for the first time in his garage. An avowed sativa man, Ryan grew mostly Orange Crush, but admits his current favorite strain is Blue Dream.

RECENT RESURGENCE

This past decade has been one of Ryan’s most prolific yet. In 2011, Last Gasp Publishing released a 40-year anthology of his work entitled Sinsemilla Sinsations, as well as a set of greeting cards called “High Again” based on his Humboldt designs. In the past few years, Ryan has returned to his roots with a series of weed-themed comic books called Tales of the

In 1974, the doobious duo relocated to a large building in San Rafael that served as a collective studio space for local artists, including rock poster greats Alton Kelley, Stanley ‘Mouse’ Miller and Victor Moscoso.

World Famous Drive Thru Bud (Golden Frog Press), based on the various characters he’s created over the years (including Humboldt Honey, Super Skunk and Budzilla), accompanied by a line of branded stoner swag which they sell online and at cannabis and comic events up and down the West Coast—bringing the merchandising dream he once shared with Sheridan full circle.

Most recently, he’s created a series of paintings based on popular strain names similar to the “Purple Haze” painting we have in our collection, including “Ice Cream Cake,” “Blueberry Kush,” and “White Widow.”

Sadly, in recent months, Ryan’s health has been in steep decline due to stage four liver cancer. His family has started a gofundme and is planning an art auction to help raise money for his medical costs. If you’d like to help please visit worldofcannabis.museum/ post/pat-ryan-fundraiser.

-Bobby Black, Pat Ryan, Vince Dugar of Golden Frog Press.

-Blueberry Kush and SuperSkunk art by Pat Ryan. For more on Pat Ryan, listen to Episode #4 of our podcast at worldofcannabis.museum/ podcast

Published originally on worldofcannabis.museum and reprinted with permission.

by Mike Ricker

CAN WE PLEASE END CHRISTMAS?

Listen, I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I used to love Xmas just as much as any kid. Catching a glimpse of Santa nibbling on a cookie or hearing the patter of hooves on top of the apartment complex made sleeping unbearable. It’s just that I’m not sure I can bear grandma getting run over by a reindeer for the umpteenth time before even having a chance to banish my yard witch back to the shed and evaluate the leftover bowl of miniature Snickers and candy corn.

Out with the devil and in with the lord.

Because the problem with Christmas isn’t Christmas day — it’s the fact that we’re hyped for two months on the front end and then stuck with a stiff tab on the back end. Which equates to one sixth of your life forced into a whimsical play where everyone dresses like they’re from Norway in the 1600s.

And I know what you enthusiasts are thinking: I can simply choose to not take part. Which is about as easy as choosing to not take part in death and taxes.

“But it’s for the kids,” you say. Fair enough, but do you really want them learning that the plastic packaged gifts — which magically appear under the tree that was cut down to end up in the dumpster — came from a stranger with an addiction to spiked eggnog? Why not teach them real values, like patience leads to prosperity? And that violence in Walmart on black Friday is not how adults should behave.

I get it, there’s nothing wrong with spreading good cheer, but can we at least ease up on the carpet bombing of commercials for stuff we don’t need? Like shiny new cars with ridiculously large bows and another collared shirt with a snowman tie? And can we do it every leap year just to freshen things up? It’s becoming Groundhog Year.

By the way, you do realize that mom infuses Santa’s Christmas cookies, right? That’s because she secretly feels his pain.