THE psychedelia ISSUE
THEOUTLAW FILMMAKER After spending nearly half his life in prison, Seth Ferranti aims his lens squarely at the War on Drugs.
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leafmagazines.com
ETH FERRANTI HAD BEEN ON THE RUN FOR TWO YEARS WHEN HE WAS FINALLY BUSTED. Barely old enough to legally order a drink, he sat in a holding cell, wondering why the cops were treating him like a celebrity. “They were coming by and seeing me like I was a zoo animal or something,” he said. “So finally, I asked one of the guys, ‘What is the attraction?’ And he said, ‘You didn’t know? You’re in the top 15 of the U.S. Marshals Most Wanted list.’ They were bringing me my ‘Wanted’ poster and they were asking me to sign it. They were on me like I was Billy the Kid or something.” Ferranti ultimately did 21 years out of a 25-year bid as a first-time, non-violent offender for selling LSD and Cannabis across a five-state territory – and emerged as a pioneer of the new era of thought leaders fighting against the stigma created by the War on Drugs.
aug. 2022