From the streets of Washington, D.C., to the storied debate halls of the Oxford Union, Steve DeAngelo has spent more than fifty years on the frontlines of the cannabis freedom movement. His journey began in 1974, when—at just sixteen years old—he helped organize the Fourth of July White House Smoke-In, a landmark protest that helped spark what would become the modern Cannabis Freedom Movement. From that moment on, Steve’s mission has remained steady and clear: to bring the cannabis plant and cannabis freedom to every nation and every person on the planet.

In the early years, that meant breaking through entrenched stigma and teaching people how remarkable the plant truly is. Over time, it meant building businesses, defending communities, influencing law, and creating platforms to carry the message across borders and generations.

🌿 Leadership in the Cannabis Freedom Movement

Steve’s leadership has shaped the movement’s course over five decades—through protests, legal reform, and landmark advocacy efforts:

• 1970s–1980s: Active in the Yippie Movement and grassroots cannabis protests, organizing civil disobedience actions and building cultural bridges between underground and activist communities.
• 1980s–1990s: Founded Ecolution, one of the first legal hemp companies in the United States, helping to reintroduce hemp to American commerce and consciousness after decades of prohibition. Produced and marketed 100+ hemp consumer goods.
• 1998: Played a pivotal role in the passage of Initiative 59, Washington D.C.’s first medical cannabis law.
• 2011–2016: When the federal government attempted to shut down California’s medical cannabis industry, Steve led the defense of Harborside, his Oakland dispensary, which became the legal battleground that halted the crackdown and protected patient access across the state.
• 2019–2023: Founded and advised The Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit devoted to releasing people incarcerated for cannabis convictions.

🛠 Commercial Pioneer in Legal Cannabis

While always grounded in the cause, Steve has also been a builder—creating institutions that proved the cannabis industry could be ethical, transparent, and thriving:

• Harborside (2006): One of the first six licensed dispensaries in the U.S., and for many years the largest cannabis retailer in the world.
• Steep Hill Labs (2009): The first commercial cannabis testing facility, pioneering lab-based consumer safety in the industry.
• The Arcview Group (2010): The first cannabis-focused angel investment network, which helped raise over $300 million for cannabis entrepreneurs.

Steve’s commercial work has always been rooted in a simple idea: cannabis enterprises should reflect the values of the movement that made them possible.

📡 Media & Communications

Steve has worked to bring the message of cannabis freedom to as many people, in as many places, as possible:

• Starred in Weed Wars (Discovery Channel, 2011), the first-ever cannabis reality television series, which brought dispensary life into American living rooms.
• Hosted the Ask Steve video series on Green-Flower.com and created Radio Free Cannabis, a podcast that gave voice to activists around the world.
• Appeared on major national media outlets including CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CNBC, and The New York Times.
• Profiled and quoted in global outlets like The London Times, Der Spiegel (Germany), Le Monde (France), Rai One (Italy), and El Global (Brazil).

He also once debated the merits of cannabis policy before the Oxford Union Debating Society, at Oxford University in England—a historic forum renowned for hosting world leaders and revolutionary thinkers.

✍️ Writing & Thought Leadership

In 2015, Steve published The Cannabis Manifesto: A New Paradigm for Wellness, which introduced the wellness theory of cannabis—a concept that reframed the plant not as a dangerous vice or narrow medicine, but as a powerful tool for healing, creativity, and connection. His writing continues to influence both cultural and regulatory conversations around the globe.

🌍 International Movement Building

Following the passage of California’s Prop 64, Steve turned his focus to the global stage:

• He has traveled across four continents, meeting with Indigenous cultivators, regulators, entrepreneurs, and legacy community leaders.
• He’s helped catalyze cannabis freedom movements in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, with special attention to post-colonial equity and local cultural integration.
• In Oaxaca, Mexico, he maintains strong relationships with Indigenous farming collectives and advocates for policies that support ancestral knowledge and community-based cultivation.

🌱 Still Growing

Steve DeAngelo remains deeply engaged in the next chapters of the Cannabis Freedom Movement. Today, he works on a wide range of political and commercial projects, always guided by the same mission that inspired a 16-year-old protester on the White House lawn:
to bring the cannabis plant and cannabis freedom to every nation and every person on the planet.