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reserve your ad hereThe Reclassification Tour: a journey from the bottom of the east coast to the top, visiting cities, states, people, and businesses and focus the conversation on the move in progress to reschedule Cannabis (Marijuana).
The tour is led by Vee, the Traveling Cannabis Writer sponsored by heavyweight sponsor: Sinful Brands/Drink Sinful, and a handful of others supporting: media and promotion (40 Tons Brand, BlkMeninSuits_UrbaneNation, and the Highly Connected App), and fashion (Styylistics and B Luxury Essentials). The tour left Florida and traveled through and to:
- East Coast Georgia
- East Coast South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Washington D.C
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- New York
- Massachusetts
The journey took us to: hemp farms, cannabis cultivation facilities, cannabis dispensaries, cannabis friendly lodging, cannabis labs, and USDA Agriculture Offices.
The Reclassification Tour focused on the east coast because that’s where the constitution was signed, where the nation’s capital is located, and where the civil war ended. It made sense to start the tour on the east coast.
The tour started in the deep south, exploring nature and culture in: Northern FL, East Coast GA, and Southeast SC. The cannabis exploration portion of the tour started in North Carolina at Busted Bucket Farm in Efland, NC.
Continue reading to learn about my journey through the deep south, my visit and stay at Busted Bucket Farm, my visit to the USDA Agriculture Office, and meeting the local community.
Traveling Through the Deep South to Get to Busted Bucket Farm
Florida
The journey started in Central Florida with the first stop being Saint Augustine, located in Northern Florida just south of Jacksonville. I camped at a state park just off the coast of Saint Augustine Beach. Florida is a medical only state so cannabis could’ve been explored but, I chose to explore nature and affordable ways to travel and found that this way was one of them.
Check out the article here. The tour moves from here, through Georgia.
Georgia
The journey to North Carolina took me through Florida, southeast Georgia, and the east/eastern coast of South Carolina. The journey through the deep south was filled with visuals of history that made me remember the evil Black people faced in these areas. And while nature is gorgeous in the state of Georgia, it never fails, everytime I drive through or visit Georgia, I itch- literally. I wanted this time to be different but it wasn’t.
I’ve been to Georgia at least 15 times and have driven through Georgia at least 25 times but have never visited coastal Georgia. This time, the plan was to visit Tybee Island; a barrier island and small city near Savannah, Georgia.
While Tybee Island is a gorgeous place, I was annoyed at the signs that told me about the history of Black people being banned from the ocean. It didn’t feel like the oceans do where I come from… I didn’t feel like I could relax. And this probably would’ve been a different experience if Tybee Island wasn’t in Georgia. It’s possible my experience would’ve had a different vibe if i wasn’t itching.
This stop wasn’t a stay, just a visit on the way to South Carolina.
South Carolina
Low Country, the east/east coast of South Carolina; called Low Country because this area is at the bottom of the mountains (I learned this from James Bender/ Bender’s Sensimilia Farms). I visited South Carolina for 4 days, stayed in a hotel in Charleston, and drove to and through: Seabrook Island, Martin’s Point Plantation (I had to see the house Noah built for Alli!- The Notebook), and Pawleys Island.
I spent way more for 3 nights in Charleston than I did for 4 nights in Florida; and I had no view of water with the exception of rain. My hotel stay for 3 nights was $500, which is affordable for a 3 star hotel, but way more expensive than what I paid for my campsite in Florida- which was $110 for the full stay.
South Carolina’s nature, like most nature, is beautiful. But even in all that beauty, what I remember most was seeing someone’s “Plantation” signs on what seemed like every 5th property. That had me frowning. These reminders make me sad. But the reminder that Magical Goddess Dom gave me made me smile. She reminded me that I was traveling through the Gullah Geechee corridor.
The Gullah Geechee people are the descendants of West and Central Africans who were enslaved and brought to the lower Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Gullah is the ethnic group, and Geechee is the language; English based creole. The Gullah are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American group in the United States.
While staying here, I learned about the new technology being placed in hotel rooms that picks up the scent of nicotine and cannabis and alerts the front desk by cloud (stay tuned, I’ll be covering that separately coming soon).
And then, off to the state that launches the cannabis exploration of the tour: North Carolina.
North Carolina
There’s something about the way North Carolina feels to me. A southern state with ugly history like the others, but there’s something in the forest that gives me goosies as I travel through the state. I’ve visited North Carolina more than a handful of times but this was my first time visiting the eastern coast of the state.
My first stop was the Outer Banks of North Carolina where I camped on the ocean in Nags Head. Camping saved me so much money, and nature healed me and scared me within a 48 hour period.
From the easternmost coast of North Carolina towards west North Carolina for the first cannabis stop of the tour: Efland, NC- Busted Bucket Farm.
My Experience at Busted Bucket Farm
Located in Efland, North Carolina, in between Raleigh and Greensboro is Busted Bucket Farm owned by Matt Gunter. Matt is an engineer, researcher, consultant, and farmer passionate about agriculture. Busted Bucket Farm sits on 10 acres and has been growing hemp since 2019
The location gives the illusion that it is far away from the big cities but the reality is that it’s just tucked away in the abundant nature, in between the big cities. Durham is less than 30 minutes away, Raleigh is less than an hour away, and Greensboro is about 40 minutes away. It’s the perfect location for no city action, but getting to the city easily if the ‘go out and explore’ bug bites.
I loved being here so much. Of course because of the gorgeous cannabis-hemp plants that I got to vibe with whenever I wanted. But also, Matt and his family are some of the nicest people I’ve met. As soon as I arrived, it felt like I was with people I’d known forever. This is the vibration that nurtures visitors, the one that makes you exhale because… it feels like home.
The farm is sustainable, sungrown, magical, and home to flowers, produce, geese, roosters, chickens, Cow the goat, a sheep, gorgeous horses, and a few dogs.
The mornings and evenings were brisk and the days were warm. Matt hosted me in a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom barn apartment that has a full kitchen, a front porch, and views of the gardens.
Matt welcomed me to grab food from the garden which was music to my vegan ears- FARM TO TABLE! I had so much to choose from: peppers, mint, onions, squash, berries, HEMP leaves, and and and. I never thought North Carolina could feel like paradise.
Shadowing Matt on the Farm
For those that don’t know, my favorite person in the industry is the farmer/cultivator/grower. You can see and feel my love for everything they do anytime I’m on their land/at their facility. I never try to hide it because it’s important for me to show them that they are appreciated.
I was all smiles during shadow day. It was hard not too. A lot of it had nothing to do with Matt, and so much to do with the animals, the trees that surrounded the farm, and the wind that blew through with the scent of mint. Check out the links below to watch videos that captured pieces of shadow day:
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/_0bv5Km8R5Owhml4nokz5w.EN68rFkaJTiKJW0lhxLseo
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/oMWT8NcNRdOyfKTIc-9qRg.3-fKccTJuaKUQ9_7Dabq5H
As I continued to shadow, I felt lucky to learn from Matt. He was an open book, sharing information from his years of experience working with plants and traveling the country to consult. He was an open book about his past and current research, his plans to create genetics, and the vision he has for expansion.
That night, Matt hosted a community of farmers/growers and researchers:
Alex Arzuaga, Liz Karkoski, John Bannon, Michelle Benton, Glenn Holland, Yannick Favre, and my MCBA Board colleague, Steven Philpot.
We sat around the fire, eating, sipping, and having deep conversations about cannabis as an industry, community, and the move in progress to reclassify. I was all ears as I listened to passion, frustrations, and hope.
The people at this gathering are soil people. Here’s what I mean by soil people; they look at and talk about the organisms and the minerals in the soil, spend time researching soil, get their inspiration and healing from the soil, people that find answers in soil.
My Visit to a North Carolina USDA Agriculture Office
This visit happened while I was shadowing Matt on the farm. My first time ever visiting a USDA office. Icing on the cake- to discuss cannabis-hemp. I was grateful to Matt for allowing me to shadow this visit. Even more when I learned that he planned for this, and let them know in advance that I’d be there with him.
I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, or record video or audio, but I was able to shadow Matt as he registered his cannabis-hemp plants. I witnessed an easy process, with pleasant attitudes. I assumed that a government office discussing cannabis meant the person employed by the government would be tight faced with frowns. I am so happy that my assumption was wrong.
Matt met with Tina S. Miller, County Executive Director at the USDA Farm Service Agency for Orange-Durham County. Matt went in to register his plants which consisted of Matt showing Tina where the plants are on the farm and the space used to plant them. Tina entered the information into the system and provided Matt a copy. The process looked so easy, it shocked me.
Closing
Matt shared his thoughts on the Reclassification of Cannabis and followed up with to share news and his thoughts on North Carolina’s Senate Bill 3– Medical Cannabis- Compassionate Care, and House Bill 563– Hemp Derived Products:
“I am grudgingly in support of reclassification to Schedule III with a lot of if’s. I would much rather a full de-scheduling and decriminalization of the cannabis plant itself. For example, the plant and unadulterated materials directly from it are treated like tomatoes while adulterated materials can be handled as regulated substances; similar to corn-alcohol regulations. I know that is not happening anytime soon, so Schedule III is better than Schedule I.
As for North Carolina, what’s going on right now is similar to many of the southern state legalization holdouts and laggards. Our legislature has combined Senate Bill 3-Medical Cannabis-Compassionate Care, and House Bill 563- Hemp derived products. It will be used to crush the hemp industry and consolidate gains in favor of the pharmaceutical powers in coordination with the alcohol lobby.
The public here is completely unaware of the takeover and maneuvers going on because they are so starved of legal access and just want the boot off their neck. Unfortunately we will all be meeting the new boot if it passes.”
I had an amazing experience with Matt, his family, his community, the plants, and the various forms of life living at Busted Bucket Farm. I didn’t want to leave but the tour had to move North.
From here, the tour headed North to and through Virginia and Maryland, and stopped in the nation’s capital for a few days: Washington, DC. Make sure you are following so you don’t miss the next round of stops on the tour. Follow #travelingcannabiswriter to stay in the loop.
Connect with my tour sponsors on socials:
Photo credit: @igot_theshot
Veronica “Vee” Castillo is known as the <Traveling Cannabis Writer>. She is a published writer, connector, traveler, and a member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association Board of Directors.
Her body of work, which includes over 200 published articles in 15 publications, covers all things and people in cannabis/ hemp/ and overall plant medicines. She can be found in both digital and print where she provides cannabis industry and community insights from her 6 year journey around the country.
She specializes in bringing to light the hidden gems in the plant space and beyond. You can follow her journey on Instagram: @vee_travelingvegcannawriter and/or LinkedIn: @Traveling Cannabis Writer.
Photos credit: Igot_theshot
