Rasheed Samir Gresham, 48, loves everything about weed — growing it, talking about it, smoking it. So when Missouri legalized medical marijuana, Gresham jumped at the chance to become a licensed cultivator.
"My buddy was in the service, and he was like, 'Yeah, I got my license,'" Gresham remembers. "I was like, 'Where? Here?'" Gresham followed suit and got licensed in 2019.
He started growing cannabis from "immaculate conception," which was what cannabis seeds were called at the time since it was illegal to transport them into the state. Despite the fact that medical marijuana was legal, a miracle was required for cultivators to get started.
"The Department of Health and Senior Services looked the other way so the industry could get going, basically," Gresham says.
Gresham came across the miracle seeds and started cultivating. He knew something of horticulture from working in his grandmother's garden growing up. Still, cannabis was a different beast.
"It took me almost three years growing different plants and playing with things to understand," he says.
All of that hard work has paid off, and Gresham — who as a licensed caregiver in Missouri can sell small amounts of pot to certain patients — has started making some memorable cannabis strains under his brand Sheed With the Weed.
"We have Grape Vess, which tastes just like the grape soda, and we have Gooey Butter Cake, which tastes just like you're eating a slice of the cake, and it has a mind, body and soul effect."
Gresham's passion for weed started when he was growing up in New Jersey. His father smoked pot, and it was always around. In the '70s though, it wasn't a big deal. "When crack came [in the '80s] the government vilified drugs a lot more," Gresham says. That's how he ended up in prison.
"It's crazy because the amount of weed [I went to prison for] — it was probably six ounces," he says. At the time, he was living in Pleasantville, New Jersey, and a law had been passed that imposed tougher penalties for selling weed within 500 feet of a public building, park or housing project.
"I fell under that," Gresham explains. "I read about it even before I fell under it, and I remember saying to myself, 'This is going to hurt a lot of people.'" He says that where he was living, due to the density of public housing, it was nearly impossible to not be within 500 feet of a prohibited building.
In 2000, Gresham was sentenced to 13 years and released after serving nine. While he was incarcerated, his mother moved to St. Louis, and Gresham followed.
Now, the plant that got him locked up is not only legal but a source of revenue for Gresham.
"I know the plant, and I know the people," Gresham says. "So that gives me validity."
Still, Gresham is annoyed at how difficult it is for Black people, who have faced a huge amount of incarceration due to marijuana, to get ahead in the cannabis industry.
"You don't want to give us inclusion, or you want to make us jump through hoops that you know we can't get through. Nobody in our family has the type of money to get us into the game that is built on our backs."
He was on a team that applied for two dispensary licenses, but both were rejected. The application process was based on points, and Gresham's team was told they didn't have enough, but Gresham thinks that some of the people who were approved shouldn't have had that many points either. He believes the system is rigged.
"I was put on the cross for this," he says, reflecting on spending nine years away from his family. "And now I can't even break into the industry."
He hopes to apply for a microbusiness license since those fees are refundable, and as someone who was once incarcerated for possession with intent to distrubte marijuana, he is eligible.
Right now, though, Gresham focuses on consulting with larger facilities about cultivation and cannabis through his company Treehouse Exotics. He even wrote a book about cannabis cultivation: Standard Operating Procedures for Growing Cannabis: Operations, Growing, Troubleshooting.
"I've fought all types of bugs, you name it: aphids, spider mites, gnats, white flies," he says. "So you learn it's not about just growing. It's about standard operating procedures. It's about integrated pest management and keeping your environment as clean as possible at all times."
He also hosts pop up events, where he sometimes gives away his weed for free since he's only licensed as a caregiver to sell to medical marijuana patients. To sign up for his mailing list go here and stay up to date on his events. In May, he hopes to host a Cannabis Community Fest event with other weed purveyors.
Last year, he held the first one and didn't charge anyone to have a booth there. Gresham wants to make money, but he also wants people to have access to the healing power of weed.
One of his first clients was a friend with cancer who needed highly concentrated Rick Simpson Oil, which can be very expensive. At the time, the friend had to travel to Michigan to get it.
"I watched this man go from death back to life once he got on the oil," Gresham says. So when he got the chance, Gresham started making some for his friend for free. "This is my passion," he says. "This is my love. This is my artwork."
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