For decades, talking about marijuana has been taboo across the United States. And don’t even think about smoking or growing it. In the past few years, though, many states have made it legal to grow, buy and use cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes. This is not only impacting the medical industry but also changing communities. It has opened the eyes of some staunchest, set-in-their-ways locals, who are starting to embrace this new aspect of culture.
Slim, founder of Carter Creek Cannabis and resident of Broken Bow in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, knows this all too well.
Carter Creek
Slim had a bumpy start in the industry. In his teens, he became part of the local marijuana growing community, growing illegal crops for his friend’s father, who Slim describes as “the biggest outlaw in the world,” to sell. By 16, he was also a meth addict and had his meth lab, growing weed on the side. He was always getting in trouble with the law, and he’s been to jail several times.
After taking one hit in his late teens, the judge gave him the chance to turn his life around – and for the first time, he listened, vowing not to cultivate pot or breach any Oklahoma laws. He got clean, out of the industry, and got his life back on track in his little local community, running several trades-based businesses.
An “honest living”
In 2018, cannabis was legalized in Oklahoma for medical use and given his knowledge and experience, going back to growing (this time legally) seemed like the ultimate choice for Slim. It also proved positive for the local community.
His run-ins with the law have transformed from negative experiences to positive ones. The community has changed, and his position in the community has become one of respect.
“The whole state of Oklahoma saw [weed growing] as an outlaw thing,” he says. “And now that it’s legal, even the churches have accepted it. It’s crazy the culture that’s changed.”
He says the most significant change in Broken Bow is that the new laws “allowed people to quit lying.”
Open discussions
Prior to 2018, you couldn’t even talk about marijuana, and you certainly couldn’t walk into your local church or post office smelling like weed. Today, it’s a whole other story, and, he says, “it’s not just about growing weed anymore.”
“You can even ship clones now. Anything containing less than .03% THC is considered hemp. So, you put them in a ziplock bag, add a little water, walk into the post office, add a note and send it. No one looks twice,” he says.
Even the churches don’t look twice anymore.
“Churches have accepted it. They can see the benefit it has on the community.”
Oklahoma has the highest per-capita demand for medical marijuana in the United States. As of January 2022, over 400,000 people were registered to use medical cannabis – or around 10% of the population. There are more than 9,000 businesses licensed to sell marijuana, with over 6,000 growers and almost 2,000 dispensaries.
And for Slim, it’s about positively impacting his local community.
“Everyone here knows my story,” he says. “They know I struggled with meth and opioids, that I’ve been to prison. Now I’m well respected in the community.”
The love of his life, Queen Bee, fully supports the use of medical cannabis recognizing the benefits it has for Slim and “millions of others”; and even the Chief of Police and his “right-hand man,” who had arrested him years earlier, showed up to the grand opening of Slim’s dispensary.
“They come inside, took pictures with me. A few years earlier, it was a very different story.”
Changing the culture
For Slim, one thing that keeps him in the industry is the chance to help other teens from the local area stay out of strife. Though often debated, he says you can’t get addicted to [marijuana], which is why it’s ideal for anyone (any age) to consume. It’s also reliably tested for heavy metals and pesticides, so there’s no confusion about what people are ingesting.
“At the moment, we’ve got vaping killing kids. I’m talking about vape pens laced with fentanyl,” he says. “It’s a crisis for 14 to 18 years olds. And now, we’ve got this legal medicine, legal marijuana, which saves them from buying vapes and other drugs.”
Marijuana is not yet legalized in Oklahoma for recreational purposes, but it couldgo to vote in November if State Officials allow it. Watch this space.
