Apr 20, 2023
Let's start with this: No one should be in jail for weed. It's 420 and it's only appropriate for Evelyn LaChapelle to be a guest on the podcast. Evelyn is a mom, cannabis advocate and business owner. She is also very open about her experiences within the legal justice system after being sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for depositing cannabis funds into a bank account. The California mom spent five years in the North Carolina prison across the country from her friends, family and her young daughter. She details the nuances of her release from prison that many people may be unaware of, like how she entered a drug rehab program in exchange for time off her sentence. It was in this program that she had to introduce herself as someone who was "addicted" to marijuana. While we all celebrate the plant each year on April 20, it's also important to take a moment to remember that this same plant was weaponzied against Black and brown people for years and the effects can still be felt today. Evelyn shares how she had to watch cannabis go legal in her home state and numerous other states across the country while she served time for it. We also get into how she and her daughter handled her incarceration -- which she admits was tough for them both, including her own mother who would fly across the county just so she could visit with her for 30 minutes. Depsite it all, Evelyn was able to turn her anger, frustration and passion into her business venture, 87 months and The Weed Lady. Follow Evelyn on Instagram @87months