Legendary Dope Lawyer Michael Stepanian Discusses His Classic Guide to Avoiding Arrest

Global Cannabis Times Editor-in-Chief Damon Poeter interviews legendary dope lawyer Michael Stepanian on the 50-year anniversary of Pot Shots, his 1972 guide to avoiding getting busted for marijuana (1:30). Mike details what really went down at the famous Summer of Love pot busts at the “Human Be-In” and the police raid of Grateful Dead’s Haight-Ashbury house (9:21). Damon and Mike also discuss the movement to decriminalize and eventually legalize cannabis through the efforts of organizations like NORML (16:35) and via referendums (19:29), the harm done for so many years to people’s lives for mere cannabis possession (20:34), and the ongoing conflicts between federal authorities and cannabis cultivators, distributors and consumers (23:09).

Host: Damon Poeter
Guest: Michael Stepanian
Producer: Dave Visaya

Damon Poeter

Damon Poeter is the editor-in-chief of Global Cannabis Times, produced by SmartWork Media. Damon has had a decades-long career in journalism and publishing, including stints at PCMag.com, Venture Beat, Extreme Tech, Ziff Davis, United Business Media, The Nation, the San Francisco Chronicle, Japan Times and the Gilroy Dispatch.