In 2016, Steven Sharpe a marijuana and hemp legalization pioneer out of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.
Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.
But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.
“We can’t drive around like that,” she said.
It was election season. Sharpe had a “big Trump sticker” on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.
“We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing,” she said. “It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.”
Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.
Photo: Steven Sharpe (left) Ryan Basore (Right)
Documentary advocating industrial hemp industry to be shown at Michigan Theatre
