The booming reggae sound of The Movement opening their set started to fade as the neon lit freight elevator backstage began its slow descent into the bowels of The Depot.
Holding a giant inflatable joint in his arms and another fatty in his lips was the captain of our ship, American reggae star and cannabis advocate, Josh Heinrichs. Excitement was HIGH as our group hit the basement level. Our destination was the infamous ‘Green Room,’ where we would discuss with our host the current state of the nation regarding cannabis legalization and his opinions of Utah’s budding medical cannabis laws taking effect this year. We needed to get there first.
Josh Heinrichs, giant doobie in tote, leads his party to the Green Room in the basement of The Depot.
The basement of the Depot is made of a maze of concrete hallways, lined with pipes and florescent lights. Every turn looks the same and after our group, at the mercy of Heinrichs’ directions, wondered down empty hallway, after empty hallway, we realized our guide was lost.
It’s understandable though. With the rest of the crowd, we saw Heinrichs consume an entire bottle of Dad’s Elixir, containing 1,000 mg of THC. He and his band mates weren’t shy about burning on stage in-front of multiple onlooking security guards. Reminding me why I love reggae shows.
Over the echoes of our laughs, as we stumbled aimlessly through the tunnels still following the giant joint, we could hear the distant voice of a security guard in pursuit of what he thought was misplaced groupies.
When the guard recognized Heinrichs’ smiling face, he chuckled with a sense of relief, and pointed us in the right direction to the ‘Green Room.’
It’s a surprise we didn’t smell it.
Tonight was the last stop of ‘The Ways of the World Tour,’ which just got done visiting 16 different legal and non-legal cannabis cities around the country. The tour has been jamming since January and you could tell the guys are celebrating the reach to the finish line.
Opening act, Indubious, was already in full effect and itching to go watch the headlining group’s last night on stage, with the rest of the Depot’s Saturday night sold out crowd.
Heinrichs and music-collaborator, SkillinJah, just left the stage and already in backstage mode after visiting with countless fans at the merchandise both.
Heinrichs lounges on a couch in a bland room with whiteboards covering the walls, while his counterpart pours himself a drink at a table full of bottles of alcohol and food plates.
The white boards are not blank. If you look close enough, you can begin to make out the signatures and miscellaneous art of musicians that have played gigs here in the past.
Behind Heinrichs, is a mural drawn and signed by Snoop Dogg. This gives me the que to turn on my recorder and place it on the coffee table in front of the red-eyed musician.
We’re all excited for the reggae duo to tell Salt Baked City News why they believe, “one love is the healing of a nation,” and how cannabis can save the country.
Salt Baked City Publisher, Cole Fullmer, “interviewing” Josh Heinrichs in the Green Room at The Depot.
Cole: As prohibition falls around the country, what’s your opinion of cannabis legalization as you wrap up this nationwide tour?
Josh: My house was raided during 2009 in Missouri for cannabis. I didn’t even have anything, and it was just because of who I was on the internet because of my music. The police even admitted to me when it was all going down that was the reason. My whole point is, if you were to tell ‘Josh’ in 2009 it was going to be like it is now, we are just going to be smoking weed everywhere, and half the states we just went to on this tour were legal – even Michigan. It’s night and day, bro, so it really gives me hope for the future. I think it’s going to be a lot like alcohol. Our generation can’t even fathom when alcohol was illegal, but our great grandparent are like ‘we remember that shit’, and I think it’s going to be the same way for us with cannabis. People got to realize that it comes down to people not going to jail for a little bit of herb, and that’s the best part.
Cole: You’ve seen a lot of flower from state-to-state on this tour. What strain will you remember the most?
Josh: Um (takes a long pause while smoking on a joint). There’s been a couple, but one for sure. There was this one guy that randomly came up to our merch table in Santa Cruise, and talked to my guy selling our gear. He called me up, and was like, Josh, you need to get down here. This guy had named a strain he grew called the ‘Skill n’ Josh” and this weed, I don’t know what it was, but I could smell it before I walked up to him. It was some sticky chronic, with a diesel smell. It was definitely a funky smell you’d remember and it’s not every day you’re given that kind of honor. I hope we come across it again.
Cole: Why do you consider cannabis a medicine?
Josh: There are a million different reasons why, really. Everyday I’m consuming cannabis, I know for a fact that I’m saturating my endocannabinoid system, which is found in all mammals. We know it’s responsible for helping a lot of things in your body work better, from your immune system and brain function, and just promotes overall better health. I don’t get sick, man. Knock on wood. Ask this guy over here (pointing at music collaborator SkillinJah). I don’t know if it’s the cannabis or not, but I just saw this thing today in the news that says scientists have discovered regular cannabis users have higher white blood cell counts than those who don’t. They are just starting to dive into this science since laws are changing, and I think we’re going to see a lot more stuff like this come to light.
Cole: Now that medical cannabis is legal in Utah, would you recommend locals get their card?
Josh: Cannabis is nothing like taking a prescription drug. I got my medical card in Missouri as soon as it was available. When I did, it put me at ease instantly. The peace of mind knowing I’m a patient and not a criminal is huge. I recommend everybody who consumes (cannabis) in Utah get theirs.
Cole: Your home state Missouri adopted medical cannabis the same time Utah did. What are the laws like there?
Josh: I feel Missouri has a real progressive medical cannabis program compared to other states. You can even get your card to grow. It’s only an extra hundred dollars on top of your medical card cost, which is around $150. This allows you to grow six plants at your house. Six little ones, six medium ones, and six flowering. It’s amazing. Also part of the law allows you to have cannabis on you, and in your car, and it doesn’t even need to be sealed or anything from a store. The cops can’t ask you where it came from and that’s how it’s been since day one. We still don’t have any dispensaries open yet, but they’ve really set it up so patients are protected and supplied regardless. I don’t get raided anymore (laughing loudly).
