Lifelong Cannabis Activist and Man in the News
CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the BBC, Fortune magazine, The Huffington Post, and dozens other media sources have given significant coverage to Stephen DeAngelo’s innovative, successful Harborside Health Center in recent months.  His creation of a model medical cannabis dispensary has projected him to the forefront of the news media.  At the base of this success is his lifelong activism in deconstructing the stigma that has been built around marijuana and hemp.  His extensive knowledge in this area has made him a respected authority in the cannabis/hemp industries.

Stephen DeAngelo was born in Philadelphia in 1958 and raised in Washington DC where his father worked for the Kennedy administration.  His activism started at an early age and was influenced by his parents’ involvement in the Civil Rights movement and the years he spent living in India with his family when his dad worked for the Peace Corps (1967-69.) 

At the age of 16, Steve became a cannabis reform activist.  For half a decade, he was lead organizer of the 4th of July Coalition, sponsor of the world famous White House Smoke-Ins.  Over the years, Steve’s activism matured, and he put his talents to work for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), where he organized numerous demonstrations and fundraisers, and co-produced the widely acclaimed Hempilation I and Hempilation II CDs in cooperation with Capricorn Records.

At the age of 26, Steve enrolled in the University of Maryland, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1986. The next year, Steve met Jack Herer, author of  The Emperor Wears No Clothes, a well-researched book about the history of industrial hemp, which outlined its incredible ecological benefits. Steve assisted Jack in editing and publishing the book, and in 1989 launched Hemp Tour, a nationwide travelling road show that promoted the good news about hemp, which eventually grew to hundreds of dates per year.  As public knowledge of hemp grew, consumers began to demand hemp products.  Steve responded in 1991 by launching Ecolution, a pioneering company that made high quality hemp products, and sold to retail stores in all 50 states and 21 countries.   By mid-decade Steve was recognized internationally as an expert in the environmental benefits of industrial hemp.

In 1998, Steve became a lead organizer and fundraiser for Proposition 59, which legalized cannabis for medical purposes, and was overwhelmingly approved by Washington DC voters. Congress however refused to implement the legislation, and vetoed it.   That was when Steve decided to move to California, which had passed similar legislation in 1996, and was not subject to a Congressional veto. 

Once in California he immersed himself in the medical cannabis movement.  He was a co-founder and charter member of Americans for Safe Access, an organization today that represents tens of thousands of patients; produced For Medical Use Only, a documentary film about medical cannabis; organized several collective cultivation projects, and invented a new process for producing cannabis concentrates.

The opening in October of 2006 of Harborside Health Center (HHC), Oakland ‘s premiere medical cannabis dispensary, was another landmark in Steve’s promotion of the benefits of cannabis.  The Center’s widespread acceptance and acclaim by the community, is testament to HHC’s success. 

Steve’s newest creation has been to bring together a management team designed to help communities and entrepreneurs establish non-profit, trouble-free medical cannabis dispensaries.  He has attracted the talents of a highly experienced experts in the cannabis industry who have unmatched records of success.  

“Out of the shadows and into the light” epitomizes Steve’s mission to expose the myths created about marijuana, enlighten the public on the many benefits of the plant, and empower the country to change its image of it.

For further information contact:  Gaynell Rogers (415) 298-1114 or Linda Stokely (707) 981-4407, Public Relations for Stephen DeAngelo and Harborside Health Center

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