1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:14,165 Speaker 1: School of Humans. You can get anything you want and 2 00:00:14,365 --> 00:00:22,045 Speaker 1: Alice accepting Alice. This is Peach Blossom singing Arlo Guthrie's 3 00:00:22,085 --> 00:00:25,725 Speaker 1: Alice's Restaurant theme song with my dad. She and my 4 00:00:25,845 --> 00:00:28,125 Speaker 1: dad have been friends since they were in the iconic 5 00:00:28,205 --> 00:00:37,365 Speaker 1: hippie cult classic movie in sixty eight nineteen sixty nine, 6 00:00:32,045 --> 00:00:46,365 Speaker 1: You can get No No, No No at Alsuss Hope 7 00:00:46,445 --> 00:00:51,205 Speaker 1: that's not going anywhere public. I was awesome. My dad 8 00:00:51,285 --> 00:00:54,005 Speaker 1: thought I should chat with her now. He didn't know 9 00:00:54,285 --> 00:00:57,685 Speaker 1: if she'd been involved in the smuggling industry, but he 10 00:00:57,765 --> 00:01:01,205 Speaker 1: was pretty sure she'd have something interesting to say, and 11 00:01:01,605 --> 00:01:04,605 Speaker 1: he was right. I remember one time we had a 12 00:01:04,685 --> 00:01:07,445 Speaker 1: bunch of weed and I think it was like on 13 00:01:07,565 --> 00:01:10,565 Speaker 1: this seat, and it was in a bag or something 14 00:01:10,725 --> 00:01:13,525 Speaker 1: like that, and we had to very quickly get rid 15 00:01:13,565 --> 00:01:16,485 Speaker 1: of it. And we had a dirty car. We had 16 00:01:17,085 --> 00:01:20,765 Speaker 1: cartons and thing bags all over this floor. At the 17 00:01:21,285 --> 00:01:23,045 Speaker 1: moment we had to get rid of it, all I 18 00:01:23,165 --> 00:01:26,605 Speaker 1: did was throw it on the floor under my feet, 19 00:01:27,365 --> 00:01:30,605 Speaker 1: And so the cop made the driver get out of 20 00:01:30,645 --> 00:01:32,885 Speaker 1: the car, and he was being really shitty to him 21 00:01:32,885 --> 00:01:35,525 Speaker 1: because he was really blown out long air, you know, 22 00:01:35,605 --> 00:01:38,405 Speaker 1: And I'm just sitting there waiting and he comes around. 23 00:01:38,605 --> 00:01:43,445 Speaker 1: He opens my side and he's like, what's that. And 24 00:01:43,765 --> 00:01:48,885 Speaker 1: I had a bag of hair. I had cut Billy's 25 00:01:49,005 --> 00:01:51,565 Speaker 1: hair and I had a bag of hair on the floor, 26 00:01:51,605 --> 00:01:54,685 Speaker 1: Oh my god. And right next to it, under the 27 00:01:54,845 --> 00:01:57,605 Speaker 1: other foot was this big bat, a very bustable pot. 28 00:01:58,205 --> 00:02:00,365 Speaker 1: And I said, that's hair and he said, what are 29 00:02:00,405 --> 00:02:04,405 Speaker 1: you talking about. That's hair and I said hair, see hair, hair, 30 00:02:05,645 --> 00:02:08,045 Speaker 1: And the guy was so grossed out and so like 31 00:02:08,805 --> 00:02:13,725 Speaker 1: hair hair in their car. Then he'd just like, go way, 32 00:02:13,805 --> 00:02:16,645 Speaker 1: you're disgusting, and you know, left me alone and didn't 33 00:02:16,685 --> 00:02:20,605 Speaker 1: ask me to raise my other five Oh shit like that. So, 34 00:02:20,845 --> 00:02:23,445 Speaker 1: as we've been making this podcast, my dad will keep 35 00:02:23,485 --> 00:02:26,405 Speaker 1: having revelations that people he knew in the old days 36 00:02:26,605 --> 00:02:30,605 Speaker 1: and thought were straight were actually smugglers as well. Just 37 00:02:30,765 --> 00:02:32,525 Speaker 1: the other day he ran into an old Mill Valley 38 00:02:32,565 --> 00:02:36,005 Speaker 1: neighbor who revealed he'd been tabbing acid in the eighties. 39 00:02:37,165 --> 00:02:40,445 Speaker 1: Now Dad didn't know, because, like him, everyone else was 40 00:02:40,605 --> 00:02:45,005 Speaker 1: private about their business dealings too. One of those people 41 00:02:45,365 --> 00:02:48,325 Speaker 1: is Candy Can. You were never meant to know that 42 00:02:48,485 --> 00:02:50,645 Speaker 1: I was a pot dealer, but I came out of 43 00:02:50,685 --> 00:02:55,965 Speaker 1: the closet pretty violently. I got busted with just a 44 00:02:56,045 --> 00:02:59,845 Speaker 1: horrible scene. This is Candy Can. I've known her since 45 00:02:59,845 --> 00:03:02,325 Speaker 1: I was about nine. She's the mother of one of 46 00:03:02,365 --> 00:03:05,285 Speaker 1: my childhood friends from the hippie theater community I'm a 47 00:03:05,325 --> 00:03:09,325 Speaker 1: part of. Although I've known her forever, Candy Can and 48 00:03:09,405 --> 00:03:12,805 Speaker 1: I have newly become friends in my adulthood. I always 49 00:03:12,885 --> 00:03:15,725 Speaker 1: vaguely knew she worked in the pot industry, but it 50 00:03:15,805 --> 00:03:19,005 Speaker 1: wasn't until she finished sharing her unbelievable tale with me 51 00:03:19,445 --> 00:03:23,405 Speaker 1: that we realized she worked in the same network as 52 00:03:23,525 --> 00:03:28,165 Speaker 1: my dad. They had inadvertently worked together for over twenty 53 00:03:28,325 --> 00:03:32,245 Speaker 1: years and shared the same close friend colleagues, the same 54 00:03:32,365 --> 00:03:35,005 Speaker 1: people who were our super close family friends while I 55 00:03:35,045 --> 00:03:38,925 Speaker 1: was growing up. We were all surprised, especially my dad, 56 00:03:39,325 --> 00:03:42,045 Speaker 1: who sort of knew Candy Can from a distance but 57 00:03:42,285 --> 00:03:46,805 Speaker 1: thought she worked with a different smuggling ring where they 58 00:03:46,885 --> 00:03:49,765 Speaker 1: ran into each other at a hippie theater reunion party recently, 59 00:03:50,045 --> 00:03:52,245 Speaker 1: and it was incredible to watch my dad and Candy 60 00:03:52,365 --> 00:03:55,885 Speaker 1: Can talk about the old days. I'd never seen my 61 00:03:56,005 --> 00:03:59,205 Speaker 1: dad talk openly about his former business in semi public 62 00:03:59,485 --> 00:04:03,245 Speaker 1: with anyone, ever. So how did you meet these guys? 63 00:04:03,245 --> 00:04:06,685 Speaker 1: Because you're not a New Yorker I was a hippie 64 00:04:07,485 --> 00:04:11,565 Speaker 1: at that part, I know, and I was. I had 65 00:04:11,685 --> 00:04:19,485 Speaker 1: this a store in Boulder, Colorado, and they told me 66 00:04:19,525 --> 00:04:22,165 Speaker 1: asked me to come to New York. In this episode, 67 00:04:22,205 --> 00:04:25,365 Speaker 1: we're uncovering the stories of Peach Blossom and Candy Can. 68 00:04:26,285 --> 00:04:29,805 Speaker 1: The stories aren't incredible and illustrate how this world we 69 00:04:29,925 --> 00:04:33,405 Speaker 1: lived in and my dad worked in was incredibly small 70 00:04:33,765 --> 00:04:40,925 Speaker 1: and interconnected and totally secretive. They tell daring tales about smuggling, 71 00:04:41,285 --> 00:04:45,045 Speaker 1: being a woman and mothers in the industry, and like 72 00:04:45,205 --> 00:04:47,965 Speaker 1: my dad, what they gained and what they lost by 73 00:04:48,045 --> 00:04:52,645 Speaker 1: working in vintage cannabis trafficking. I'm Rainbow Valentine and this 74 00:04:52,805 --> 00:05:06,925 Speaker 1: is disorganized crime, smuggler's daughter, young, free and grooving, making 75 00:05:06,965 --> 00:05:25,445 Speaker 1: it up. We rolled along the country rolling it up 76 00:05:25,805 --> 00:05:41,245 Speaker 1: as well. We've talked a little bit about the nineteen 77 00:05:41,365 --> 00:05:45,925 Speaker 1: sixty nine movie Alice's Restaurant before. Alice's Restaurant is a 78 00:05:46,005 --> 00:05:49,325 Speaker 1: hippie cult classic movie based on the hit folk song 79 00:05:49,445 --> 00:05:53,445 Speaker 1: by Woody Guthrie's son Arlow Guthrie. The movie was written 80 00:05:53,445 --> 00:05:57,325 Speaker 1: and directed by Academy Award nominated director Arthur Penn, who 81 00:05:57,405 --> 00:06:01,805 Speaker 1: also directed Bonnie and Clyde. Alice's restaurant. The movie is 82 00:06:01,805 --> 00:06:05,445 Speaker 1: a satire about government bureaucracy and the draft following the 83 00:06:05,645 --> 00:06:09,805 Speaker 1: main character, played by Arlo Guthrie, as he's deemed undraftable 84 00:06:09,885 --> 00:06:13,565 Speaker 1: because of his criminal record as a litter bug. The 85 00:06:13,685 --> 00:06:16,605 Speaker 1: movie is set in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains, 86 00:06:16,845 --> 00:06:20,205 Speaker 1: where my dad, after quitting college and successfully failing his 87 00:06:20,365 --> 00:06:24,485 Speaker 1: draft review, moved and became a candlemaker. It's where he 88 00:06:24,605 --> 00:06:29,045 Speaker 1: met several of his lifelong friends, including Peach Blossom. Like 89 00:06:29,245 --> 00:06:31,765 Speaker 1: my dad, Peach Blossom was an extra in the movie. Yeah, 90 00:06:31,765 --> 00:06:35,445 Speaker 1: I have a speaking line which was rare. It was 91 00:06:35,565 --> 00:06:41,485 Speaker 1: that the Thanksgiving dinner or VW van pulls up with 92 00:06:41,605 --> 00:06:46,165 Speaker 1: the big tra triangle on it and we unload a donkey. 93 00:06:46,765 --> 00:06:50,365 Speaker 1: I say, hey, you can write him to Canada, and 94 00:06:50,525 --> 00:06:53,165 Speaker 1: Billy says, I was wondering how to get my ass 95 00:06:53,245 --> 00:06:56,725 Speaker 1: across the border. So it's a line in the thing. 96 00:06:57,085 --> 00:07:00,085 Speaker 1: Peach Blossom moved to the Berkshires after graduating from an 97 00:07:00,085 --> 00:07:03,845 Speaker 1: ivy league college. She and her crew of bohemian hippie 98 00:07:03,885 --> 00:07:06,845 Speaker 1: friends worked odd, blue collar her jobs and grew pot 99 00:07:07,085 --> 00:07:10,285 Speaker 1: on their land. Peach Blossom pushed around a food cart 100 00:07:10,325 --> 00:07:12,565 Speaker 1: and she worked as a psychedelic baker. At one point, 101 00:07:12,885 --> 00:07:16,085 Speaker 1: I used to make recipes in big buckets and just 102 00:07:16,285 --> 00:07:19,885 Speaker 1: take a whole kilo pot and make butter you know, 103 00:07:20,205 --> 00:07:22,405 Speaker 1: in the water and let its seat and then make 104 00:07:22,645 --> 00:07:27,725 Speaker 1: brownies that would basically cripple people for weeks. At this 105 00:07:27,885 --> 00:07:30,485 Speaker 1: time in her life, Peach Blossom was a full convert 106 00:07:30,525 --> 00:07:33,205 Speaker 1: to psychedelics and pot and a proud hippie driving a 107 00:07:33,285 --> 00:07:36,885 Speaker 1: beat up VW van with long hair and bell bottoms. Now, 108 00:07:36,925 --> 00:07:40,085 Speaker 1: in many ways, Peach blossom story mirrors my dad's. She's 109 00:07:40,085 --> 00:07:44,165 Speaker 1: a Brooklyn born intellectual, psychedelic enthusiast who eventually ended up 110 00:07:44,205 --> 00:07:47,325 Speaker 1: in northern California. She got out of smuggling in the 111 00:07:47,405 --> 00:07:50,685 Speaker 1: late seventies, though, and she now works in medicinal herbs. 112 00:07:52,525 --> 00:07:57,165 Speaker 1: She discovered hallucinogens while attending Cornell University when friends introduced 113 00:07:57,205 --> 00:08:00,885 Speaker 1: her to mescaline and the benefit of psychedelically communing with nature. 114 00:08:01,165 --> 00:08:05,165 Speaker 1: And I loved it. My world change, My connection with 115 00:08:05,565 --> 00:08:10,165 Speaker 1: nature just completely blossomed. I was talking to trees, I 116 00:08:10,325 --> 00:08:14,445 Speaker 1: was sleeping with them, I was, you know, there was 117 00:08:14,565 --> 00:08:19,245 Speaker 1: no division between me and nature. And I felt like 118 00:08:19,605 --> 00:08:23,925 Speaker 1: everyone should have that experience. So I'd love to turn 119 00:08:24,005 --> 00:08:28,285 Speaker 1: you on. I mean that becomes your mantra when the 120 00:08:28,445 --> 00:08:31,805 Speaker 1: world is so new and we are the first wave 121 00:08:32,285 --> 00:08:37,325 Speaker 1: of people actually experiencing this. When I went back to 122 00:08:37,405 --> 00:08:40,005 Speaker 1: where my mother moved in Texas to visit my family, 123 00:08:40,485 --> 00:08:45,725 Speaker 1: of course I stashed whatever drugs I could into tampons 124 00:08:46,245 --> 00:08:51,285 Speaker 1: and resealed them. You know. I found various ways to 125 00:08:51,485 --> 00:08:56,445 Speaker 1: travel with as much weed as I could and psychedelics, 126 00:08:56,685 --> 00:08:59,125 Speaker 1: and of course my mission was to go home and 127 00:08:59,245 --> 00:09:02,845 Speaker 1: turn my mother on and turn my little sisters on. 128 00:09:03,205 --> 00:09:07,125 Speaker 1: And this didn't go over very well with my mother. 129 00:09:13,605 --> 00:09:17,045 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen seventies, after Alice's restaurant, Peach Blossom 130 00:09:17,165 --> 00:09:19,725 Speaker 1: moves back to New York City and becomes involved in 131 00:09:20,045 --> 00:09:24,085 Speaker 1: high stakes smuggling. I moved to New York for a while, 132 00:09:24,525 --> 00:09:30,085 Speaker 1: and I was involved in in the pop world, and 133 00:09:30,405 --> 00:09:33,565 Speaker 1: my partner at the time ended up going to prison. 134 00:09:33,765 --> 00:09:36,605 Speaker 1: Oh no, tell us about tell me about what happened. 135 00:09:36,845 --> 00:09:41,005 Speaker 1: He was involved in a brotherhood that went from California 136 00:09:41,525 --> 00:09:48,165 Speaker 1: to the East Coast transporting large amounts of both LSD 137 00:09:48,805 --> 00:09:54,325 Speaker 1: and and pot. But he was actually arrested for an 138 00:09:54,485 --> 00:10:00,245 Speaker 1: LSD conspiracy. And we were living together on East Fourth 139 00:10:00,325 --> 00:10:06,085 Speaker 1: Street between A and B This is about nineteen seventy 140 00:10:06,925 --> 00:10:10,045 Speaker 1: when my partner on Fourth Street, when he went to prison, 141 00:10:10,685 --> 00:10:12,965 Speaker 1: we had a lot of cash in the apartment. We 142 00:10:13,085 --> 00:10:17,405 Speaker 1: had seacases of cash. Oh, I'm sure we had I'm 143 00:10:17,445 --> 00:10:19,925 Speaker 1: sure we had two hundred thousand in cash at one 144 00:10:20,045 --> 00:10:26,125 Speaker 1: point nine. And the part of the story that is 145 00:10:27,365 --> 00:10:31,005 Speaker 1: really chilling is that when the Feds came to get 146 00:10:31,125 --> 00:10:34,885 Speaker 1: him for this LSD conspiracy, it was a federal bust. 147 00:10:35,365 --> 00:10:38,205 Speaker 1: They got him on a conspiracy, which is a particular 148 00:10:38,445 --> 00:10:43,165 Speaker 1: term meaning meaning it's a federal charge. And in the apartment, 149 00:10:43,725 --> 00:10:47,045 Speaker 1: they searched the apartment and they found a seat case 150 00:10:47,405 --> 00:10:51,085 Speaker 1: that had I'm sure eighty grand in it, and it 151 00:10:51,205 --> 00:10:54,565 Speaker 1: was never reported. They didn't refere they just took it. 152 00:10:55,245 --> 00:10:59,205 Speaker 1: The detectives took it. That was just costant, just what 153 00:10:59,445 --> 00:11:03,125 Speaker 1: happened back in the day. Peach Blossom moves west and 154 00:11:03,285 --> 00:11:07,245 Speaker 1: is briefly immersed in Ellie's film scene. She's writing screenplays, 155 00:11:07,325 --> 00:11:12,285 Speaker 1: but eventually feels compelled to escape the hardships inherent to La. However, 156 00:11:12,685 --> 00:11:16,565 Speaker 1: she needed money to return to New England, so she 157 00:11:16,765 --> 00:11:20,845 Speaker 1: gets a job moving a steamer trunk of pot from 158 00:11:21,005 --> 00:11:25,365 Speaker 1: LA to Boston. I basically checked in a steamer, you know, 159 00:11:25,725 --> 00:11:29,805 Speaker 1: a big old fashioned trunk filled with bricks of pot. 160 00:11:30,165 --> 00:11:34,245 Speaker 1: How many pounds thirty pounds? But this is on like 161 00:11:34,485 --> 00:11:38,885 Speaker 1: United Airlines. This was the luggage I checked to check 162 00:11:38,925 --> 00:11:42,765 Speaker 1: to this check luggage. I checked it in. And at 163 00:11:42,845 --> 00:11:48,085 Speaker 1: this point I look like a sort of like wild 164 00:11:48,405 --> 00:11:52,445 Speaker 1: fashion model, you know. And I'm pulling that off and 165 00:11:52,605 --> 00:11:55,925 Speaker 1: dressing that way and talking that up. So I'm leaving 166 00:11:56,125 --> 00:11:59,845 Speaker 1: LA and I'm going back to you knowing, you know, 167 00:12:00,005 --> 00:12:04,125 Speaker 1: to Boston. And I have to add at this point, 168 00:12:04,165 --> 00:12:07,605 Speaker 1: I'm using way too much. Okay, yeah, this is this 169 00:12:07,805 --> 00:12:10,725 Speaker 1: is my shot of courage to do that. But I'm 170 00:12:10,765 --> 00:12:15,725 Speaker 1: also losing weight, like every second. I remember the moment 171 00:12:15,885 --> 00:12:17,405 Speaker 1: where I walked to the back of the plane to 172 00:12:17,445 --> 00:12:20,885 Speaker 1: the bathroom and went into the bathroom and basically my 173 00:12:21,205 --> 00:12:24,605 Speaker 1: pants fell off. I mean, I was so so skinny. 174 00:12:25,085 --> 00:12:32,845 Speaker 1: It was just awful. I get to Boston and it 175 00:12:33,045 --> 00:12:37,205 Speaker 1: is the first time in all my smuggling adventures that 176 00:12:37,405 --> 00:12:42,765 Speaker 1: I freak out. I am like I could be so busted. 177 00:12:44,005 --> 00:12:45,925 Speaker 1: And now I have to go down to baggage claim 178 00:12:46,045 --> 00:12:49,565 Speaker 1: and I have to claim my trunks, and now everyone 179 00:12:49,885 --> 00:12:54,565 Speaker 1: looks like a fit. Everyone looks like a cop everyone. 180 00:12:54,725 --> 00:12:57,925 Speaker 1: I literally have to go into the bathroom to throw 181 00:12:58,445 --> 00:13:02,085 Speaker 1: cold water all over myself, and I'm in a total 182 00:13:02,285 --> 00:13:04,765 Speaker 1: lather of sweat and nerves. And I have to go 183 00:13:04,925 --> 00:13:07,805 Speaker 1: with my claim ticket and claim this drunk because I 184 00:13:07,885 --> 00:13:10,365 Speaker 1: swear it, I'm gonna get busted and put away forever. 185 00:13:13,725 --> 00:13:19,045 Speaker 1: And I claim it and it's absolutely fine. And as 186 00:13:19,085 --> 00:13:23,165 Speaker 1: I'm leaving the Boston airport, there's a policeman, a Boston cop, 187 00:13:23,605 --> 00:13:26,085 Speaker 1: and he's looking at me is the whole line of people, 188 00:13:26,165 --> 00:13:28,685 Speaker 1: and I've got a big cart with all my shit 189 00:13:28,885 --> 00:13:31,085 Speaker 1: on there, and he's just looking at me with that 190 00:13:31,205 --> 00:13:34,005 Speaker 1: Boston couple look, which you can't tell is hello or 191 00:13:34,405 --> 00:13:37,125 Speaker 1: I'm gonna get you kind of thing. And I get 192 00:13:37,205 --> 00:13:41,565 Speaker 1: to the door and he goes coming in from California 193 00:13:42,245 --> 00:13:47,005 Speaker 1: and I'm like, yes, officer, and he's like, welcome to Boston, man, 194 00:13:47,245 --> 00:13:51,365 Speaker 1: big smile of my thanking. He loads it into the dag. 195 00:13:51,485 --> 00:13:55,605 Speaker 1: They gab and I get in the cab and I'm like, 196 00:13:55,725 --> 00:13:59,085 Speaker 1: I will never do this again. I'll never smuggle drugs again. 197 00:13:59,205 --> 00:14:02,725 Speaker 1: I absolutely will be good. I will not smuggle drugs again. 198 00:14:03,245 --> 00:14:06,445 Speaker 1: And I deliver it and I get my and and 199 00:14:06,565 --> 00:14:08,925 Speaker 1: really that was the last, No, it wasn't the last time. 200 00:14:15,205 --> 00:14:17,965 Speaker 1: It was like me, a woman in the industry, I 201 00:14:18,085 --> 00:14:23,685 Speaker 1: took advantage of the looks and the sas and my fast, 202 00:14:23,805 --> 00:14:29,485 Speaker 1: quick New York street mouth. I basically sort of shook 203 00:14:29,605 --> 00:14:32,885 Speaker 1: my tail or wag my tongue to get out of 204 00:14:33,405 --> 00:14:38,245 Speaker 1: out into a lot of things. If you were a 205 00:14:38,405 --> 00:14:43,005 Speaker 1: woman back then, if you were a quiet woman, you 206 00:14:43,085 --> 00:14:46,445 Speaker 1: were probably at the effect of the discrimination that was 207 00:14:47,205 --> 00:14:49,765 Speaker 1: was just do ridgur it was the way it was. 208 00:14:50,125 --> 00:14:53,925 Speaker 1: But if you were a baldy woman, you caught people 209 00:14:54,125 --> 00:14:57,245 Speaker 1: off guard. So women have always been a part of 210 00:14:57,285 --> 00:15:01,005 Speaker 1: the smuggling industries, and utilizing feminine fashion and beauty to 211 00:15:01,085 --> 00:15:05,125 Speaker 1: accomplish the job is an age old tradition. In the 212 00:15:05,205 --> 00:15:09,565 Speaker 1: se eighteen hundreds, British women smuggled animal bladders filled with 213 00:15:09,685 --> 00:15:15,125 Speaker 1: contraband liquor under giant hoopskirts. Now, during American Prohibition in 214 00:15:15,165 --> 00:15:19,045 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, many women became rum runners, one of 215 00:15:19,085 --> 00:15:22,005 Speaker 1: the few viable ways for women to earn a robust living. 216 00:15:23,365 --> 00:15:26,685 Speaker 1: The smuggling industry is stressful, with extreme highs and lows, 217 00:15:27,245 --> 00:15:30,245 Speaker 1: and like my dad, Peach Blossom tried to leave the 218 00:15:30,325 --> 00:15:35,085 Speaker 1: smuggling industry more than once. In nineteen seventy two, Peach 219 00:15:35,125 --> 00:15:37,805 Speaker 1: Blossom gives up on the drug world and becomes a 220 00:15:37,925 --> 00:15:44,005 Speaker 1: macrobiotic meditator. I moved to Boston, and I'm involved in 221 00:15:44,845 --> 00:15:49,085 Speaker 1: very rigid kind of studying acupressure and acupuncture, and I 222 00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:52,085 Speaker 1: go to the New England School of Accupuncture and I 223 00:15:52,205 --> 00:15:55,485 Speaker 1: work in the macrobiotic community, and I do all this 224 00:15:55,765 --> 00:16:00,285 Speaker 1: stuff for a good six years, and then in nineteen 225 00:16:00,445 --> 00:16:03,965 Speaker 1: seventy eight, I actually and I'm single during this time, 226 00:16:04,045 --> 00:16:06,405 Speaker 1: and I'm very dizzy doing all as of stuff. But 227 00:16:07,005 --> 00:16:10,205 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy eight a couple with a man who 228 00:16:10,485 --> 00:16:15,485 Speaker 1: was native Californian but living in Boston has a very 229 00:16:15,565 --> 00:16:19,085 Speaker 1: prestigious job in the natural foods industry, as do I, 230 00:16:20,085 --> 00:16:25,445 Speaker 1: and we couple and get pregnant, and right after the 231 00:16:25,525 --> 00:16:30,885 Speaker 1: birth of my second son, my baby daddy there decides 232 00:16:31,445 --> 00:16:37,645 Speaker 1: to go into big time pot smuggling hash smuggling business 233 00:16:37,885 --> 00:16:42,685 Speaker 1: in California. And we wrote we actually moved to California 234 00:16:42,805 --> 00:16:46,445 Speaker 1: at that point, and that is exactly the world that 235 00:16:46,605 --> 00:16:51,045 Speaker 1: we're in. Where are you where? We moved to Studio City, LA, 236 00:16:51,965 --> 00:16:55,605 Speaker 1: And then we moved to the Central Coast where we 237 00:16:55,885 --> 00:16:59,525 Speaker 1: put up greenhouses, and we have seventeen acres of growing 238 00:17:00,285 --> 00:17:06,685 Speaker 1: and this nineteen seventy nine, seventeen acres of growing in greenhouses, 239 00:17:06,765 --> 00:17:12,165 Speaker 1: and we're growing magic mushrooms and and we have German 240 00:17:12,205 --> 00:17:16,405 Speaker 1: trained attack dogs and we have miles of fencing around 241 00:17:16,565 --> 00:17:20,165 Speaker 1: our property. Now, unlike my dad, Peach Blossom said, she 242 00:17:20,325 --> 00:17:24,645 Speaker 1: was around plenty of guns. Did you ever see a gun? Oh? 243 00:17:24,725 --> 00:17:28,685 Speaker 1: Of course we owned guns. You owned guns when we 244 00:17:28,925 --> 00:17:32,085 Speaker 1: when we moved Yeah, when we moved to Studio City, 245 00:17:32,925 --> 00:17:40,085 Speaker 1: we were involved with pot, not cocaine. However, la drug scene, 246 00:17:40,565 --> 00:17:44,405 Speaker 1: they had guns, and they also were the kind of 247 00:17:44,525 --> 00:17:48,045 Speaker 1: people that wanted to know where your family lived. I 248 00:17:48,285 --> 00:17:53,525 Speaker 1: got trained on a you know, on a on a firearm. Whoa, yeah, 249 00:17:54,165 --> 00:17:58,485 Speaker 1: just because there is that risk when you're involved in 250 00:17:58,725 --> 00:18:02,565 Speaker 1: the block market. There are block market criminals that you know. 251 00:18:02,885 --> 00:18:08,245 Speaker 1: That's it's an easy mark. But I'm basically living in 252 00:18:08,365 --> 00:18:11,685 Speaker 1: this project with my two little babies. Oh okay, and 253 00:18:12,005 --> 00:18:15,405 Speaker 1: it's really crazy. And we make a lot of money 254 00:18:16,125 --> 00:18:18,965 Speaker 1: enough for me to move up the pot ranch and 255 00:18:19,085 --> 00:18:21,965 Speaker 1: take my babies even further north because it's clear to 256 00:18:22,045 --> 00:18:24,445 Speaker 1: me I can't raise babies on her pot ranch. This 257 00:18:24,645 --> 00:18:27,445 Speaker 1: is really not working. I can't even have a babysitter. 258 00:18:27,645 --> 00:18:30,045 Speaker 1: I can't have a friend. I can't you know, it's crazy. 259 00:18:30,765 --> 00:18:33,285 Speaker 1: Peach Blossom finally gets fed up and taking her kids, 260 00:18:33,485 --> 00:18:35,925 Speaker 1: leaves her husband in the pot farm, and she eventually 261 00:18:36,005 --> 00:18:38,525 Speaker 1: quits the pot industry completely to work in the legal 262 00:18:38,605 --> 00:18:44,845 Speaker 1: herb industry, first tea and then medicinal herbs. The part 263 00:18:44,925 --> 00:18:47,605 Speaker 1: of Peach blossom story that stays with me is her 264 00:18:47,685 --> 00:18:50,445 Speaker 1: inability to get a babysitter because of her work at 265 00:18:50,485 --> 00:18:54,805 Speaker 1: home situation. It's these small things we take for granted 266 00:18:54,885 --> 00:18:58,205 Speaker 1: and don't think twice about that smugglers with kids have 267 00:18:58,405 --> 00:19:02,565 Speaker 1: to consider. Smugglers like Peach Blossom and my dad are 268 00:19:02,805 --> 00:19:06,765 Speaker 1: people trying to make a living, pay the more occasionally 269 00:19:06,845 --> 00:19:10,685 Speaker 1: have a date night without the kids. Another thing that 270 00:19:10,805 --> 00:19:13,085 Speaker 1: strikes me about Peach blossom story is the fact that 271 00:19:13,285 --> 00:19:17,045 Speaker 1: the seemingly more ruthless LA smuggling world she found herself 272 00:19:17,125 --> 00:19:20,925 Speaker 1: in was an option for my dad. If my dad 273 00:19:21,005 --> 00:19:24,005 Speaker 1: had been less adverse to violence and guns and hungry 274 00:19:24,085 --> 00:19:27,165 Speaker 1: for the easy money cocaine brought, he could have worked 275 00:19:27,205 --> 00:19:31,725 Speaker 1: in the LA smuggling subculture. If my dad had entered 276 00:19:31,765 --> 00:19:35,285 Speaker 1: the world that Peach Blossom found herself in guns would 277 00:19:35,285 --> 00:19:38,125 Speaker 1: have been a part of my dad's life and by default, 278 00:19:38,285 --> 00:19:48,725 Speaker 1: our family's life. Today. Peach Blossom works in the medicinal 279 00:19:48,845 --> 00:19:53,045 Speaker 1: cannabis industry in California, advocating the healing elements of the 280 00:19:53,125 --> 00:19:56,845 Speaker 1: Schedule one drug estimated by the federal government to have 281 00:19:57,165 --> 00:20:01,525 Speaker 1: no medical benefits. Individual states and cities are challenging and 282 00:20:01,725 --> 00:20:05,685 Speaker 1: changing cannabis laws to reflect growing evidence of cannabis his 283 00:20:05,765 --> 00:20:12,245 Speaker 1: medical applications. Cannabis has been the poster child plant for 284 00:20:12,565 --> 00:20:17,485 Speaker 1: our generation. Absolutely came out and said we are going 285 00:20:17,525 --> 00:20:21,405 Speaker 1: to change a whole lot of things, and cannabis has 286 00:20:21,485 --> 00:20:25,765 Speaker 1: been leading us to do that. I really feel that way. Yeah, 287 00:20:26,245 --> 00:20:31,885 Speaker 1: change the laws, change the emotions, changed the consciousness, change 288 00:20:32,285 --> 00:20:38,405 Speaker 1: so much about our world. And that's what cannabis the 289 00:20:38,565 --> 00:20:42,325 Speaker 1: Queen does. Coming up, I talk with Candy Can, another 290 00:20:42,445 --> 00:20:45,525 Speaker 1: badass woman who worked in pot smuggling, but with much 291 00:20:45,765 --> 00:20:50,205 Speaker 1: more harrowing consequences than Peach Blossoms. I'm Rainbow Valentine and 292 00:20:50,245 --> 00:20:56,405 Speaker 1: you're listening to disorganized crime smuggler's daughter. Good evening, and 293 00:20:56,565 --> 00:21:00,525 Speaker 1: welcome to tonight's exciting episode of Questing for the Golden Nun. 294 00:21:01,045 --> 00:21:04,085 Speaker 1: And now we're joined the infamous good Benefactor with his 295 00:21:04,285 --> 00:21:10,285 Speaker 1: able body Oh to Thick. This is an excerpt from 296 00:21:10,365 --> 00:21:13,765 Speaker 1: Questing for the Golden Nun, an absurdist radio play I 297 00:21:13,845 --> 00:21:16,165 Speaker 1: co created and co produced in the early nineties with 298 00:21:16,285 --> 00:21:18,285 Speaker 1: the hippie theater community. I've been a part of my 299 00:21:18,365 --> 00:21:21,285 Speaker 1: whole life. Are you a good nun or a bad man? 300 00:21:24,125 --> 00:21:32,005 Speaker 1: None is the key. I'm pretty sure. We recorded Questing 301 00:21:32,125 --> 00:21:34,925 Speaker 1: for the Golden Nun on a vintage eighties boombox where 302 00:21:35,045 --> 00:21:37,165 Speaker 1: you use two fingers to press play and record at 303 00:21:37,205 --> 00:21:40,405 Speaker 1: the same time. Take note, kids, this was made way 304 00:21:40,565 --> 00:21:44,365 Speaker 1: before the Internet or cell phones. Now, my hippie theater 305 00:21:44,485 --> 00:21:48,085 Speaker 1: community is a creative paradise for weirdos, and many of 306 00:21:48,165 --> 00:21:51,245 Speaker 1: the people involved are like me, the children of the 307 00:21:51,365 --> 00:21:55,445 Speaker 1: counterculture insiders. One friend calls us the hippie mafia, a 308 00:21:55,565 --> 00:22:00,125 Speaker 1: perfect description now. Like I mentioned earlier, Candy Can is 309 00:22:00,125 --> 00:22:02,285 Speaker 1: the mother of a friend I've had since childhood, and 310 00:22:02,485 --> 00:22:06,445 Speaker 1: she's a part of my hippie theater community. While producing 311 00:22:06,485 --> 00:22:09,045 Speaker 1: this podcast, my mind and my dad's mind were blown 312 00:22:09,165 --> 00:22:12,165 Speaker 1: to learn that Candy Can worked in the same smuggling 313 00:22:12,245 --> 00:22:16,645 Speaker 1: network as my dad. My dad calls his crew disorganized crime. 314 00:22:17,365 --> 00:22:21,005 Speaker 1: Candy Can calls it the anti network network because everyone 315 00:22:21,125 --> 00:22:25,205 Speaker 1: was in the same network, but nobody networked. Now. Candy 316 00:22:25,245 --> 00:22:28,205 Speaker 1: Can worked in different roles than my dad, and her 317 00:22:28,285 --> 00:22:31,325 Speaker 1: story reveals another side of the same story that my 318 00:22:31,485 --> 00:22:35,325 Speaker 1: dad and inadvertently me were in. You were never meant 319 00:22:35,405 --> 00:22:38,445 Speaker 1: to know, said, I was a pot dealer, but I 320 00:22:38,565 --> 00:22:42,325 Speaker 1: came out of the closet pretty violently. I got busted 321 00:22:43,285 --> 00:22:47,205 Speaker 1: with just a horrible scene. So let me go back 322 00:22:47,245 --> 00:22:52,885 Speaker 1: to the beginning. I was thirteen years old and my 323 00:22:52,965 --> 00:22:55,805 Speaker 1: brothers who were in college and in Wyoming, you could 324 00:22:55,845 --> 00:22:59,325 Speaker 1: get a driver's license, so I got a driver's license 325 00:22:59,365 --> 00:23:01,845 Speaker 1: and they threw pot in the trunk and I would 326 00:23:01,925 --> 00:23:05,965 Speaker 1: drive mix and weed to the frat houses. For me, 327 00:23:06,725 --> 00:23:10,725 Speaker 1: it was a liberation because I felt that marijuana was 328 00:23:10,805 --> 00:23:13,565 Speaker 1: one of the best highs she could ever get. I'm 329 00:23:13,605 --> 00:23:16,805 Speaker 1: a pot loving human being and I knew it from 330 00:23:16,845 --> 00:23:21,365 Speaker 1: an early age. Kendy Cannas thirteen driving kilos of pot 331 00:23:21,645 --> 00:23:26,605 Speaker 1: to frat houses in Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona. Her brothers 332 00:23:26,725 --> 00:23:29,845 Speaker 1: dealt the pot and she was the driver at thirteen. 333 00:23:29,965 --> 00:23:33,845 Speaker 1: People Now, when she was a little older, she started 334 00:23:33,885 --> 00:23:37,645 Speaker 1: dealing herself. I was started selling pot in high school 335 00:23:38,605 --> 00:23:41,565 Speaker 1: and I feld pot to the rabbi son, to the 336 00:23:41,725 --> 00:23:46,325 Speaker 1: priest's son, to everybody's. Every kid bought pot for me, 337 00:23:46,445 --> 00:23:50,125 Speaker 1: and somebody got busted by their parents and they called 338 00:23:50,205 --> 00:23:55,245 Speaker 1: the police. Oh my gosh, and my father had the 339 00:23:55,365 --> 00:23:57,565 Speaker 1: cops waiting at the house, and I saw them there, 340 00:23:57,605 --> 00:24:00,325 Speaker 1: and I took off down the road and I hitched 341 00:24:00,405 --> 00:24:04,685 Speaker 1: tight and I got on a frozen French fry truck 342 00:24:05,005 --> 00:24:07,565 Speaker 1: for how were Johnson's And we drove. When we get 343 00:24:07,605 --> 00:24:09,885 Speaker 1: to Florida, and I called my brother, and my brother says, 344 00:24:09,925 --> 00:24:13,205 Speaker 1: it's okay, Dad forgives you. They're not going to rest. 345 00:24:13,245 --> 00:24:15,485 Speaker 1: You should come back and go to college. She'd come 346 00:24:15,525 --> 00:24:18,365 Speaker 1: back and go to college. So he flew out. We 347 00:24:18,525 --> 00:24:22,885 Speaker 1: rode the train back and I got home and it 348 00:24:23,085 --> 00:24:26,485 Speaker 1: was really bad. And the high school teacher said to me, 349 00:24:27,725 --> 00:24:30,685 Speaker 1: if there was acid in this apple, would you eat it? 350 00:24:31,525 --> 00:24:35,125 Speaker 1: And I said to him yes. Kenny Cann is super smart. 351 00:24:35,205 --> 00:24:38,005 Speaker 1: She finished high school. In college, she opens a psychedelic 352 00:24:38,085 --> 00:24:42,085 Speaker 1: clothing store in Colorado. By owning and operating this store, 353 00:24:42,325 --> 00:24:45,445 Speaker 1: she got to meet all sorts of interesting people. She's 354 00:24:45,565 --> 00:24:48,565 Speaker 1: vague on the details on who and when everything got going, 355 00:24:49,165 --> 00:24:52,645 Speaker 1: but much like my dad, she fell into a world 356 00:24:52,685 --> 00:24:56,845 Speaker 1: of psychedelic people and smugglers, and she said that she 357 00:24:56,925 --> 00:24:59,245 Speaker 1: and her crew had a mission to get as much 358 00:24:59,365 --> 00:25:06,365 Speaker 1: pot to the people as possible. As my dad worked 359 00:25:06,445 --> 00:25:10,845 Speaker 1: exclusively in distribution with only his handful of guys, Candy 360 00:25:10,925 --> 00:25:14,885 Speaker 1: Can worked for and with the larger group, becoming a 361 00:25:15,005 --> 00:25:18,805 Speaker 1: chief logistics person, wearing a lot of different hats. She 362 00:25:18,965 --> 00:25:21,965 Speaker 1: likes the alias Candy Can because she was a candy 363 00:25:22,125 --> 00:25:24,925 Speaker 1: woman and she always got whatever job that needed to 364 00:25:25,005 --> 00:25:29,485 Speaker 1: be done done. We had boats. I would take the 365 00:25:29,605 --> 00:25:34,725 Speaker 1: typewriter out and write registries and fake addresses and bring 366 00:25:35,045 --> 00:25:38,605 Speaker 1: ports through. I'd fly to places like Tunisia with a 367 00:25:38,725 --> 00:25:41,605 Speaker 1: half a million dollars rolled up in the New York 368 00:25:41,765 --> 00:25:46,725 Speaker 1: Sunday paper. I would bring we to the sailors that 369 00:25:46,925 --> 00:25:50,245 Speaker 1: were waiting to fill up the boats. I'd smuggle into 370 00:25:50,365 --> 00:25:53,365 Speaker 1: places like Tunisia and Egypt, and if they caught you. 371 00:25:53,805 --> 00:25:56,045 Speaker 1: I remember the guy was holding up my bag and 372 00:25:56,165 --> 00:25:58,565 Speaker 1: he said, did you like John Lennon? I said he 373 00:25:58,845 --> 00:26:01,125 Speaker 1: died and it was really bad, and that was a 374 00:26:01,405 --> 00:26:03,125 Speaker 1: bag that had the pot in it, and he put 375 00:26:03,205 --> 00:26:10,565 Speaker 1: it down and I walked through. And she gets married, 376 00:26:10,845 --> 00:26:13,405 Speaker 1: has a daughter and continues her life as a smuggler. 377 00:26:14,365 --> 00:26:18,045 Speaker 1: I've already been married now I had a kid. My 378 00:26:18,245 --> 00:26:23,165 Speaker 1: husband started doing cocaine. It was bad, really bad, And 379 00:26:23,605 --> 00:26:26,725 Speaker 1: we were in Florida, and at this point I had 380 00:26:26,805 --> 00:26:29,805 Speaker 1: rented a series of houses on the Lagunas and we'd 381 00:26:29,885 --> 00:26:33,365 Speaker 1: have boatloads coming up from Columbia, and we had cigarette 382 00:26:33,365 --> 00:26:35,605 Speaker 1: boats that would go from the boat to the dock, 383 00:26:35,965 --> 00:26:38,485 Speaker 1: the boat to the dock, and my daughter learned how 384 00:26:38,565 --> 00:26:42,805 Speaker 1: to walk around on bales because, yeah, because the house 385 00:26:42,925 --> 00:26:46,805 Speaker 1: was so filled. We're talking twin vans that would carry 386 00:26:46,845 --> 00:26:50,405 Speaker 1: a thousand pounds each out a day. We sometimes we'd 387 00:26:50,445 --> 00:26:52,605 Speaker 1: have three vans that looked exactly the same, so the 388 00:26:52,645 --> 00:26:56,965 Speaker 1: neighbors would suspect, and I was the front. I rented 389 00:26:57,005 --> 00:27:00,365 Speaker 1: all the houses under Alias's and my beautiful daughter, and 390 00:27:00,525 --> 00:27:11,445 Speaker 1: I was a great actress. Time goes on. I've been 391 00:27:11,525 --> 00:27:17,245 Speaker 1: working this profession now from Florida. Then we moved. Everybody 392 00:27:17,285 --> 00:27:21,565 Speaker 1: wanted to come to California. Heart is nice, Colombian weed 393 00:27:21,725 --> 00:27:25,885 Speaker 1: is good, tie weed is better. I mean, we had 394 00:27:25,965 --> 00:27:29,205 Speaker 1: the black whack. There were times that I'd get on 395 00:27:29,685 --> 00:27:35,045 Speaker 1: an airplane with these gienormous suitcases for the stewardess and 396 00:27:35,085 --> 00:27:38,165 Speaker 1: they allowed you to take two on board back to 397 00:27:38,325 --> 00:27:42,925 Speaker 1: the gills with black whack Colombian weed and smile and 398 00:27:43,045 --> 00:27:47,245 Speaker 1: just bringing the two cases onto the airplane, fly to 399 00:27:47,285 --> 00:27:49,885 Speaker 1: New York, take a cab and take it up some stairs. 400 00:27:50,525 --> 00:27:54,045 Speaker 1: I did that. How did you mask the smell? I 401 00:27:54,165 --> 00:27:58,125 Speaker 1: wore perfume and I had I wore garters and beautiful 402 00:27:58,165 --> 00:28:02,445 Speaker 1: short skirts. Oh yeah, you're a tall, beautiful woman. People. 403 00:28:03,205 --> 00:28:06,765 Speaker 1: I took advantage of my good looks in a way 404 00:28:06,885 --> 00:28:10,885 Speaker 1: that furthered people to believe me. I don't mean to 405 00:28:11,405 --> 00:28:13,885 Speaker 1: come off any other way, but it helped me. It 406 00:28:14,005 --> 00:28:16,885 Speaker 1: furthered me to be. I couldn't have done it if 407 00:28:16,925 --> 00:28:20,245 Speaker 1: I was a guy and I was wearing designer clothes. 408 00:28:20,845 --> 00:28:24,165 Speaker 1: And I took my daughter when she was six years old, 409 00:28:24,285 --> 00:28:28,405 Speaker 1: to France and London and bought her all her school outfits. 410 00:28:28,805 --> 00:28:31,445 Speaker 1: But what she didn't know is I bried over close 411 00:28:31,525 --> 00:28:36,165 Speaker 1: to seven hundred thousand dollars on my body strap. But 412 00:28:36,285 --> 00:28:39,645 Speaker 1: we had a great vacation. Like Peach Blossom and women 413 00:28:39,685 --> 00:28:43,565 Speaker 1: throughout history, Candy Cann uses her beauty to her advantage. 414 00:28:44,205 --> 00:28:49,085 Speaker 1: All resources are an asset. Candy Cann says that her 415 00:28:49,125 --> 00:28:53,565 Speaker 1: first marriage was tumultuous. Like my parents. She's avidly against 416 00:28:53,645 --> 00:28:57,045 Speaker 1: cocaine and hard drugs. Her husband, though, was an addict 417 00:28:57,085 --> 00:29:00,645 Speaker 1: and using coke all the time. He also started smuggling cocaine. 418 00:29:01,405 --> 00:29:03,725 Speaker 1: One day, she came home to her husband and toddler 419 00:29:03,965 --> 00:29:06,685 Speaker 1: to discover cocaine lying on the table within reach of 420 00:29:06,765 --> 00:29:09,645 Speaker 1: her kid. That's when she knew she had to leave him. 421 00:29:10,685 --> 00:29:13,485 Speaker 1: And he took my daughter, and he left me in 422 00:29:13,565 --> 00:29:16,445 Speaker 1: a house with no money and all. He took everything. 423 00:29:16,925 --> 00:29:20,845 Speaker 1: He absolutely took everything, and I had bills and I 424 00:29:20,925 --> 00:29:25,485 Speaker 1: didn't have my daughter. So I put the word out 425 00:29:25,525 --> 00:29:29,045 Speaker 1: because I knew everyone, and I started driving truckloads of 426 00:29:29,165 --> 00:29:33,645 Speaker 1: marijuana between Miami and New York. And each truckload, I'd 427 00:29:33,685 --> 00:29:37,805 Speaker 1: get twenty granted a pop, and then I would I 428 00:29:38,005 --> 00:29:41,645 Speaker 1: managed to get make enough money to hire the best 429 00:29:41,725 --> 00:29:45,085 Speaker 1: attorney in New York to prove that he was lying 430 00:29:45,245 --> 00:29:48,605 Speaker 1: and that I deserved to have my kid. And I 431 00:29:48,765 --> 00:29:52,525 Speaker 1: got my kid back, and I retired for a little bit. 432 00:29:54,965 --> 00:29:57,805 Speaker 1: So Candy Can becomes a single mother, and along with 433 00:29:57,885 --> 00:30:01,165 Speaker 1: the legal bills to win custody of her child, life 434 00:30:01,285 --> 00:30:06,045 Speaker 1: is expensive. Street jobs don't pay nearly enough. It's really 435 00:30:06,165 --> 00:30:10,685 Speaker 1: hard to make twelve dollars an hour and raise a family. 436 00:30:11,725 --> 00:30:16,285 Speaker 1: It's really hard, and I wanted to provide the best. 437 00:30:16,565 --> 00:30:21,165 Speaker 1: So I started working for some people on the West Coast, 438 00:30:21,925 --> 00:30:24,605 Speaker 1: and I just didn't go back to my straight job. 439 00:30:25,045 --> 00:30:28,485 Speaker 1: I just stayed in California and said, screw this, I'm 440 00:30:29,005 --> 00:30:37,285 Speaker 1: going to be half time with my kids. And I 441 00:30:37,445 --> 00:30:40,965 Speaker 1: stayed in California and we were at this point having 442 00:30:41,125 --> 00:30:44,845 Speaker 1: sophisticated electronics. This is the first time that you did. 443 00:30:45,005 --> 00:30:47,365 Speaker 1: You weren't hired to sit in a house twenty four 444 00:30:47,405 --> 00:30:49,805 Speaker 1: hours a day in case the phone rang, and it 445 00:30:49,925 --> 00:30:52,245 Speaker 1: was the people just sit by a phone like twenty 446 00:30:52,285 --> 00:30:56,245 Speaker 1: four hours. That was your job. How much were you 447 00:30:56,325 --> 00:30:59,525 Speaker 1: paid to do that? When the deal came through, I 448 00:30:59,565 --> 00:31:01,765 Speaker 1: would get a box of money. I sent my daughter 449 00:31:01,805 --> 00:31:03,645 Speaker 1: to school with a shoe box and she had money 450 00:31:03,645 --> 00:31:06,245 Speaker 1: in it. I said, here's your college education. She has 451 00:31:06,285 --> 00:31:09,765 Speaker 1: a lucky streak with her colleagues. Boatload after boatload is 452 00:31:09,805 --> 00:31:16,285 Speaker 1: coming in. But then her associates got busted. They were 453 00:31:16,325 --> 00:31:20,765 Speaker 1: coming to the house and I managed to escape. It 454 00:31:20,925 --> 00:31:23,285 Speaker 1: was very close because I had rented all the houses 455 00:31:24,005 --> 00:31:27,085 Speaker 1: and there was a man was coming to the house, 456 00:31:27,245 --> 00:31:30,645 Speaker 1: and I don't know what got me out of there. 457 00:31:30,765 --> 00:31:34,245 Speaker 1: But I had to go do something for my kid 458 00:31:34,525 --> 00:31:38,925 Speaker 1: or something, and I left the house and they came 459 00:31:39,005 --> 00:31:43,245 Speaker 1: and I wasn't there, and I escaped and it was 460 00:31:43,725 --> 00:31:48,205 Speaker 1: touch and go. I had to live very differently after that. 461 00:31:48,885 --> 00:31:53,005 Speaker 1: She moves with her daughter to Hawaii in a communications position. Now, 462 00:31:53,085 --> 00:31:56,765 Speaker 1: this is someone who relays info between smugglers, like when 463 00:31:56,885 --> 00:32:00,165 Speaker 1: loads come in and where they're offloaded. She deals with 464 00:32:00,245 --> 00:32:05,045 Speaker 1: the logistics like bill paying for the safe houses, trucks, phones, pagers, etc. 465 00:32:06,045 --> 00:32:10,605 Speaker 1: She's the intermediary between the big international smugglers and the offloaders, 466 00:32:10,685 --> 00:32:14,205 Speaker 1: transporters and distributors like my dad and his buddies. So 467 00:32:14,365 --> 00:32:19,205 Speaker 1: we were the anti networkers. We would have to wait 468 00:32:19,365 --> 00:32:22,165 Speaker 1: in separate rooms. Well, certain people came in and out. 469 00:32:22,325 --> 00:32:26,245 Speaker 1: No one couldn't meet anyone because if one person got busted, 470 00:32:26,325 --> 00:32:30,285 Speaker 1: they could snitch you out. We were the absolute anti network. 471 00:32:30,405 --> 00:32:34,085 Speaker 1: No one knews anybody's name. We didn't want to know 472 00:32:34,245 --> 00:32:40,565 Speaker 1: each other's name. I had many different nicknames, and sometimes 473 00:32:40,645 --> 00:32:44,205 Speaker 1: we would all be together and the only way you 474 00:32:44,245 --> 00:32:47,045 Speaker 1: could communicate is if you were at a certain payphone 475 00:32:47,125 --> 00:32:52,805 Speaker 1: at a certain hour on a certain day. Candy Can 476 00:32:52,965 --> 00:32:56,605 Speaker 1: has another child with a smuggler who unfortunately gets busted 477 00:32:56,965 --> 00:33:00,125 Speaker 1: and goes to a tie prison for twelve years. And 478 00:33:00,405 --> 00:33:09,925 Speaker 1: I'm penniless with a baby and a daughter, and everything's 479 00:33:10,005 --> 00:33:16,005 Speaker 1: gone like that, and I had to do things that 480 00:33:16,925 --> 00:33:20,885 Speaker 1: were essential, like take the stroller into the supermarket, buy 481 00:33:20,965 --> 00:33:23,485 Speaker 1: some food, but throw in the milk underneath the kid 482 00:33:23,525 --> 00:33:28,205 Speaker 1: because I couldn't afford all the food. It was tough. 483 00:33:28,325 --> 00:33:32,805 Speaker 1: I ended up having to give up my identity, which 484 00:33:32,925 --> 00:33:38,725 Speaker 1: was so real that I had four birth certificates for 485 00:33:38,845 --> 00:33:41,485 Speaker 1: my son that I thought, well, I don't know how 486 00:33:41,605 --> 00:33:43,365 Speaker 1: if we're going to have to move or what, or 487 00:33:43,485 --> 00:33:45,885 Speaker 1: this or that. And it was a home birth, so 488 00:33:45,965 --> 00:33:49,525 Speaker 1: I got four birth certificates for him. So we left 489 00:33:49,645 --> 00:33:52,885 Speaker 1: Hawaii and we had to travel and not even go 490 00:33:53,005 --> 00:33:55,245 Speaker 1: in the country in case there was an indictment for me. 491 00:33:55,965 --> 00:33:59,325 Speaker 1: My lawyer said, leave the country. She starts traveling, visits 492 00:33:59,365 --> 00:34:01,965 Speaker 1: the West Coast Acid King Owsley, who had moved to 493 00:34:02,045 --> 00:34:05,445 Speaker 1: Australia in the eighties. This was a somewhat common place 494 00:34:05,725 --> 00:34:08,165 Speaker 1: for the psychedelic Pioneers or my subculture to go when 495 00:34:08,285 --> 00:34:11,285 Speaker 1: things got too hot at home, visit Owsley in Australia. 496 00:34:19,405 --> 00:34:22,485 Speaker 1: So once things settle down and became less hot, Candy 497 00:34:22,525 --> 00:34:24,965 Speaker 1: Can heads back to the States. Yet again, she gets 498 00:34:25,045 --> 00:34:28,925 Speaker 1: straight jobs, but once again, a single mother of two 499 00:34:29,165 --> 00:34:33,165 Speaker 1: needs money to live on, so once again she jumps 500 00:34:33,285 --> 00:34:37,645 Speaker 1: back into smuggling. It's the early nineteen nineties, so we 501 00:34:37,845 --> 00:34:43,565 Speaker 1: get a good run. We're bringing in shit left and right, 502 00:34:43,685 --> 00:34:48,125 Speaker 1: and the man is on our tail. Like Tom and Jerry. 503 00:34:48,325 --> 00:34:52,845 Speaker 1: We slip out the door there over there. Everything was 504 00:34:53,085 --> 00:34:59,005 Speaker 1: just surreal to think that I lived that life. As 505 00:34:59,125 --> 00:35:01,645 Speaker 1: my lawyer told me later, no one would believe it. 506 00:35:02,125 --> 00:35:05,405 Speaker 1: She's on a delivery job and she hires this dry 507 00:35:05,805 --> 00:35:11,165 Speaker 1: on recommendation from a friend. And that's when everything falls apart. 508 00:35:11,725 --> 00:35:16,005 Speaker 1: I hired a driver from a friend. He goes into 509 00:35:16,125 --> 00:35:22,085 Speaker 1: the bar and drinking and he starts. Somebody in the 510 00:35:22,125 --> 00:35:23,965 Speaker 1: bar said, hey, do you know where I can get 511 00:35:24,045 --> 00:35:26,365 Speaker 1: some hash? I'm really looking for hash and want to 512 00:35:26,405 --> 00:35:30,565 Speaker 1: buy hash. And he's in the bar and he says, sure, 513 00:35:30,765 --> 00:35:32,525 Speaker 1: I can get you, and he said how much you want? 514 00:35:33,005 --> 00:35:36,125 Speaker 1: As a man knew it was in one hundred pounds. 515 00:35:36,845 --> 00:35:40,285 Speaker 1: So he comes back and he lies. He says, I 516 00:35:40,725 --> 00:35:44,605 Speaker 1: one of my good buddies that I've known forever cash 517 00:35:44,685 --> 00:35:47,165 Speaker 1: for a hundred pounds, and I said, look, it's already sold. 518 00:35:47,805 --> 00:35:52,245 Speaker 1: We're transporting it. It's leaving town. We never sell in town. 519 00:35:52,405 --> 00:35:56,725 Speaker 1: You know, that's not the way the rules work. People 520 00:35:56,805 --> 00:35:59,605 Speaker 1: have DIBs on this, and really, I know a lot 521 00:35:59,645 --> 00:36:03,965 Speaker 1: of distributors, and it's really important to keep that under 522 00:36:04,005 --> 00:36:06,085 Speaker 1: our hat. That's why we were doing and so good. 523 00:36:07,245 --> 00:36:11,725 Speaker 1: And he goes, no, no, no. So he convinces everybody 524 00:36:11,925 --> 00:36:14,525 Speaker 1: to let him have this hundred pounds. He gets busted. 525 00:36:14,845 --> 00:36:16,765 Speaker 1: This guy at the bar turns him in and he 526 00:36:16,845 --> 00:36:20,925 Speaker 1: immediately rolls. When somebody rolls, they say, I'll tell you anything, 527 00:36:20,965 --> 00:36:23,165 Speaker 1: I'll do anything. Just let me go, let me go, 528 00:36:23,405 --> 00:36:25,725 Speaker 1: let me go, let me go. So he calls me 529 00:36:25,885 --> 00:36:29,565 Speaker 1: up and I meet him in a parking lot and 530 00:36:30,245 --> 00:36:33,765 Speaker 1: we're talking, and he said, can you talk louder? I go, 531 00:36:33,965 --> 00:36:39,405 Speaker 1: what's wrong? Just speak? Come here, closer, let's talk louder. Well, 532 00:36:39,925 --> 00:36:43,485 Speaker 1: one thing leads to another, and the next thing I know, 533 00:36:45,245 --> 00:36:49,205 Speaker 1: I'm sitting in federal detention and they're sending me notes 534 00:36:49,365 --> 00:36:53,925 Speaker 1: underneath the door that I'm facing twenty five years to life. 535 00:36:54,165 --> 00:36:59,005 Speaker 1: Oh my god, And would I talk about it? And 536 00:36:59,245 --> 00:37:03,165 Speaker 1: I the only questions that I answered is what about 537 00:37:03,205 --> 00:37:06,325 Speaker 1: my children? What about my children. You have kids. I 538 00:37:06,445 --> 00:37:08,645 Speaker 1: have kids, and the only thing I would talk about 539 00:37:08,885 --> 00:37:18,005 Speaker 1: was my kids. I stayed in prison and I prayed, 540 00:37:18,325 --> 00:37:21,605 Speaker 1: and I meditated, and I made the walls speak to me, 541 00:37:22,765 --> 00:37:27,245 Speaker 1: and I did every magical incantation in my mind and 542 00:37:27,405 --> 00:37:30,885 Speaker 1: in my heart, and they stuck me with really terrible people. 543 00:37:31,005 --> 00:37:33,205 Speaker 1: The lady who was in my cell said if you 544 00:37:33,325 --> 00:37:36,885 Speaker 1: touch me, I'll kill you. And she was a violent, 545 00:37:37,005 --> 00:37:41,245 Speaker 1: abusive person. And every woman I met in there was 546 00:37:42,285 --> 00:37:46,205 Speaker 1: drug addicted or poor. Mostly they got poor women in 547 00:37:46,285 --> 00:37:50,245 Speaker 1: there because they couldn't afford a phone to call their 548 00:37:50,285 --> 00:37:54,165 Speaker 1: probation officer, and they kept breaking parole. And then there 549 00:37:54,285 --> 00:37:57,405 Speaker 1: was a homeless woman I met who gets herself arrested 550 00:37:57,445 --> 00:38:00,005 Speaker 1: every winter, so she has a warm place to sleep 551 00:38:00,485 --> 00:38:05,645 Speaker 1: and a meal and a shower. I was in a 552 00:38:05,765 --> 00:38:10,285 Speaker 1: room where you couldn't lay down, and they kept it 553 00:38:10,405 --> 00:38:13,205 Speaker 1: at about fifty two and they wouldn't give you a blanket, 554 00:38:13,245 --> 00:38:14,885 Speaker 1: and you were in the little cotton things, so you 555 00:38:14,965 --> 00:38:18,125 Speaker 1: were frozen. And somebody would sit outside the door and say, 556 00:38:18,445 --> 00:38:20,765 Speaker 1: do you want something hot to drink? You want to talk? 557 00:38:23,325 --> 00:38:28,685 Speaker 1: And there was not a toilet in there either. So 558 00:38:30,885 --> 00:38:33,325 Speaker 1: I hire a lawyer and he said they got you. 559 00:38:33,845 --> 00:38:37,365 Speaker 1: They got you with the keys. The warehouse had sixteen tons. 560 00:38:37,965 --> 00:38:41,525 Speaker 1: It was four hundred grand in the van. They got you. 561 00:38:43,405 --> 00:38:55,165 Speaker 1: Let's start negotiating a deal. Candy Can's parents are able 562 00:38:55,245 --> 00:38:58,445 Speaker 1: to post bail, and her lawyers recommend that she take 563 00:38:58,485 --> 00:39:03,645 Speaker 1: a deal. Remember, they're threatening twenty five years to life 564 00:39:04,645 --> 00:39:08,725 Speaker 1: for pot, and her lawyers are saying, maybe they can 565 00:39:08,805 --> 00:39:12,525 Speaker 1: get her off with just eight. But Candy Can has 566 00:39:12,645 --> 00:39:16,605 Speaker 1: two young kids. She is determined to keep her family 567 00:39:16,685 --> 00:39:21,005 Speaker 1: intact and remain free. My lawyer says, I can't do this, 568 00:39:21,485 --> 00:39:24,165 Speaker 1: and it's a week before the trial. I can't change it. 569 00:39:25,725 --> 00:39:29,405 Speaker 1: And a friend of mine from my network said, call 570 00:39:29,525 --> 00:39:33,165 Speaker 1: this guy. So I call him and he goes, well, 571 00:39:33,285 --> 00:39:36,005 Speaker 1: you know, once a year I like to do a 572 00:39:36,165 --> 00:39:39,685 Speaker 1: big case for free. Oh my god, I'll do this 573 00:39:39,845 --> 00:39:44,605 Speaker 1: case for you. So it's one week to trial and 574 00:39:44,685 --> 00:39:46,645 Speaker 1: he goes, you know, you have a ninety nine point 575 00:39:46,765 --> 00:39:50,685 Speaker 1: nine percent chance of going to jail. I go, yeah, 576 00:39:50,805 --> 00:39:53,485 Speaker 1: that means I have a point zero one percent chance 577 00:39:53,565 --> 00:40:01,005 Speaker 1: of being free. Candy Can decides to tell them the truth. 578 00:40:02,165 --> 00:40:05,205 Speaker 1: She doesn't use real names, but she's telling the jury 579 00:40:05,285 --> 00:40:09,085 Speaker 1: her whole life, every deal, every smuggle, I was being 580 00:40:09,165 --> 00:40:13,845 Speaker 1: adopted psychically by this prosecutor in the attorney who was 581 00:40:13,925 --> 00:40:17,365 Speaker 1: trying to make me out as a villain for society, 582 00:40:18,045 --> 00:40:22,525 Speaker 1: for somebody who was not worthy of being a mother 583 00:40:22,725 --> 00:40:28,045 Speaker 1: to my children. The prosecuting attorney said, she did it. 584 00:40:28,685 --> 00:40:31,205 Speaker 1: We know she did it. This is a hail Mary pass. 585 00:40:31,685 --> 00:40:34,685 Speaker 1: You must convict her. She takes the stand to fight 586 00:40:34,765 --> 00:40:40,005 Speaker 1: for her life and the lives of her children. And 587 00:40:40,165 --> 00:40:45,605 Speaker 1: I cry, and I talk about all the years said 588 00:40:46,165 --> 00:40:52,325 Speaker 1: as a mother and a parent and struggling to survive, 589 00:40:52,485 --> 00:40:57,125 Speaker 1: and how I thought of one bananas okay, a truckload 590 00:40:57,165 --> 00:41:00,965 Speaker 1: of bananas is fine, meaning you know you think a 591 00:41:01,085 --> 00:41:05,125 Speaker 1: joint's okay? Well, why is a truckload of joints not okay? 592 00:41:07,125 --> 00:41:11,845 Speaker 1: And I cry, and I pray. I have mirrors inside 593 00:41:12,005 --> 00:41:18,685 Speaker 1: my shoes. I have every soul on the jury I'm 594 00:41:18,765 --> 00:41:23,005 Speaker 1: communicating with. I'm using it, all of my psychic energy. 595 00:41:24,525 --> 00:41:36,005 Speaker 1: My mother and father were there, my kids. The jury 596 00:41:36,125 --> 00:41:41,445 Speaker 1: came back not guilty on all four counts, and I 597 00:41:41,565 --> 00:41:49,805 Speaker 1: walked out of the courtroom. Candy Cann mentioned having mirrors 598 00:41:49,885 --> 00:41:52,405 Speaker 1: on the bottom of her shoes. Now, there's a superstition 599 00:41:52,485 --> 00:41:55,965 Speaker 1: that mirrors reflect negative energy, so having them on the 600 00:41:56,045 --> 00:42:00,005 Speaker 1: bottom of shoes reflects the negative energy away from the wearer, 601 00:42:00,405 --> 00:42:04,205 Speaker 1: allowing the positive energy to flow in. Did we mention 602 00:42:04,325 --> 00:42:08,045 Speaker 1: that I come from the Hippies? Before the trial, Candy 603 00:42:08,165 --> 00:42:12,485 Speaker 1: Can was under house arrest for thirteen months. The trial 604 00:42:12,605 --> 00:42:15,525 Speaker 1: took an enormous mental and financial toll on her family 605 00:42:15,565 --> 00:42:19,205 Speaker 1: and kids. At one point, her parents encouraged her to 606 00:42:19,325 --> 00:42:22,485 Speaker 1: flee and be a fugitive, but that wasn't a life. 607 00:42:22,565 --> 00:42:25,805 Speaker 1: She wanted. A life where you're always looking behind your back, 608 00:42:26,005 --> 00:42:30,445 Speaker 1: looking away from your family and for what a plant 609 00:42:30,525 --> 00:42:33,085 Speaker 1: that in our household we like to joke is a vegetable. 610 00:42:33,805 --> 00:42:36,685 Speaker 1: Candy Cann thinks of it as much more than a vegetable. 611 00:42:37,565 --> 00:42:40,885 Speaker 1: It's not a vegetable. It alters your mind, and that's 612 00:42:41,285 --> 00:42:45,285 Speaker 1: why they make it illegal. It alters your consciousness, it 613 00:42:45,445 --> 00:42:50,965 Speaker 1: heals your body. It's not a vegetable. It's mind altering. 614 00:42:52,005 --> 00:42:57,165 Speaker 1: It's spiritual. It's my sacred plant. Candy Cann's story blows 615 00:42:57,245 --> 00:43:00,485 Speaker 1: my mind because it's an amazing story exposing the extreme 616 00:43:00,645 --> 00:43:04,445 Speaker 1: risk undertaken by the pot smugglers of YR and affirms 617 00:43:04,485 --> 00:43:07,645 Speaker 1: that at any moment in my childhood something similar could 618 00:43:07,685 --> 00:43:12,725 Speaker 1: have happened to my parents. Kenny Can also reveals to 619 00:43:12,805 --> 00:43:16,565 Speaker 1: me that my parents, especially my dad, were like her 620 00:43:17,165 --> 00:43:23,765 Speaker 1: actors storytellers like me. Kenny Can Saga reminds me that 621 00:43:23,965 --> 00:43:29,725 Speaker 1: my family was incredibly lucky for the most part. In 622 00:43:29,845 --> 00:43:32,605 Speaker 1: the next episode, we talk about the main reason my 623 00:43:32,725 --> 00:43:37,645 Speaker 1: parents were smugglers money cash, where to put it, how 624 00:43:37,725 --> 00:43:41,205 Speaker 1: to clean it, and how to conceal hundreds of thousands 625 00:43:41,245 --> 00:43:45,565 Speaker 1: in cash from your kids, Plus a new storage unit 626 00:43:45,805 --> 00:43:50,325 Speaker 1: stuffed with my dad's secret money laundering weapon. I'm Rainbow 627 00:43:50,445 --> 00:44:00,965 Speaker 1: Valentine and this is Disorganized Crime. Disorganized Crime Smuggler's Daughter 628 00:44:01,205 --> 00:44:05,165 Speaker 1: is written and recorded by Me, Rainbow Valentine. Our producers 629 00:44:05,205 --> 00:44:09,685 Speaker 1: are Abby Watts and Taylor Church. Executive producers are Brandon Barr, 630 00:44:09,885 --> 00:44:12,885 Speaker 1: Ryan Live and Elsie Crowley and Me at School of 631 00:44:12,965 --> 00:44:16,325 Speaker 1: Humans and Connell Burn and Charles Bryant at iHeartRadio. Our 632 00:44:16,405 --> 00:44:19,085 Speaker 1: music is by Gabby Lala and Claire Campbell, with original 633 00:44:19,165 --> 00:44:22,285 Speaker 1: theme by Mark Karen and Me. You can follow us 634 00:44:22,325 --> 00:44:33,965 Speaker 1: online at Disorganized Crime podcast dot com. Right novel the 635 00:44:34,085 --> 00:44:40,005 Speaker 1: story Do It as We Be tam by Steep and 636 00:44:40,085 --> 00:44:48,165 Speaker 1: Princess of the Red streams us Keep It Real, Handshake 637 00:44:48,285 --> 00:44:54,045 Speaker 1: Seals the Deal, Wrap the stacks sealed meal going up. 638 00:44:54,205 --> 00:45:01,005 Speaker 1: These all gres roling the doobie, young, rich and groovy 639 00:45:02,645 --> 00:45:11,685 Speaker 1: making it up. We roll oh, rolling along for country roll, 640 00:45:13,805 --> 00:45:22,165 Speaker 1: Rolling along for a country roll, Rolling along for a 641 00:45:22,845 --> 00:45:23,805 Speaker 1: country roll.