Damian Marley, Nabil and Berner work with EVIDENCE, a family-owned cannabis brand that grows weed out of a prison to help get people out of prison.
“We grow weed at a prison to help people get out of prison for growing weed.” The tagline for Evidence, the disruptive California-based cannabis brand, seems to say it all – their plants are raised and processed on the grounds of a 24-acre property that houses a 77,000-square foot former correctional facility in the city of Coalinga.
Founded by siblings Casey, Dan and Kelly Dalton, just in time for Juneteenth and the 50th anniversary of the War on Drugs; Evidence was born from their family business Ocean Grown Extracts, so named for the first strain Kelly cultivated as a legacy grower in the San Fernando Valley.
“We presented what we thought may be a mutually beneficial opportunity to help the city and allow us to obtain a license and help them with the local ordinance.
Coalinga previously had had a hard time supporting public services.
Walking through the abandoned 77,000 square-foot building, which had been forced to close due to overcrowding, the irony was not lost on Casey.
Partnering with reggae icon Damian Marley, Bob Marley’s youngest son, helped the Daltons gain immediate name recognition for Ocean Grown Extracts.
Focusing on science and formulations, the Daltons perfected Ocean Grown’s products to address different ailments such as insomnia, anxiety and pain relief that consumers regularly sought cannabis to treat.
In 2019, cannabis industry pioneers Steve and Andrew DeAngelo created Last Prisoner Project , with the help of Managing Director Mary Bailey and Executive Director Sarah Gersten – a nonprofit committed to restorative justice and re-entry for the thousands of people still incarcerated and suffering due to the War on Drugs.
A portion from the proceeds of every Evidence bag of flower sold benefits LPP, and the Daltons’ conscientious approach to cannabis has enabled them to keep prices affordable enough that consumers in any economic bracket can access their products.
Other developing enterprises under the Ocean Grown umbrella include the delivery service Stash Dash, new brands in the snacks and pets categories, and a brick-and-mortar location for social equity resources located in Los Angeles’ Atwater Village.
Casey hopes that in the near future, Evidence will also be able to offer hands-on apprenticeship for formerly incarcerated people.
You can see who just wants to make money… When everybody looks back at seeing these brands come and go, these corporations amassing the money, we’re just the people who are going to keep chugging along.
Evidence works to embody the Daltons’ social justice ethos to the fullest; the promotional images from Nabil Elderkin feature models of color in street clothes, creating realistic portrayals of the average consumer.
So do a lot of the corporate guys, so do a lot of the soccer moms, but… it’s interesting to me that our imagery is now being thrown back up in our face as something that’s bad… It’s definitely intentional for the Evidence bag to make you uncomfortable.
Amid the stigmas, high costs, and challenges of surviving the cannabis industry, the Daltons will continue to be true to themselves and provide quality products with a message.
If you are blindly looking up and trading stocks the way 99% of traders are, you are missing on HUGE potential returns.
For the same cost of a cup of coffee, less than the cost of a Netflix subscription and less than the average order at McDonalds you will receive top tier education and winning trade alerts to maximize your portfolio returns.