Soul Survivor

Soul Survivor

Author: David Bienenstock December 4, 2025 Duration: 1:22:23
In January, Martin Olive was shot seven times outside the Vapor Room dispensary, which he co-founded in San Francisco in 2004.  Located in the legendary Haight Street neighborhood, the Vapor Room was known for its extensive compassion program offering free cannabis to patients in need, and for the vibrant community of mutual support that took root in its on-site consumption lounge. Over the past year, Martin has made a truly miraculous recovery. We discuss his shooting at the end of the interview, including his very intentional approach to integrating cannabis into the healing process. But first, we talk at length about his journey from slanging bags and smoking head stash as a teenager, to operating one of America's most respected and enduring first wave medical cannabis dispensaries. PATREON Please ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible. EPISODE ARCHIVE Visit our podcast feed for 150+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday. 

Great Moments in Weed History delves deep into humanity's 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) to explore the humor, heart, and historical importance of the planet's most revered and maligned plant. Hosted by David Bienenstock.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Great Moments in Weed History
Podcast Episodes
Getting Lit with Latin America's #1 Weed Enthusiast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:10
Simon Espinosa, a young comedy writer from Santiago, Chile, turned a stoned text message chain with his brother into by far the largest Spanish-language cannabis media platform on the planet. En Vola (which literary tran…
A Doctor Explains Why Grandma Should Probably Get a Little Lit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:49
Dr. Peter Grinspoon—author of the new book Aging Well with Cannabis: Feel Better, Sleep Better, and Live Better with Marijuana and CBD—explains that senior citizens are the fastest growing demo of cannabis consumers. But…
4/20 Weed-a-Thon w/ Gabrus + Hulu's New Weed Doc Series [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:53
Comedic 'heavy hitter' Jon Gabrus joins the year's weediest episode. Plus Bean shares details from 4x20 Quick Hits, a new Hulu original series he worked on that's dropping on April 20th, with episodes about High Times fo…
High & Low Maintenance (w/ Ben Sinclair) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:12
Writer, actor and director Ben Sinclair is best known as co-creator and star of the HBO series High Maintenance. A recent New York Times headline asked: “What happens when TV’s favorite weed dealer tries to quit?” The ar…
Sparking a Weed Uprising in Minneapolis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:39
Angela Dawson is a fourth generation farmer, albeit the first of her name to farm cannabis. She’s also a leading weed activist in the state of Minnesota, who's currently preparing for the 4/20 soft-launch of "The Garden…
4/20 Origin Story + A High Holiday Manifesto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:40
Gettin’ lit on 4/20 used to mean something special. And it will again. So on this episode, to spark that return to glory, we’re going to trace the origin story of our annual high holiday all the way back to its roots, as…
True Crime: A Killing in Cannabis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:35
In 2019, Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur Tushar Atre met a tragic end after paddling out into the rough waters of the underground cannabis scene in surfer haven Santa Cruz, California, At once a love story, a cr…
Reefer Madness 2: Electric Boogaloo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:35
A prominent anti-weed editorial in this week's NY Times is just the latest attempt to resurrect the kind of government propaganda and media hysteria that helped make the plant illegal in the first place. So we talked wit…
A Smuggler's Daughter Tells All [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:19
Rainbow Valentine is the creator behind Disorganized Crime: Smuggler’s Daughter, a first-person podcast series that explores her life growing up as the offspring of two psych*delic pioneers—as she calls them—who together…