Farmer Tom Lauerman, one of Southwest Washington’s most interesting cannabis characters, is in the limelight again.

Yesterday, Farmer Tom was featured in a Q&A by CULTURE Magazine profiling his life and times with marijuana, both before and after legalization. Cool little side note: The magazine borrowed the above photo from Cannabis Chronicles for the article.

It’s real interesting stuff, and Farmer Tom was the magazine’s “Featured Advocate” of the month. If you don’t already know his backstory, it’s definitely worth a read.

Farmer Tom runs an organic medical marijuana collective garden on the northern edge of Vancouver near Brush Prairie. He’s had the place for about a decade, but he’s been involved with marijuana long before it was legal.

The name fits, of course, because Tom’s a lifelong farmer and former landscaper. Sixteen years ago in San Diego, he was arrested for running a collective garden with nearly 450 marijuana plants.

The marijuana was used to treat all sorts of patients with terrible illnesses: people suffering from AIDS, arthritis, glaucoma, you name it. And the incident eventually led to the creation of San Diego’s first medical marijuana task force, something Tom considers his greatest accomplishment.

Nowadays, Farmer Tom’s working on all sorts of interesting ventures on the side, like creating a safety manual for workers in the cannabis industry. He also works with a Seattle-based pot tourism company, called Kush Tourism, opening up his farm for visitors to check out how it all works.

The article will make a big difference in getting Farmer Tom’s name and brand out there, too. The magazine is distributed through the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Colorado, Washington, Arizona and Michigan.

– Justin Runquist