Honeysuckle Magazine: The Freedom Issue

Since its inception, Honeysuckle has been motivated by three aims: Freedom, beauty and truth. With this issue, we continue our discovery into some of America’s darkest depths. Reggae icon Damian Marley graces our cover and speaks about his longstanding commitment to social change, through his music and advocacy work with the restorative justice nonprofit Last Prisoner Project. Rapper Berner, one of the world’s most influential canna-preneurs, discusses human connection and the dark side of the industry. Photographed by visionary artist Nabil Elderkin, their stories testify to the power of the movement.

We also go deep inside the prison-industrial complex, exploring the efforts of those who suffered in it and those working to release them. Cannabis brand Evidence, founded by siblings Dan, Casey, and Kelly Dalton, describes their mission as “we grow weed at a prison to help people get out of prison for selling weed.” Jessica Jackson, co-founder of Dream Corps JUSTICE and Chief Advocacy Officer of REFORM Alliance, explains why our punitive system isn’t effective without solutions for recovery. A chief figure in crafting 2018’s First Step Act, Jackson is now campaigning to change parole laws. Michael Thompson, who served 25 years in prison for selling 3 pounds of cannabis, stands up against the hypocrisy of the criminal justice system and the Three-Strikes Law.

From the women who make Last Prisoner Project’s reentry programs possible, to Topeka K. Sam and Tyra Patterson’s community outreach, to nonprofits empowering entrepreneurs of color to flourish in the cannabis space, to environmental justice efforts transforming the country, Honeysuckle’s latest edition celebrates FREEDOM in its purest and most powerful forms.