Redemption

CANNABIS WITH A CAUSE

Ryan Basore used his business experience gained from working in the insurance industry to open one of Michigan’s and Lansing’s first medical marijuana dispensaries in 2010. Through his provisioning center, Capital City Caregivers, Ryan saw first-hand how cannabis could improve lives by getting people off dangerously addictive painkillers and preventing debilitating seizures.

Basore had believed his caregiver grow operation was in “full and substantial compliance with state law,” which was the line drawn by the Obama Administration to avoid federal scrutiny. Despite his efforts to comply with state and local law, the DEA, State Police, and National Guard raided his state-legal cannabis operations. He was ultimately charged with 13 federal counts related to the manufacture and distribution of marijuana.