You may see him wearing cool gemstones and jewelry when he’s behind the counter at the Cannabis Buyers’ Club of Berkeley, where he was the fourth budtender ever hired. He’s super involved in his church, singing with the Praise Team and attending a men’s bible study group. Follow him on Instagram: @maupinjay42.
So, you’ve been at CBCB since 1997. Wow!
Yeah, I went in there one day to buy some weed and they asked if I’d like to come volunteer for an event — that’s how it all started. It was before Prop 215. Our founder, Aundre Speciale, had a card table that she’d set up in a community space at Telegraph and Channing to do intakes. She had a whiteboard and a quarter pound of pot, and that’s when she started distributing medicine.
Has much changed over the last 27 years?
Since the beginning, the miracle of CBCB has been all about compassion. And the reason it’scontinued is because of Aundre’s heart. We wanted to bring quality Cannabis to the community that was affordable, and we’re still doing it. So, not much [has changed]. The foundation is the same.
If you were to do something else for a living, what would that be?
I don’t know. I don’t think I’d be doing anything else. My life has always been about Cannabis.
What’s a special moment you’ve had at CBCB?
One of the best times was when Tommy Chong came. We all got our turn to talk with him. That was very special because he is such a down-to-earth person. He said that because of each and every one of us doing the work we’re doing, it’s why we’re still here.
What is the best moment in a “Cheech and Chong” movie?
(Laughs) Them in the car with the big joint and a cop drives by, so they eat the weed and then the cop wasn’t concerned with them in the first place.
Did you ever have a moment like that?
Kinda. When I was much younger, we were smoking in my friend’s dad’s car, and a cop gave me a ticket. I went to court, and the judge laughed and gave me a $50 fine. This is Berkeley.
