Steve "Shark" Sharpe, 60, passed away unexpectedly on January 22, 2020 while vacationing in Big Pine Key, Florida with his beloved wife, Linda.
Steve was born on September 15, 1959 in Jackson, Michigan the son of Roger and Annette Sharpe who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his "wifey" Linda Rice, who he married 15 years ago in Negril, Jamaica; step-sons David Rice Jr. and Derek (Michelle) Rice also Doug (Kelly) Chaffin who he regarded as a son; grandchildren Haley, Hannah, David III and Zachary Rice; sisters Sue (Mike) Kurczewski, Penny (Greg) Scofield, Cindy (Bill) Bourke, and Karen (Tim) Phillips; special nieces and nephews Heather, Jason, Andrew, Brent, Ashley, Amber, Tim, Joey and great-nieces and nephews.
He was a member of the Michigan Center Eagles Lodge #3634; former member of the Knights of Columbus and was general contractor for many years. He was also a former Michigan NORML Board member and had held the title of Assistant Executive Director.
Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed traveling, attempting to golf, camping, pontoon rides with their dog, Dottie, cooking and glass blowing.
He was known for being social, adventurous and wearing flip flops year-round.
Steve truly loved spending time with his grandchildren.
He was a lifelong avid University of Michigan fan – Go Blue!
He was a pioneer in the effort to legalize hemp and medical marijuana in Michigan.
Steve made an impact on everyone that he met and will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.
According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.
A celebration of his life will be held from 3-7 P.M. on Saturday February 22, 2020 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St, Michigan Center, MI 49254.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jackson Catholic Charities.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
A wonderful piece written about Steve and published on MLive :
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/michigan-marijuana-hemp-legalization-pioneer-dies-in-key-west.html
Michigan Marijuana, Hemp Legalization Pioneer Dies Near Key West
~By Gus Burns | [email protected]
JACKSON, MI -- In 2016, Steven Sharpe of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.
Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.
But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.
“We can’t drive around like that,” she said.
It was election season. Sharpe had a “big Trump sticker" on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.
“We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing,” she said. “It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.”
Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.
It’s believed Sharpe died of natural, health-related causes, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida,
Sharpe’s death prompted many in Michigan’s now-flourishing marijuana community to reflect on his contribution to the movement, and their appreciation for him as a human.
“He helped to get us to where we were right before we passed legalization,” said Ryan Basore, who started Capital City Caregivers, a now-shuttered marijuana dispensary based in Lansing in 2010. "And it was time for him to enjoy retirement with his wife, whom he loved.
“He had a great life and it’s sad because he had a good 20 years, at least, to watch what he had accomplished and just enjoy it all.”
Sharpe had three stepsons and four step-grandchildren with Linda Rice, his wife of 15 years, whom he wed in Negril, Jamaica,according to his obituary.
He was a “happy, passionate and great guy,” Basore said.
Basore, who’s now prepping to launch his own legal brand of marijuana products, met Sharpe nearly a decade ago. Sharpe was pushing a 2013 ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession in Jackson, one of the first such efforts to pass in Michigan prior to statewide legalization.
Basore was headed to prison. The federal government in 2010 raided his business and arrested him.
Basore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as part of deal that called for him to spend four years in prison.
“I had about six, eight weeks before I was made to report,” Basore said.
Once a week, Sharpe drove to Lansing from Jackson to take Basore out to eat and talk at Meat Barbecue, a restaurant in Lansing’s Old Town.
“He was heartbroken and was really a great friend,” Basore said. “At the time, we didn’t really know each other that well. He didn’t have to do that stuff. He took it upon himself.”
What started as a kinship over marijuana blossomed into a strong bond. Sharpe later visited Basore behind bars during his imprisonment from 2013 to 2016.
As an identifying Republican -- he appreciated the party’s limited-government stance, according to Young -- Sharpe had more access to conservative leaders than others in the marijuana movement.
“He would go to a lot of GOP events ... always wearing his marijuana pin and always talking about marijuana and hemp in really uncomfortable situations,” Basore said. “And he never backed down.”
When he wasn’t doling out his potent, homemade Rick Simpson Oil-infused chocolate bears, a type of marijuana edible, Sharpe sometimes carried a briefcase filled with hemp products -- a shoe, brick, soap and bottle of hemp-brewed beer -- as he espoused benefits of hemp and cannabis as plant, beyond just getting high, at Republican political events.
While he was a Republican, Sharpe “wasn’t in your face” about it, Young said. “He used to corner Republican politicians and talk to them about legalization" and “at the time that was really outside the lines.
" ... Steve was instrumental in convincing the powers that be in Lansing to remove hemp from the controlled substances list. He was very proud of that."
That June 2016 trip Young and Sharpe took to Lansing didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped.
Of the nearly 354,000 legalization signatures they submitted, only about 207,000 of the necessary 252,523 needed to get the proposal on the ballot were verified. The rest were collected outside the 180-day petition collection window, the state said. It never made the ballot.
But the efforts of Sharpe and others didn’t cease.
“Everyone that’s been around knows what Steve did,” Basore said. “It was his life’s goal, in Michigan, to see marijuana and hemp legalized.
“It’s wonderful that he got to see it.”
Michigan, with 56% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana in November 2018. The first recreational marijuana stores opened Dec. 1. Michigan launched its first industrial hemp farming and production pilot program in 2019.
Sharpe’s body was cremated and a memorial celebration is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St. in Michigan Center.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Steve was born on September 15, 1959 in Jackson, Michigan the son of Roger and Annette Sharpe who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his "wifey" Linda Rice, who he married 15 years ago in Negril, Jamaica; step-sons David Rice Jr. and Derek (Michelle) Rice also Doug (Kelly) Chaffin who he regarded as a son; grandchildren Haley, Hannah, David III and Zachary Rice; sisters Sue (Mike) Kurczewski, Penny (Greg) Scofield, Cindy (Bill) Bourke, and Karen (Tim) Phillips; special nieces and nephews Heather, Jason, Andrew, Brent, Ashley, Amber, Tim, Joey and great-nieces and nephews.
He was a member of the Michigan Center Eagles Lodge #3634; former member of the Knights of Columbus and was general contractor for many years. He was also a former Michigan NORML Board member and had held the title of Assistant Executive Director.
Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed traveling, attempting to golf, camping, pontoon rides with their dog, Dottie, cooking and glass blowing.
He was known for being social, adventurous and wearing flip flops year-round.
Steve truly loved spending time with his grandchildren.
He was a lifelong avid University of Michigan fan – Go Blue!
He was a pioneer in the effort to legalize hemp and medical marijuana in Michigan.
Steve made an impact on everyone that he met and will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.
According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.
A celebration of his life will be held from 3-7 P.M. on Saturday February 22, 2020 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St, Michigan Center, MI 49254.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jackson Catholic Charities.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
A wonderful piece written about Steve and published on MLive :
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/michigan-marijuana-hemp-legalization-pioneer-dies-in-key-west.html
Michigan Marijuana, Hemp Legalization Pioneer Dies Near Key West
~By Gus Burns | [email protected]
JACKSON, MI -- In 2016, Steven Sharpe of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.
Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.
But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.
“We can’t drive around like that,” she said.
It was election season. Sharpe had a “big Trump sticker" on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.
“We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing,” she said. “It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.”
Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.
It’s believed Sharpe died of natural, health-related causes, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida,
Sharpe’s death prompted many in Michigan’s now-flourishing marijuana community to reflect on his contribution to the movement, and their appreciation for him as a human.
“He helped to get us to where we were right before we passed legalization,” said Ryan Basore, who started Capital City Caregivers, a now-shuttered marijuana dispensary based in Lansing in 2010. "And it was time for him to enjoy retirement with his wife, whom he loved.
“He had a great life and it’s sad because he had a good 20 years, at least, to watch what he had accomplished and just enjoy it all.”
Sharpe had three stepsons and four step-grandchildren with Linda Rice, his wife of 15 years, whom he wed in Negril, Jamaica,according to his obituary.
He was a “happy, passionate and great guy,” Basore said.
Basore, who’s now prepping to launch his own legal brand of marijuana products, met Sharpe nearly a decade ago. Sharpe was pushing a 2013 ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession in Jackson, one of the first such efforts to pass in Michigan prior to statewide legalization.
Basore was headed to prison. The federal government in 2010 raided his business and arrested him.
Basore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as part of deal that called for him to spend four years in prison.
“I had about six, eight weeks before I was made to report,” Basore said.
Once a week, Sharpe drove to Lansing from Jackson to take Basore out to eat and talk at Meat Barbecue, a restaurant in Lansing’s Old Town.
“He was heartbroken and was really a great friend,” Basore said. “At the time, we didn’t really know each other that well. He didn’t have to do that stuff. He took it upon himself.”
What started as a kinship over marijuana blossomed into a strong bond. Sharpe later visited Basore behind bars during his imprisonment from 2013 to 2016.
As an identifying Republican -- he appreciated the party’s limited-government stance, according to Young -- Sharpe had more access to conservative leaders than others in the marijuana movement.
“He would go to a lot of GOP events ... always wearing his marijuana pin and always talking about marijuana and hemp in really uncomfortable situations,” Basore said. “And he never backed down.”
When he wasn’t doling out his potent, homemade Rick Simpson Oil-infused chocolate bears, a type of marijuana edible, Sharpe sometimes carried a briefcase filled with hemp products -- a shoe, brick, soap and bottle of hemp-brewed beer -- as he espoused benefits of hemp and cannabis as plant, beyond just getting high, at Republican political events.
While he was a Republican, Sharpe “wasn’t in your face” about it, Young said. “He used to corner Republican politicians and talk to them about legalization" and “at the time that was really outside the lines.
" ... Steve was instrumental in convincing the powers that be in Lansing to remove hemp from the controlled substances list. He was very proud of that."
That June 2016 trip Young and Sharpe took to Lansing didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped.
Of the nearly 354,000 legalization signatures they submitted, only about 207,000 of the necessary 252,523 needed to get the proposal on the ballot were verified. The rest were collected outside the 180-day petition collection window, the state said. It never made the ballot.
But the efforts of Sharpe and others didn’t cease.
“Everyone that’s been around knows what Steve did,” Basore said. “It was his life’s goal, in Michigan, to see marijuana and hemp legalized.
“It’s wonderful that he got to see it.”
Michigan, with 56% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana in November 2018. The first recreational marijuana stores opened Dec. 1. Michigan launched its first industrial hemp farming and production pilot program in 2019.
Sharpe’s body was cremated and a memorial celebration is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St. in Michigan Center.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Steve "Shark" Sharpe, 60, passed away unexpectedly on January 22, 2020 while vacationing in Big Pine Key, Florida with his beloved wife, Linda.
Steve was born on September 15, 1959 in Jackson, Michigan the son of Roger and Annette Sharpe who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his "wifey" Linda Rice, who he married 15 years ago in Negril, Jamaica; step-sons David Rice Jr. and Derek (Michelle) Rice also Doug (Kelly) Chaffin who he regarded as a son; grandchildren Haley, Hannah, David III and Zachary Rice; sisters Sue (Mike) Kurczewski, Penny (Greg) Scofield, Cindy (Bill) Bourke, and Karen (Tim) Phillips; special nieces and nephews Heather, Jason, Andrew, Brent, Ashley, Amber, Tim, Joey and great-nieces and nephews.
He was a member of the Michigan Center Eagles Lodge #3634; former member of the Knights of Columbus and was general contractor for many years. He was also a former Michigan NORML Board member and had held the title of Assistant Executive Director.
Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed traveling, attempting to golf, camping, pontoon rides with their dog, Dottie, cooking and glass blowing.
He was known for being social, adventurous and wearing flip flops year-round.
Steve truly loved spending time with his grandchildren.
He was a lifelong avid University of Michigan fan – Go Blue!
He was a pioneer in the effort to legalize hemp and medical marijuana in Michigan.
Steve made an impact on everyone that he met and will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.
According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.
A celebration of his life will be held from 3-7 P.M. on Saturday February 22, 2020 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St, Michigan Center, MI 49254.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jackson Catholic Charities.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
A wonderful piece written about Steve and published on MLive :
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/michigan-marijuana-hemp-legalization-pioneer-dies-in-key-west.html
Michigan Marijuana, Hemp Legalization Pioneer Dies Near Key West
~By Gus Burns | [email protected]
JACKSON, MI -- In 2016, Steven Sharpe of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.
Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.
But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.
“We can’t drive around like that,” she said.
It was election season. Sharpe had a “big Trump sticker" on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.
“We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing,” she said. “It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.”
Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.
It’s believed Sharpe died of natural, health-related causes, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida,
Sharpe’s death prompted many in Michigan’s now-flourishing marijuana community to reflect on his contribution to the movement, and their appreciation for him as a human.
“He helped to get us to where we were right before we passed legalization,” said Ryan Basore, who started Capital City Caregivers, a now-shuttered marijuana dispensary based in Lansing in 2010. "And it was time for him to enjoy retirement with his wife, whom he loved.
“He had a great life and it’s sad because he had a good 20 years, at least, to watch what he had accomplished and just enjoy it all.”
Sharpe had three stepsons and four step-grandchildren with Linda Rice, his wife of 15 years, whom he wed in Negril, Jamaica,according to his obituary.
He was a “happy, passionate and great guy,” Basore said.
Basore, who’s now prepping to launch his own legal brand of marijuana products, met Sharpe nearly a decade ago. Sharpe was pushing a 2013 ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession in Jackson, one of the first such efforts to pass in Michigan prior to statewide legalization.
Basore was headed to prison. The federal government in 2010 raided his business and arrested him.
Basore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as part of deal that called for him to spend four years in prison.
“I had about six, eight weeks before I was made to report,” Basore said.
Once a week, Sharpe drove to Lansing from Jackson to take Basore out to eat and talk at Meat Barbecue, a restaurant in Lansing’s Old Town.
“He was heartbroken and was really a great friend,” Basore said. “At the time, we didn’t really know each other that well. He didn’t have to do that stuff. He took it upon himself.”
What started as a kinship over marijuana blossomed into a strong bond. Sharpe later visited Basore behind bars during his imprisonment from 2013 to 2016.
As an identifying Republican -- he appreciated the party’s limited-government stance, according to Young -- Sharpe had more access to conservative leaders than others in the marijuana movement.
“He would go to a lot of GOP events ... always wearing his marijuana pin and always talking about marijuana and hemp in really uncomfortable situations,” Basore said. “And he never backed down.”
When he wasn’t doling out his potent, homemade Rick Simpson Oil-infused chocolate bears, a type of marijuana edible, Sharpe sometimes carried a briefcase filled with hemp products -- a shoe, brick, soap and bottle of hemp-brewed beer -- as he espoused benefits of hemp and cannabis as plant, beyond just getting high, at Republican political events.
While he was a Republican, Sharpe “wasn’t in your face” about it, Young said. “He used to corner Republican politicians and talk to them about legalization" and “at the time that was really outside the lines.
" ... Steve was instrumental in convincing the powers that be in Lansing to remove hemp from the controlled substances list. He was very proud of that."
That June 2016 trip Young and Sharpe took to Lansing didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped.
Of the nearly 354,000 legalization signatures they submitted, only about 207,000 of the necessary 252,523 needed to get the proposal on the ballot were verified. The rest were collected outside the 180-day petition collection window, the state said. It never made the ballot.
But the efforts of Sharpe and others didn’t cease.
“Everyone that’s been around knows what Steve did,” Basore said. “It was his life’s goal, in Michigan, to see marijuana and hemp legalized.
“It’s wonderful that he got to see it.”
Michigan, with 56% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana in November 2018. The first recreational marijuana stores opened Dec. 1. Michigan launched its first industrial hemp farming and production pilot program in 2019.
Sharpe’s body was cremated and a memorial celebration is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St. in Michigan Center.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Steve was born on September 15, 1959 in Jackson, Michigan the son of Roger and Annette Sharpe who preceded him in death.
He is survived by his "wifey" Linda Rice, who he married 15 years ago in Negril, Jamaica; step-sons David Rice Jr. and Derek (Michelle) Rice also Doug (Kelly) Chaffin who he regarded as a son; grandchildren Haley, Hannah, David III and Zachary Rice; sisters Sue (Mike) Kurczewski, Penny (Greg) Scofield, Cindy (Bill) Bourke, and Karen (Tim) Phillips; special nieces and nephews Heather, Jason, Andrew, Brent, Ashley, Amber, Tim, Joey and great-nieces and nephews.
He was a member of the Michigan Center Eagles Lodge #3634; former member of the Knights of Columbus and was general contractor for many years. He was also a former Michigan NORML Board member and had held the title of Assistant Executive Director.
Throughout his life, Steve enjoyed traveling, attempting to golf, camping, pontoon rides with their dog, Dottie, cooking and glass blowing.
He was known for being social, adventurous and wearing flip flops year-round.
Steve truly loved spending time with his grandchildren.
He was a lifelong avid University of Michigan fan – Go Blue!
He was a pioneer in the effort to legalize hemp and medical marijuana in Michigan.
Steve made an impact on everyone that he met and will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.
According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.
A celebration of his life will be held from 3-7 P.M. on Saturday February 22, 2020 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St, Michigan Center, MI 49254.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jackson Catholic Charities.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
A wonderful piece written about Steve and published on MLive :
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/michigan-marijuana-hemp-legalization-pioneer-dies-in-key-west.html
Michigan Marijuana, Hemp Legalization Pioneer Dies Near Key West
~By Gus Burns | [email protected]
JACKSON, MI -- In 2016, Steven Sharpe of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.
Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.
But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.
“We can’t drive around like that,” she said.
It was election season. Sharpe had a “big Trump sticker" on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.
“We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing,” she said. “It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.”
Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.
It’s believed Sharpe died of natural, health-related causes, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida,
Sharpe’s death prompted many in Michigan’s now-flourishing marijuana community to reflect on his contribution to the movement, and their appreciation for him as a human.
“He helped to get us to where we were right before we passed legalization,” said Ryan Basore, who started Capital City Caregivers, a now-shuttered marijuana dispensary based in Lansing in 2010. "And it was time for him to enjoy retirement with his wife, whom he loved.
“He had a great life and it’s sad because he had a good 20 years, at least, to watch what he had accomplished and just enjoy it all.”
Sharpe had three stepsons and four step-grandchildren with Linda Rice, his wife of 15 years, whom he wed in Negril, Jamaica,according to his obituary.
He was a “happy, passionate and great guy,” Basore said.
Basore, who’s now prepping to launch his own legal brand of marijuana products, met Sharpe nearly a decade ago. Sharpe was pushing a 2013 ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession in Jackson, one of the first such efforts to pass in Michigan prior to statewide legalization.
Basore was headed to prison. The federal government in 2010 raided his business and arrested him.
Basore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as part of deal that called for him to spend four years in prison.
“I had about six, eight weeks before I was made to report,” Basore said.
Once a week, Sharpe drove to Lansing from Jackson to take Basore out to eat and talk at Meat Barbecue, a restaurant in Lansing’s Old Town.
“He was heartbroken and was really a great friend,” Basore said. “At the time, we didn’t really know each other that well. He didn’t have to do that stuff. He took it upon himself.”
What started as a kinship over marijuana blossomed into a strong bond. Sharpe later visited Basore behind bars during his imprisonment from 2013 to 2016.
As an identifying Republican -- he appreciated the party’s limited-government stance, according to Young -- Sharpe had more access to conservative leaders than others in the marijuana movement.
“He would go to a lot of GOP events ... always wearing his marijuana pin and always talking about marijuana and hemp in really uncomfortable situations,” Basore said. “And he never backed down.”
When he wasn’t doling out his potent, homemade Rick Simpson Oil-infused chocolate bears, a type of marijuana edible, Sharpe sometimes carried a briefcase filled with hemp products -- a shoe, brick, soap and bottle of hemp-brewed beer -- as he espoused benefits of hemp and cannabis as plant, beyond just getting high, at Republican political events.
While he was a Republican, Sharpe “wasn’t in your face” about it, Young said. “He used to corner Republican politicians and talk to them about legalization" and “at the time that was really outside the lines.
" ... Steve was instrumental in convincing the powers that be in Lansing to remove hemp from the controlled substances list. He was very proud of that."
That June 2016 trip Young and Sharpe took to Lansing didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped.
Of the nearly 354,000 legalization signatures they submitted, only about 207,000 of the necessary 252,523 needed to get the proposal on the ballot were verified. The rest were collected outside the 180-day petition collection window, the state said. It never made the ballot.
But the efforts of Sharpe and others didn’t cease.
“Everyone that’s been around knows what Steve did,” Basore said. “It was his life’s goal, in Michigan, to see marijuana and hemp legalized.
“It’s wonderful that he got to see it.”
Michigan, with 56% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana in November 2018. The first recreational marijuana stores opened Dec. 1. Michigan launched its first industrial hemp farming and production pilot program in 2019.
Sharpe’s body was cremated and a memorial celebration is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St. in Michigan Center.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
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