It was approaching the late morning when the news began to take hold. Soon, we’d be able to participate in the cannabis strains from the good doctor himself. Dr. Gonzo that is.
That’s right. Anita Thompson, widow to famed writer Hunter S. Thompson, announced she would soon be cultivating and selling marijuana strains cloned from Thompson’s personal stash. While stating you’ll soon get as high as Thompson feels like an overstatement—the normal human body can’t handle that consumption—you can at least share in his haze.
Anita Thompson broke the news to the Aspen Times, detailing her future plans regarding the Owl Farm, Hunter’s secluded and “fortified compound” as he referred to it. Hunter S. Thompson had established a trust before his passing that allowed Anita to live there for the rest of her life, but it would be owned by the Gonzo Trust.
However, Anita purchased the rights to full ownership of the property back in June. The deal included Anita also gaining complete ownership over the “Gonzo” logo and to Hunter’s likeness, though she gave up her rights as beneficiary to Hunter’s book sales.
Are You Ready For This?
One of her first projects with regards to Hunter’s likeness involves the aforementioned weed strains. Anita said she’d been approached previously by distributors and growers “to slap Hunter’s name on their strain,” but she refused every time. Instead she has six strains the good doctor toked himself, and will work with cannabis companies to sell them or hybrids of the strains to public.
“I have found a legal method to extract the DNA from Hunter’s personal marijuana and hashish that I saved for 12-15 years,” Anita wrote in a follow-up Facebook post. “I am in the process of making the strains available to those who would like to enjoy the authentic Gonzo strains in legal states.”
The sales would go to support plans to turning Owl Farm into a private museum of sorts, as well as writer’s residence. Anita previously was hesitant to promote Hunter’s larger-than-life lifestyle, and wanted fans to focus on his writing and craft.
“I was always steering toward his work and away from his lifestyle, but now I feel like I can talk more openly about his lifestyle,” she said. “I’m proud to do it now. Before, it was a little too risky.”
Or as she more frankly put it: “I’m looking forward to being a drug lord.”
