Rainbow Farm: Eight Years Later

Several years ago I came across a book at my local library called Burning Rainbow Farm, about two pro-marijuana activists who were gunned down by federal and state agents. It's an amazing book, and I suggest you find yourself a copy if you haven't read it. If you can't, there is a great story about the incident here, and the immediate aftermath here.

What struck me the most when I first began reading the book was that I had never heard of Rainbow Farm. Ruby Ridge and Waco were common knowledge to anyone not living under a rock due to the constant news coverage, and the constant stories on the aftermath and what went wrong. I considered myself very up-to-date on marijuana activism and what was going on in the movement.

Yet many of us had never heard of Rainbow Farm because of the timing of the incident; These events occurred on Labor Day weekend, 2001, one week before the mind-shattering events of 9/11. Every news outlet that had descended on Rainbow Farm was gone before the towers collapsed.

Since I'm sure there are still some who have never heard of the events at Rainbow Farm, I thought this would be a good time to remember what happened eight years ago.