“Farmer Tom” Lauerman, Founder of Farmer Tom’s Collective and Terpworks

Today on the Grow Show Kyle Kushman is joined by Farmer Tom Lauerman. Tom’s relationship with cannabis began in San Diego. His very active lifestyle included surfing, skateboarding, and downhill mountain bike racing which naturally caused him to sustain a few bumps and bruises along the way. Cannabis was his “go-to” to get back up and running. Life was good…then things changed. Like many of us growers in the industry, Farmer Tom experienced the sting of being a cannabis cultivator during the so-called war on drugs…his collective was raided in 1999, and he was busted for growing well over 400 pot plants. That was then, and this is now. As legalization pushes forward, so does Farmer Tom. Now a legal organic grower in the great state of Washington, Tom prides himself on being both an activist and an educator – he is all about the legalization and normalization of the cannabis plant. He speaks several times a year at industry events and educates on cultivation panels, and has even taken his message to the local news. Tom’s passion for education has even led to a ground-breaking relationship with a federal agency. Working with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Tom helped give the feds an inside look at how a real-world grow works so that rules to protect workers can be established in this budding industry.