Event

Ngiao Bealum

Ngiao been doing comedy since 1988 and started out as a street performer at Pier 39 in San Francisco," Bealum said. "In 1990 he came in second place at the San Francisco International Comedy Competition. he got into pot activism that year and started doing a lot of pot humor. Ngiao got a little backlash from the clubs because telling pot jokes can be like how anchovies can take over a whole pizza if you're not careful."

Still, Bealum decided to own his stance as the "Stoner Comedian" and began appearing at places where cannabis users frequent, such as Hempfests in Portland and Seattle.

Bealum is the founder and editor-in-chief of West Coast Cannabis magazine and its website claims to have a circulation of 50,000 monthly issues distributed through medical cannabis dispensing collectives and other venues that cannabis enthusiasts patronize.

"I didn't see anybody doing anything about what's happening on the West Coast so I started the magazine to inform and inspire," Bealum said. "We want people to be better cannabis users, better cannabis growers and better cannabis activists. I'm just trying to free the marijuana product. People who like to use it shouldn't have to go to jail for it."