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It’s been an exciting time since Padre Mu opened for business in early March 2019. We’ve met many cool and awake people, both fellow cannabis entrepreneurs and new and valued customers. We thank everyone who has contributed to this project and look forward to an even greater future. As the old song goes, “The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades!”
That bright future, however, must include values that make our communities more just and sustainable. Padre Mu is committed to a vision that supports social justice and economic opportunity for all. Our business is about a lot more than just selling cannabis. We’re also selling a vision of a possible future and healthier, happier individuals.
We believe that cannabis has always been central to a community of like-minded individuals who aspire together to create a better world. Our new cannabis culture must always reflect those values. To that end, Padre Mu is committed to helping create an ecosystem of cannabis equity businesses, enlightened consumers and local sourcing.
In this endeavor, collaboration and cooperation are the mottos, not competition. What is good for one of us must be good for all. At Padre Mu, we aim for accountability and transparency and we put our money where our mouth is. Here are a few examples of how we’ve been honoring that promise and delivering the goods:
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Expungement is simply the removal of criminal records from those arrested or convicted for drug-related crimes. One of the major effects of the so-called War on Drugs was to target and criminalize already marginalized communities of color and economic oppression. Having a criminal record has deep and life-long repercussions, leading to diminished educational and career opportunities, furthering the racist impact of unjust social policies. Now that cannabis is legal, it makes no sense for these individuals to be handicapped for the misguided and racist actions of the past. To that end, Padre Mu is committed to helping people expunge their records.
We held our first Expungement Fundraiser on May 14th of 2019. It was gratifying to see nearly 200 people turn out for the event held at EVB in Oakland. EVB donated the space for the event, demonstrating the sort of community solidarity that Padre Mu advocates.
The event raised $7,790 which was donated to the Rights Restoration Project and Cage Free Cannabis, both non-profit organizations that help affected individuals with expungement, helping them to re-start their lives. Deep bows and thanks to all who participated and donated to this vital cause. Those who were adversely affected by draconian cannabis laws MUST share in the now legalized rewards of the new cannabis culture. It’s not only a good thing to do, it’s the right thing!
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There are two sides to Padre Mu. In addition to our cannabis delivery service, we were also a distribution company. In delivery, we put cannabis in individuals’ hands. In distribution, we put cannabis on the shelves of other businesses. We aim to stand in solidarity with equity enterprises and pledge to make equity awareness our priority.
For those who don’t know, equity refers to local programs that provide priority permit processing for individuals disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. In other words, neighborhoods and individuals who suffered because of cannabis prohibition are given priority and even financial support in order to establish a foundation of economic justice and reparation. Equity businesses are owned by local people who strengthen and support their communities, creating jobs and re-investment. Without equity programs, talk about social justice is simply that: just talk.
In addition to our distribution services, Padre Mu has also engaged in many pro-bono consultations with equity businesses, helping them through the often confusing maze of licensing, bureaucracy and financing. We stand committed to assisting our community in every way we can.
If you’re an equity business, please contact us and we’ll explore how we can help each other! Together, we are strong and can build a local ecosystem that benefits us all. Alone, we are vulnerable to predatory big money from out of state. Keep it local! Keep it equitable! Keep it just! Keep it real!
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It’s a mantra that never grows old: local, local, local! At Padre Mu, we focus like a laser on local businesses, local products and local sourcing. Northern California small farms, equity businesses and environmentally conscious producers are the cornerstones of our business model and always will be. We are based in Oakland and proudly declare ourselves Oaklandish!
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When you order from Padre Mu, you’re ordering from a neighbor in Oakland, not some faceless corporation that values profit over people. We are family owned and run and ultimately answerable to only one higher authority: you, our valued and local customer or equity partner.
In an uncertain time when corporate money from outside our borders is starting to infiltrate and colonize our local cannabis culture, Padre Mu is proud to be American-owned and features American-made local products. Social justice, inclusiveness, gender and racial equality, economic opportunity for all and local cultural integrity and autonomy are the American values we at Padre Mu support.
Don’t let politicians hijack patriotism for their selfish and divisive purposes! Healing ourselves, we heal each other, we heal our communities, we heal our nation and ultimately, we heal our ailing planet!
Thanks for helping us make all this possible. We welcome your feedback, comments, ideas, dreams and visions.
A new world is not only possible, it’s inevitable!
Blessings,
Padre Mu
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A Brief History of Padre Mu
As a young teenager in the mid-sixties, Padre Mu discovered a mode of consciousness in the writings of the Beats that offered a new way to experience life; one of ecstasy, magic, free love and community. Cannabis use was a constant theme among these writers and they sang its praises, despite the lies and propaganda equating its use with deviance, criminality and addiction. The Beats had been introduced to cannabis by their association with jazz musicians and black culture. The Beats, in turn, introduced it to Padre.
It was at Woodstock, while getting high with a half million other youths, that Mu first heard the great bands from the Bay that changed the world: Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Creedence, Santana, and many others. A crowd of half a million kids, all high and not one incident of violence. It was obvious someone was lying to us, not only about Vietnam, but about cannabis as well.
It was the alarm clock that woke up a generation to a greater reality - Padre Mu was no stranger to the battles waged in the streets for a new world. He was tear gassed at the Bobby Seale/Black Panther trial in the early 70s, at the anti-WTO protest in D.C. following the Battle of Seattle, again at the Oakland Occupy and again at a handful of other events and marches where he stood up against injustice.
In 1983, Padre quit alcohol and began the next part of his journey, entering and studying at a Zen center where he eventually was ordained as a Zen teacher. It was here that he was given the Buddhist name “Mu”, meaning “nothingness.” He was forever striving to hold no opinions: to be truly open.
Mu was also a long time resident of Oakland and worked for years running a bookstore on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, where he was a visible presence and often consulted for advice on spiritual and emotional matters. His Latino friends began calling him "Padre" in recognition of his unofficial role and "Padre Mu" was born.
Learn more about Mel Ash and his life’s work!
