1. Abraham Gabriel Gray was born on 16 March 1982 and is an American-born New Zealand cannabis activist, politician and founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum, New Zealand's first and only cannabis museum.
51 Facts About Abe Gray
1. 2.
Abe Gray was a University of Otago lecturer and tutor for over a decade before founding the museum.
3.
Abe Gray has been a high-profile cannabis activist and protester for almost two decades, and is known as New Zealand's "Gandalf of Weed".
4.
Abe Gray grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and attended South High School.
5.
Abe Gray ran for student president of his high school on a stoner ticket, unsuccessfully, but blames low turnout and students skipping assembly for it.
6.
Abe Gray started growing weed in his closet, taking classes on plant propagation, learning to clone and tell the difference between strains.
7.
Abe Gray said following the enactment of the US Patriot Act: "cannabis-smoking hippies were as legitimate a target for the Patriot Act police state as minorities".
8.
Abe Gray read several articles, in the magazines High Times and Cannabis Culture, about New Zealand's newly elected Green MP Nandor Tanczos and how New Zealand was on the precipice of legalising cannabis.
9.
Abe Gray arrived in New Zealand five days after the 2002 New Zealand general election, where the Green Party were no longer in government, meaning cannabis legislation wasn't an option for the foreseeable future.
10.
Abe Gray earned a master's degree in Botany from the University of Otago, but was too paranoid about his immigration status to grow or sell any cannabis during his first three years in New Zealand.
11.
Abe Gray was involved in a University of Otago club of cannabis enthusiasts, Otago NORML, and was its president for many years.
12.
Abe Gray was arrested in 2008 by a group of uniformed officers while giving a presentation about cannabis at the university's annual clubs day.
13.
Abe Gray was warned police officers were heading his way, but was confident they were not after him so he kept a bag of cannabis in his pocket.
14.
Abe Gray was charged with possession of a pipe, one gram of cannabis and resisting arrest, but was discharged without conviction.
15.
Abe Gray stood as a list candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in the 2011 New Zealand general election, and served as their deputy leader.
16.
Abe Gray participated in the 2011 "Occupy Dunedin" protest, as part of a worldwide movement supporting Occupy Wall Street.
17.
In 2014, Abe Gray contested Dunedin North for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, coming fifth.
18.
In 2016, Abe Gray ran in the 2016 Dunedin mayoral election, coming tenth with 734 votes.
19.
Abe Gray ran for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in the 2017 Mount Albert by-election, running against Jacinda Ardern, Julie Anne Genter and Geoff Simmons.
20.
Later in 2017, Abe Gray left his role as president of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party and ran for The Opportunities Party in Dunedin North, partly due to a dissatisfied member base which wanted him gone, and partly because he was impressed by TOP's drug reform policy.
21.
Abe Gray called on other ACLP members to transition to TOP.
22.
Late in the 2017 election, the Greens went all-in promoting their cannabis legalisation policy, ultimately leading to the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum, which Abe Gray is convinced would not have happened without TOP's presence.
23.
Abe Gray ran for The Opportunities Party in Wellington Central in the 2020 New Zealand general election, coming fourth with 1,031 votes, and led the Yes We Cannabis campaign as a spinoff of Start The Conversation.
24.
Abe Gray served as The Opportunities Party's 2020 cannabis spokesperson, and was on a mission to be "the first Minister of Cannabis".
25.
Abe Gray says he supported the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, and believes it was important to include edibles in the legislation to give people an alternative to smoking or vaping.
26.
Abe Gray believes a regionalised model to cannabis is worth exploring.
27.
In 2013, Abe Gray opened the Whakamana Cannabis Museum from a Dunedin flat.
28.
In 2014, the Whakamana Cannabis Museum hosted the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party AGM and Abe Gray was elected president of the party.
29.
Abe Gray wanted to demonstrate cannabis was a political winner and entice major parties into stealing the policy.
30.
Club members at the museum could bring cannabis to smoke, and could exchange and sell to each other, but Abe Gray was never involved in any sales.
31.
Abe Gray co-founded pro-cannabis group Start The Conversation in 2013, ultimately attracting the support of Helen Kelly, Marc Willers, and Lucy Lawless.
32.
Abe Gray alleges the group is a victim of Facebook's strict anti-cannabis stance, and said informed discussion was crucial in the lead-up to a referendum on cannabis.
33.
From 2015 to 2018 Gray appeared weekly on the Radio Hauraki Breakfast Show with Matt Heath and Jeremy Wells under the nickname "Abe from Whakamana".
34.
In 2018, when flying from Sydney to Christchurch, airport customs questioned Abe Gray on wearing a cannabis T-shirt promoting the museum.
35.
Abe Gray said a cannabis supporter known to him had pledged $25,000 to take a private prosecution.
36.
Abe Gray said recent scaremongering from the "anti-cannabis brigade" in response to those plans made it clearer that having somewhere like Whakamana presenting facts was even more critical in the lead up to the 2020 referendum and beyond.
37.
The Christchurch location closed down in 2020, after Abe Gray had to move to Wellington for his wife's job.
38.
The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum didn't pass, but in 2021, Abe Gray moved to Auckland, and began looking for a retail space to open the fourth iteration of the museum.
39.
In 2023 Abe Gray held a fundraiser for reopening the museum in the iconic Hopetoun Alpha heritage building in Central Auckland, with a view to reopening the museum permanently at that location.
40.
In 2024 Abe Gray started weekly social club meet ups at an Auckland waterfront bar and announced that the Museum would re-open permanently in Hopetoun Alpha in mid-2024.
41.
Abe Gray said he believes what stops marijuana law reform is that it's a direct challenge to existing power structures.
42.
In 2016, following Rebecca Reider being allowed to travel through the customs at Auckland Airport with medicinal cannabis, Abe Gray said Reider's success would open the way for others to bring in cannabis.
43.
Abe Gray was skeptical that CBD gel being tested on patients in New Zealand with a specific form of epilepsy would change the mind of the Minister of Health.
44.
In 2018, Abe Gray said New Zealand risks being "completely left behind" if it continues to "drag its heels" regarding ending prohibition of cannabis.
45.
Abe Gray stated he agrees that CBD-only products are not terribly effective.
46.
Abe Gray predicted by 2030 that cannabis will "be as common as it is, but it won't be as hidden away".
47.
Abe Gray expects some cities to push back on cannabis legislation, but believed Christchurch would embrace it.
48.
Cannabis cafes would be around, Abe Gray added, but he didn't think they'd be as common as bars.
49.
In 2020, following at least 10 incidents of gang members robbing and assaulting people using Discord to buy drugs, Abe Gray says the issue is an example of harm caused by prohibition of cannabis.
50.
Abe Gray has lived in New Zealand since 2002 and now lives in Auckland.
51.
Abe Gray has a Masters in Botany from University of Otago.