Canna Employee Spotlight ►
Daniel Jones AKA Waxy Brown
From Navy veteran to Felon to City Councilman to Cannabis Advocate and Radio Show Host .
by Rocco Scarcello , contributing writer
If you ’ ve been on or around the Missouri medical and adultuse cannabis scene much since its inception , you ’ ve probably come across Waxy Brown . As host of Waxy Brown ’ s Flower Power Hour from 3-5 p . m . every Wednesday on 92.9 KKID-FM ( broadcasting out of the Ozarks ), listeners have been treated to his unique program since December 2020 . You can also catch Waxy out at seemingly every major cannabis event in the state — sometimes emceeing , as he was at the event this journalist met him at for the first time over a year ago ; sometimes , he ’ s on the scene as just a lover of flower and cannabis culture .
But how on Earth did a Navy veteran named Daniel Jones from southern Missouri create the alter ego and persona , ultimately reinventing himself as Waxy Brown , and why ?
You should probably grab a comfy chair and a preroll for this one .
“ I like backroads , gravel , and a good blunt ,” Jones says . “ I was raised around cannabis but didn ’ t really get into consuming it until I returned from the Navy .”
He was stationed for eight years in Southern California ( USS Bonhomme Richard [ LHD 6 ] for five years and then re-enlisted , serving on USS Boxer [ LHD4 ] for three years ) and lived on the beach , so he knew a bit about weed , but “ certainly couldn ’ t tell you what Sativa was ,” Jones reveals .
Upon returning to Missouri after his Navy service , Jones discovered The Grateful Dead and made friends with a bunch of Deadheads , doing what some veterans ( and Deadheads ) do .
“ I dropped out .”
Jones spent five or six years on the festival circuit , just living and vibing . During this period , Jones learned of his love for cannabis .
By the end of his festival era , Jones had picked up a few tricks , including buying extra bud to flip to his friends to help pay for his personal stash . Naturally , his friends had friends who needed tree too , leaving Jones with a consistent supply of cannabis money for himself .
While his plan worked for a while , the fun ended when the South- Central Missouri Drug Task Force raided his spot , taking everything and leaving Jones with three felony counts of manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance and a $ 300,000 bond .
Waxy Brown in studio for his Flower Power Hour show .
( Photo contributed )
By his own calculations , Daniel A . Jones , Chief of Experiences at Claymore Holdings LLC , host and creator of Waxy Brown ’ s Flower Power Hour , and sales representative for Missouri Wellness , is an Ozarks boy .
Speaking about his early jail experience , Jones says , “ When I was escorted to my jail pod for the first time , the bunkie next to me on one side was accused of murder . He had a $ 250,000 bond . The bunkie on the other side was accused of child pornography . He had a $ 250,000 bond . [ Both bonds were ] less than mine ! I knew something was dangerously wrong with the system — it was then that I realized I had work to do .”
What kind of work ? Jones explains , “ I refused a bond reduction multiple times in protest of cannabis prohibition . Every morning at six , I would wait in the medicine line and ask for cannabis . I was told ‘ no ’ every time . The guards even made jokes with me about it . When I was finally released from jail , I was given a five-year probation to walk , and I walked it the whole way — in anger .”
40 October 2023