Chef Ra
Encyclopedia
Chef Ra born Jim Wilson, Jr., was a long-time marijuana advocate
and cannabis foods writer in the United States
. After gaining notoriety as a ganja gourmet, he began writing his High Times column, "Chef Ra's Psychedelic Kitchen", in 1988 at the request of editor Steve Hager
. Ra was a fixture of Ann Arbor
's Hash Bash
, speaking out about the benefits of cannabis
for 19 consecutive years before his death.
, and had a rare public screening at the 1998 Freaky Film Festival in Champaign-Urbana. Ra was featured in the short film Bumbaclots in Negril (1999) alongside fellow High Times staffers.
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
and cannabis foods writer in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After gaining notoriety as a ganja gourmet, he began writing his High Times column, "Chef Ra's Psychedelic Kitchen", in 1988 at the request of editor Steve Hager
Steven Hager
Steven Hager, a writer, journalist, filmmaker, and counterculture and cannabis activist, was born May 25, 1951, in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, the son of Lowell P. Hager and Francis Erea Hager.-Early life and career:...
. Ra was a fixture of Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
's Hash Bash
Hash Bash
Hash Bash is an annual event held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the first Saturday of April at high noon on the University of Michigan Diag. A collection of speeches, live music, street vending and occasional civil disobedience are centered on the goal of reforming federal, state, and local marijuana...
, speaking out about the benefits of cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
for 19 consecutive years before his death.
Writings
"Chef Ra's Psychedelic Kitchen" column appeared in High Times off and on for 15 years. The articles would weave together Ra's insights on life together with a new ganja recipe. Ra would also report on travels to cannabis culture events. Selected columns from Chef Ra's Recipe Box remain available online.Filmography
Chef Ra starred in a pair of videos produced by High Times, including Ganja Gourmet (2003) and Chef Ra Escapes Babylon (1980s). The latter features Ra’s visit to JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and had a rare public screening at the 1998 Freaky Film Festival in Champaign-Urbana. Ra was featured in the short film Bumbaclots in Negril (1999) alongside fellow High Times staffers.
External links
- Chef Ra MySpace page
- Chef Ra speaking at 2006 Hash Bash
- Excerpt from Bumbaclots in Negril (1999), featuring Chef Ra
- In Memoriam: Chef Ra, including many photos from the WEFTWEFTWEFT Champaign 90.1FM is a community radio station in Champaign, Illinois, founded in 1981 and owned by Prairie Air, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. It has a wide range of programming, including music from nearly every genre, public affairs discussion, theater and arts, and more...
archives.