A man who spent eight years in state prison for selling cannabis in the United States is now a part-owner of one of the largest legal weed farms in the world.
In fact, if their own video advertisement is to be believed, it's 'technically the largest commercial cannabis farm in the world right now'.
Advert
However, one of the men behind it has come a seriously long way to get to this point.
Mike Biggio spent the years between 2000 and 2008 incarcerated for his crimes, then left to take a role in one of the legal dispensaries that had been set up in his native Colorado.
However, that role disappeared later on when it was made illegal for former felons to take jobs there.
Now, with weed completely legal in the state, Mike now part-owns a plantation called Area 420, one of the largest plantations going.
Area 420 is described as 'Colorado's largest cannabis park' and is set across hundreds of acres of land that is subdivided for legal cannabis growth and laboratories that make Marijuana Infused Products for both recreational and medical purposes.
Sitting in the tiny town of Moffat, it's big business.
However, it wasn't always this profitable and safe for Biggio.
In 2000, when he was just 20 years old, he was sent to prison after being busted for running a drugs business between British Columbia in Canada and Colorado.
He explained: "I was sentenced in 2000 at the age of 20.
"In 1998 there was a big shift in the cannabis market. The DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency] had made some major busts in Mexico that was disrupting the supply chain.
"I had made a contact in BC in Canada and started selling 'BC kind bud'.
"Due to the disruption in supply I was one of the only people that could still provide. This led to a near monopoly in my area."
He continued: "I was growing and selling in the Denver area and had over 30 people working for me, strategically placed throughout the metro area.
"At my peak I was moving over 100 pounds a week."
However, that bubble burst when he was caught.
The time in prison was tough, but he learned some valuable lessons.
In prison, he had to be taught to use the internet on an overhead projector, because inmates weren't allowed to use computers for themselves.
Of his time in prison, he added: "I wouldn't say that it was worth it. The sadness I brought to my family is what I regret most.
"I'm lucky that I have a solid family or this story could have gone in the opposite direction.
"The hardest part for me was the feeling of life passing by. I've always been an ambitious person. Watching the years go by with little sense of accomplishment was torture to me."
"I still struggle with trying to make up for lost time. I don't think I will ever lose that nagging feeling.
Advert
He added: "It will eventually be over, that's what I told myself just about every day.
"Then one day it was. My best advice is to keep a solid attitude.
"I don't walk around feeling like a victim. I see so many people that went down and could never get past it.
"There are a bunch of school programs to take advantage of these days. A horticulture degree is priceless."
After serving his time, he started to seek legitimate work.
He got a job working at one of the first legal dispensaries in Denver, but after a year he lost that position because of regulations banning ex-convicts from working there.
Advert
That wasn't the end, though.
"Last year they changed the law and I am now a proud legal badge holder," he explained.
Now, Area 420 rents out space, power, and opportunity to those who want to get involved with cannabis, and it's all completely legal.
It's sunny, so it grows well, and business is going well. They only started out in 2016, but Biggio says that the best route to success is 'to have premium flower and a good story'.
Well, he certainly seems to have that sewn up.
Advert
As to the question of legalisation, he concluded: "We must not forget the lives that were destroyed in this great experiment.
"I'm a big supporter of social equity for this new industry."
Featured Image Credit: Area 420Topics: Interesting, US News, Cannabis, Weird, weed