Darrell “DJ” Howley has become a hero to many in the Michigan cannabis industry.
Without the knowledge of his employer, 305 Farms, a large marijuana-growing operation in West Michigan, Howley sold about 665 pounds of recently harvested marijuana and used the cash proceeds – $269,000 – to compensate employees who each had been owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages.
Howley was general manager of 305 Farms in Lawrence when he made the sale on Oct. 18.
As the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office investigates Howley’s actions, some in the state’s cannabis industry are rallying behind him and raising funds in case he is criminally charged.
The goal of the GoFundMe campaign, “Help DJ Howley: Defend a Man of Integrity,” is to raise $10,000 for Howley.
“Darrell is now looking down the barrel of some serious potential legal consequences for doing the right thing, and in an industry filled with people doing the wrong thing we take this as a call to action to do our best to shield and protect Darrell as a family, as Darrell did for his own people,” the GoFundMe campaign reads. “He’s been described by some as ‘Robin Hood,’ or a ‘hero,’ and people saying they had never met a person like him.”
It concludes, “So, today, we ask you to be the hero for Darrell and chip anything in you can spare to help afford some good representation for what comes next. Darrell is a man of the people, so let’s send a message that when someone does the right thing it is the people that notice!”
Metro Times broke the story about Howley’s actions on Monday. Employees said they lost their life insurance without notice and are owed many weeks of unpaid wages. Some fear they’re going to lose their cars or homes because they can’t afford loan payments, while others said they struggle just to pay for gas and food. They called Howley "Robin Hood."
One of the organizers of the fundraising campaign, Dean St. Peter, says Howley made a brave decision to help his hard-working employees and shouldn’t be punished for being a good person.
“I really hope he doesn’t get pummeled for this,” St. Peter, director of production at Trap House Company, a cannabis cultivator in Michigan, tells Metro Times. “He’s going to be the guy who comes under fire for trying to get his employees paid, and as a good human being, I want to do something.”
St. Peter said Howley was grateful for the fundraising effort.
In a previous interview with Metro Times, Howley defended his actions, saying as general manager he had authority to make the sale. When he sold the flower on Oct. 18, he said he did all of the proper paperwork and followed state-required procedures.
Jan Verleur, the co-founder and interim chief executive officer of 305 Farms, disagreed and alleged Howley and some of the other employees broke the law. He said the “theft” involved more than just flower but declined to elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
“We’re working very closely with law enforcement to get this dealt with,” Verleur told Metro Times on Monday.
On Reddit, cannabis supporters came to Howley’s defense.
“Shitty people are everywhere and have no conscience which leads to a lot of bad businesses run by bad people,” one user wrote. “Business was clearly a house of cards built on a foundation of lies and the backs of its workers.”
Another user wrote, “Karma will come for slime balls that screw over their hard working employees!”
