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A lot has happened at Nug Radio since their one year anniversary in July. For one thing, they severed ties with Nug Magazine. Michael ‘Ras’ Callahan, owner of Nug Radio says Nug the station was never actually affiliated with Nug the magazine, even though Nug publisher Ben G. Rowin is listed as co-founder on Nug Radio’s info page.
Then, the startup Internet station picked up and moved its entire operation, first from Chula Vista to Adams Avenue and later to an office suite in Kearney Mesa. “We signed a one-year lease,” says Callahan, who hosts a music show called the 420 Ganja Block week days at 4:20pm. “So we’ll be here for at least year.” He laughs.
But now comes what may possibly be the biggest test of all for Nug Radio, as well as the entire medical marijuana industry in the state of California. Last week, the Obama administration announced a reversal of its post-election promise to not prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries in weed friendly states. Citing abuse of the system, law enforcement announced plans to target landlords, publications, advertising vehicles, cooperatives, and pot shop owners with cease-and-desist orders.
“We’ll be fine,” says Callahan. “We’ll keep going. We’re not funded by anyone. We have no affiliations with any collective.” In fact, Callahan says that a logo change (in the old version, a pot bud figured into the Nug lettering) was in the works even before the administration crackdown. “We’re more about music, other than solely about medical marijuana. If that industry goes away, we’ll still be around.”
Has Nug Radio been contacted by law enforcement yet? “No. I do know a couple of businesses that have actually gotten ‘the letter’ to shut down, but we haven’t.”
What would a drop in advertising dollars from dispensaries and pot-related businesses mean for Nug operations? “We’ll only lose about 5% of our revenue,” says Callahan. “We don’t want to be labeled as a pot station,” he says, “you know, a stoner station where people just smoke and talk about weed all day. We give everybody an opportunity to speak out on both sides of the argument.”
“With over 30,000 listeners both nationally and internationally,” says Nug Radio Executive Producer Michele Bluemel, “this is a lifestyle station. It’s not just about weed and medical marijuana.” Aside from community forums and scheduled talk shows Nug, self-described as “a grass roots station home grown in San Diego,” also airs music 24-7.
In July, Nug programmers put the word out via social media that they wanted to fatten their eclectic playlist with local submissions. The offer still stands. “We are 100 percent behind our local musicians,” says Callahan. “We want to play their stuff, and to be an avenue for local musicians to get airplay in their hometown.” Some of the locals that have answered the call so far include the South Bay Wailers, South Town Generals, Revival, Shoreline Roots, the Devastators, Agua Dulce and deejays Sunny Rude, River Bottom Rockers, TRC, Sleeping Giant, and Zion Gates. Bands, he says, may send MP3 files to [email protected] for consideration. “We’ll take it all,” says Callahan. “We have country music playing right after Jay-Z.”
A lot has happened at Nug Radio since their one year anniversary in July. For one thing, they severed ties with Nug Magazine. Michael ‘Ras’ Callahan, owner of Nug Radio says Nug the station was never actually affiliated with Nug the magazine, even though Nug publisher Ben G. Rowin is listed as co-founder on Nug Radio’s info page.
Then, the startup Internet station picked up and moved its entire operation, first from Chula Vista to Adams Avenue and later to an office suite in Kearney Mesa. “We signed a one-year lease,” says Callahan, who hosts a music show called the 420 Ganja Block week days at 4:20pm. “So we’ll be here for at least year.” He laughs.
But now comes what may possibly be the biggest test of all for Nug Radio, as well as the entire medical marijuana industry in the state of California. Last week, the Obama administration announced a reversal of its post-election promise to not prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries in weed friendly states. Citing abuse of the system, law enforcement announced plans to target landlords, publications, advertising vehicles, cooperatives, and pot shop owners with cease-and-desist orders.
“We’ll be fine,” says Callahan. “We’ll keep going. We’re not funded by anyone. We have no affiliations with any collective.” In fact, Callahan says that a logo change (in the old version, a pot bud figured into the Nug lettering) was in the works even before the administration crackdown. “We’re more about music, other than solely about medical marijuana. If that industry goes away, we’ll still be around.”
Has Nug Radio been contacted by law enforcement yet? “No. I do know a couple of businesses that have actually gotten ‘the letter’ to shut down, but we haven’t.”
What would a drop in advertising dollars from dispensaries and pot-related businesses mean for Nug operations? “We’ll only lose about 5% of our revenue,” says Callahan. “We don’t want to be labeled as a pot station,” he says, “you know, a stoner station where people just smoke and talk about weed all day. We give everybody an opportunity to speak out on both sides of the argument.”
“With over 30,000 listeners both nationally and internationally,” says Nug Radio Executive Producer Michele Bluemel, “this is a lifestyle station. It’s not just about weed and medical marijuana.” Aside from community forums and scheduled talk shows Nug, self-described as “a grass roots station home grown in San Diego,” also airs music 24-7.
In July, Nug programmers put the word out via social media that they wanted to fatten their eclectic playlist with local submissions. The offer still stands. “We are 100 percent behind our local musicians,” says Callahan. “We want to play their stuff, and to be an avenue for local musicians to get airplay in their hometown.” Some of the locals that have answered the call so far include the South Bay Wailers, South Town Generals, Revival, Shoreline Roots, the Devastators, Agua Dulce and deejays Sunny Rude, River Bottom Rockers, TRC, Sleeping Giant, and Zion Gates. Bands, he says, may send MP3 files to [email protected] for consideration. “We’ll take it all,” says Callahan. “We have country music playing right after Jay-Z.”