Bill and Jeff Levers, aka the Beard Bros, are true OGs. In their decades in the industry, they’ve expanded their business model to include media, consulting and advocacy, establishing Beard Bros Media and Beard Bros Consulting alongside their Beard Bros Pharms cultivation brand. The brothers are savvy businessmen, master cultivators, social reform advocates and tireless cannabis prisoner campaigners. Their work with cannabis prisoners goes back to 2012 when they got involved with Orange County NORML, meeting long-time prisoner advocates Cheri Sicard and Stephanie Landa, founder and current President of Freedom Grow Forever.
In August 2024, the Beard Bros launched “FREE EDWIN RUBIS,” a strategic media campaign highlighting the plight of Edwin Rubis, whose disproportionate sentence “highlights broader issues of racial and social injustice in the criminal justice system.” Generous donations from within the industry, including Iván Vanorwick from Jungle Boys and Josh Kesselman from Raw Rolling Papers, help the Beard Bros and other advocates raise public awareness.
Rubis, now 56, was 29 when he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute cannabis by the DEA. No drugs, guns or money were found in his possession. Rubis claims that his lawyer failed to properly advise or defend him. Federal prosecutors portrayed Rubis as a significant danger to society, seeking the harshest possible sentence. Rubis was convicted and received a 40-year prison sentence. He is one of two longest-serving inmates serving time for non-violent cannabis charges; the other, Pedro Moreno, has served 28 years.
Rubis has spent nearly half his life in prison for a non-violent cannabis crime. In his 27 years behind bars, Rubis has been an exemplary inmate, earning three college degrees and completing 30+ rehabilitation programs. Without government intervention, his earliest release date is not until 2031, when he will be 63 years old. He wasn’t released under new non-violent cannabis laws because his federal-level sentence is for distribution, not possession.
Rubis spent nearly three decades in a high-security Federal Correctional Institute before being transferred to a medical security site this year. The Beard Bros recently visited Rubis with Kristen Flor from Freedom Grow in his new Kentucky facility—his first visitor in seven years. Despite his prolonged incarceration, they say that Rubis has remained remarkably positive.
“It’s astounding that a man who could spend 27 years unjustly confined to a very small cage can have any positivity whatsoever,” Bill says. “We were very encouraged by his positivity.”
The Beard Bros are appealing to President Biden to grant Rubis a full pardon and release before he departs the White House on January 20.
“He’s exhausted all his appeals,” Jeff says.
“The only way he can get out is by the President of the United States granting him commutation,” Bill continues.
From Edwin Rubis: “I no longer belong in prison. I am not a threat to society. The Bureau of Prisons has categorized me as a low non-violent offender for recidivism purposes. I am a non-violent cannabis offender. I believe in redemption. I am a compassionate and relatable individual who does not judge others by their culture, creed, or religion, but by the intentions of their heart. I am honest and loyal; responsible and accountable. I deserve a second chance at life.”
For more information on helping Edwin Rubis and other cannabis prisoners, visit beardbrospharms.com or freedomgrow.org.
