I opened a store to sell the finished Redwood Burl tables my brother Craig (Norland Class of 72) helped me make in Gainesville, Florida called The Magic Woodsman. For the next 3 1/2 years I expanded the Magic Woodsman to stores and manufacturing plants in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and was the third largest natural wood manufacturer in America at the time. I also expanded my marijuana business during this period and in late 1975 earned my first $100,000 by selling a load of Jamaican marijuana.
By 1976 at age 25 I was a multi-millionaire due mostly to the exploding marijuana business in south Florida. I sold friends loads, off-loaded associates boats and freighters, and brought in my own boat loads and air plane loads. It was the hey day of marijuana with millions of pounds coming into south Florida with virtually no decent law enforcement to stop the flood. Most of my associates also became multi-millionaires during this time.
The demand was at its peak and this was the days when practically every boat in the region was being used to bring in the flood of marijuana. My particular business associates were non-violent and although it did blend over – we mostly stayed away from cocaine – at least selling it large scale like we did marijuana. I won’t mention the others from our class or other Norland class’s that dealt and smuggled marijuana during this time – the list is way too long!