Johnny Boone Passes at 80 Years Old

If there is a pantheon of Kentucky Cannabis Legends, then Johnny Boone is undoubtedly at the front. 

One of the original members of a group that came to be known as the Cornbread Mafia, Johnny Boone became not just a Kentucky Legend, but a name that any self respecting stoner should know. 

Born and raised in Washington County Kentucky, Boone was a farmer through and through, breeding sheep before moving on to pot, and forged a path for those who would come after him in Kentucky. Not only opening the door to new genetics, but new methods of growing, hiding cannabis, and moving it to where it needed to go.

He was a part of the largest domestic marijuana grow in history in Minnesota in 1987, and would spend 10 years in federal prison at the maximum security facility in Terre Haute. 

This would turn him into a target for not just local, but national law enforcement. Boone never gave up on his outlaw ways however, and continued to grow, including his final farm bust of 2400 plants in Washington County KY, which would put him on the run for the last time.

After having his photo and name placed on the infamous FBI’s Most Wanted List, Boone would spend nearly eight successful years evading law enforcement, and continuing to live outside the law before being captured in Canada in 2016.

Johnny Boone passed away at the age of 80, June 22nd of 2024, and Kentucky Cannabis will never be the same.

Joe Keith Bickett, another member of what became called the Cornbread Mafia, described him best, “He was a great friend to many of us, Always willing to help his friends and neighbors. Prayers and thoughts for all the Boone family. He will be greatly missed.”

In an industry that’s constantly inflated with weed celebrities, celebrities looking to get into weed, and those claiming their OG status, Johnny Boone’s passing reminds us that the real ones were often the quietest ones. Outlaws living, growing, and existing with the love of, and for their communities.