Shelby County Division of Corrections
Peters
Cannabis advocate and local provocateur Thorne Peters died at the Shelby County Division of Corrections facility at Shelby Farms sometime over the weekend, according to county officials.
Peters entered the public eye in 2009, when he made local news for operating a “420” friendly nightclub in Millington. Then, the self-proclaimed “Poet Laureate of Planet Earth” and “Galileo of pot” beat a cannabis charge, smoked and sold cannabis in front of 201 Poplar, and started the Cannabag Challenge (a spin-off of the ALS ice bucket challenge that involves dumping a bunch of pot on your head in the name of marijuana law reform).
He was arrested in February 2015 on charges of selling cannabis and for possessing a firearm during the crime. He was booked into prison here in December 2018. He lost a court appeal earlier this year to overrule the gun charge and lower his sentence.
A media release from the Shelby County Division of Corrections said Peters was discovered unresponsive in his cell by corrections staff. He was housed in an individual cell, according to corrections officials, and had no cellmates.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has taken the lead on the investigation and the medical examiner has taken possession of the body.
Peters was scheduled for release in December 2021.
