The world has lost a truly inspiring man. Howard Marks, or Mr. Nice as most of us have known him, has died of cancer at the age of 70. Howard Marks announced that he had been diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer in 2015 and sadly passed away on April 10th 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his four loving children.

His death is a great loss to the cannabis community, and we’ll remember a man who was not only one of the most successful cannabis traffickers of all times but also a great writer and performer. His friend and former colleague James Brown described Howard Marks as a “true modern-day folk hero”, and he’s certainly right.

There are only a handful of great personalities that come to mind when thinking about people who dedicated their lives to cannabis. Howard Marks, the world’s renowned dope smuggler, is certainly one of them. Let’s take our time and think of a wise man who always had a smile on his face and an outlook on life that has been an inspiration to many of us.

Mr. Nice graduated from Oxford University in the 70’s and received a degree in physics, but his academic achievements didn’t hold him back to follow a slightly different career path, namely smuggling tons of cannabis products, mostly hash, across nearly every international border that exists.

In 1988, US authorities arrested him in Spain, and he got extradited to Florida where he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was released on parole in 1995 for good behavior. Soon afterwards, Marks published his memoirs and revealed the thrilling stories he encountered in his life as an international dope smuggler.

Together with Shantibaba he has been the face of Mr. Nice Seeds; a cannabis seed bank with outstanding cannabis genetics praised all over the world.

You’ll be missed Mr. Nice, may you have eternal high times now.