Leo Ashe grew up as a Jewish, evangelical Christian (aka "Jew for Jesus") and conservative Republican in middle-class New Jersey. But before starting high school, Leo’s family moved to Texas so his parents, who are both pastors, could attend Dallas Theological Seminary. Over time, thanks in part to the nudging of a few teachers, Leo began thinking for himself, and after years of obsessive research, he eventually became a progressive.

 

After high school, Leo joined his brother at Moody Bible Institute, with the intent of becoming an inordinately liberal pastor. But, unsurprisingly in hindsight, his progressive views weren't very popular, which led to a life-changing realization: if everyone he trusted could be so wrong about politics, what if they were wrong about God too? So Leo turned his attention to philosophy and theology. But unfortunately, his epistemic questions weren’t particularly welcome at Moody either. So he transferred to Rutgers University in New Brunswick to study Political Science and Philosophy, and in-between classes and extracurricular activities, he challenged everything he thought he knew. Then, fast forward years later, Leo graduated Summa Cum Laude, and about a year after that, he finally concluded his research and became a (friendly) Atheist.

 

At this point, Leo already had years of experience working in business, law, and politics. So in his search for a new yet meaningful challenge, he ultimately became a high school teacher in Washington, DC via Teach for America (TFA), and then he later traveled with friends to teach English, Writing, and Debate while abroad in China. 

 

But despite his foray into education, Leo always stayed involved in politics. However, he eventually began to feel disillusioned by the inaction, corruption, and incompetence on both sides. Finally, in the wake of the 2016 election, Leo reached his breaking point. Tired of working on ideas that had no chance of passing, after a decade or so of working idealistically in various political offices and campaigns, it became increasingly obvious that he could accomplish little, if anything, from the inside.

 

So Leo developed a strategy, which in due time led to the founding Voltaire Cannabis, a philosophy-themed boutique cannabis dispensary centered around making the world better by using our profits to fund vital progressive causes (with an emphasis on climate change, inequality, social justice, and voting/campaign finance reform).

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