The Murders of Two Oregon Cannabis Entrepreneurs in Houston Highlight the Industry’s Unnecessary Dangers

According to friends, both Jimmy Martin and Dana Ryssdal were larger-than-life personalities.

Until recently, friends say, Dana Ryssdal enjoyed a larger-than-life bachelor’s existence in Portland. He sat in suites at Trail Blazers games. He partied and golfed in Las Vegas. He also spent time with family, traveling to Colorado and Washington to visit a niece and nephew.

But on Jan. 27, police found Ryssdal, 35, in a Houston townhouse, shot to death. Also found in the home, according search warrant records obtained by WW: 129 pounds of what appeared to be

marijuana, 10 pounds of hash oil, and $36,000 in cash.

Five days later, police found Ryssdal’s friend, James Martin III, dead in the trunk of a car that had been towed from where police found Ryssdal. Martin had also been shot to death.

The Houston Police Department tells WW it hasn’t yet identified any suspects, and declined to comment on the pending investigation.

But back in Oregon, the double homicide has rocked the cannabis industry.

“It was so shocking to hear that Dana was killed,” says Nathan Howard, co-founder of East Fork Cultivars.