Gray started growing weed in his closet, taking classes on plant propagation, learning to clone and tell the difference between strains.

[9] Gray earned a master's degree in Botany from the University of Otago,[10] but was too paranoid about his immigration status to grow or sell any cannabis during his first three years in New Zealand.

Gray was arrested in 2008 by a group of uniformed officers while giving a presentation about cannabis at the university's annual clubs day.

[15] Gray stood as a list candidate for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in the 2011 New Zealand general election, and served as their deputy leader.

[16][17] Though inspired by Nándor Tánczos, Gray became disillusioned by what he saw as the Green Party's "political posturing" on cannabis law reform.

Gray ran for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party in the 2017 Mount Albert by-election, running against Jacinda Ardern, Julie Anne Genter and Geoff Simmons.

Gray ran for The Opportunities Party in Wellington Central in the 2020 New Zealand general election,[28][29][30] coming fourth with 1,031 votes,[31] and led the Yes We Cannabis campaign as a spinoff of Start The Conversation.

[33] Gray says he supported the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill,[34] and believes it was important to include edibles in the legislation to give people an alternative to smoking or vaping.

[36] In August 2023, Abe Gray was selected by The Opportunities Party as their candidate for the North Shore in the 2023 New Zealand general election.

Members could pay a fee of $4.20 a week to access a clubroom to smoke in, complete with comfy couches, lava lamps and retro video game consoles.

[49] Gray co-founded pro-cannabis group Start The Conversation in 2013, ultimately attracting the support of Helen Kelly (in 2016),[50] Marc Willers, and Lucy Lawless (in 2018).

Gray alleges the group is a victim of Facebook's strict anti-cannabis stance, and said informed discussion was crucial in the lead-up to a referendum on cannabis.

[52] From 2015 to 2018 Gray appeared weekly on the Radio Hauraki Breakfast Show with Matt Heath and Jeremy Wells under the nickname "Abe from Whakamana".

[53] In 2018, when flying from Sydney to Christchurch, airport customs questioned Gray on wearing a cannabis T-shirt promoting the museum.

Gray said "I felt violated ... to have a pimple-faced Customs kid grilling me about my f...ing T-shirt, it was like a slap in the face coming back to the country.

"[54] After University of Otago proctor Dave Scott, a former police officer, entered at least four student flats and removed drug-taking equipment, Gray sought legal advice for a possible private prosecution.

[60] In 2019, Gray and Cookie Time founder Michael Mayell launched a PledgeMe crowdfunder, hoping to raise $2 million to publicly fund an expansion of the cannabis museum in Christchurch.

[64] Gray said recent scaremongering from the "anti-cannabis brigade" in response to those plans made it clearer that having somewhere like Whakamana presenting facts was even more critical in the lead up to the 2020 referendum and beyond.

[6][66] The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum didn't pass, but in 2021, Gray moved to Auckland, and began looking for a retail space to open the fourth iteration of the museum.

[68] In 2024 Gray started weekly social club meet ups at an Auckland waterfront bar and announced that the Museum would re-open permanently in Hopetoun Alpha in mid-2024.

On August 9th 2024 the Museum was officially re-opened by Auckland Central Member of Parliament and Green Party Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick in a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Gray believes public pressure for change will become more vocal as other countries, particularly Australia, adopt laws allowing marijuana for medical reasons.

[71] Gray was skeptical that CBD gel being tested on patients in New Zealand with a specific form of epilepsy would change the mind of the Minister of Health.

University of Otago's Dr Joseph Boden agrees, saying the data coming out of the American states where cannabis has been legalised has shown that there's a "huge tax take".

"CBD on its own without any THC is the most ineffective form of medicinal cannabis but the most politically accepted, because it's a single compound that can be easily synthesised and has no psychoactive components.

[75] In 2020, following at least 10 incidents of gang members robbing and assaulting people using Discord to buy drugs, Gray says the issue is an example of harm caused by prohibition of cannabis.