They may not yet have the cachet of Gucci, Hermès or Louis Vuitton, but branding in the cannabis industry has come a long way from Wowie and Zowie. If you’re planning to make a gift of cannabis this season, you have a wide range of celebrity-driven brands to choose from.
Snoop Dogg was one of the first celebrities to lend his name to cannabis, through the Leafs By Snoop brand that began in Colorado in 2015 and has now expanded to distribution in Canada. Another established name is Willie’s Reserve, available in Colorado and Washington with the imprimatur of singer Willie Nelson. And Marley Natural, a brand named after the late reggae singer Bob Marley, is sold in California and Washington.
Tommy Chong’s cannabis brand Chong’s Choice started out in Colorado and later expanded to Arizona, California, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, His former film partner Cheech Marin has launched Cheech’s Private Stash in California, Colorado and Nevada. And fellow stoner comedy veteran Seth Rogen launched the Houseplant cannabis brand in his native Canada last year — around the same time that Canadian rapper Drake created his own brand of cannabis More Life.
Jim Belushi has been a grower in Oregon since 2014, with his custom strains available under the Belushi’s Private Vault brand. He has also joined forces with Dan Aykroyd to produce a Blues Brothers cannabis brand to be available next year. Another celebrity cultivating his own products is NBA veteran Al Harrington with his Viola brand available in California, Colorado, Michigan and Oregon. Viola is known for its social commitments; working to create minority ownership and reinvesting back into its communities.
Other celebrities who’ve chosen to partner with partner with existing cannabis companies . include Carlos Santana whose flower brand Mirayo by Santana is sold in California. Disney star Bella Thorne’s Forbidden Flowers brand is also a California favorite — as is Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s brand Mind Your Head. And System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian, is known for his 22Red brand sold in both California and Arizona stores.
Celebrity names are also visible in dispensary store branding. Former NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp is making news in Seattle with the recent opening of Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis — where he is a minority owner. Cypress Hill frontman B-Real owns dispensaries in California under the name Dr. Greenthumb. And Mike Tyson is moving forward with his plans for a 407-acre cannabis-themed resort, Tyson Ranch, in the California desert.
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