More Celebstoners Bringing Cannabis Brands to the Market

Snoop Dogg debuted Leafs by Snoop in 2015, and pot products from brands by Tommy Chong, Whoopi Goldberg, Willie Nelson and the family of Bob Marley all hit the shelves earlier this year.

Now, a second round of celebrity canna-business brands is making waves. While some are launching their own brands, others partnering with companies established in the industry.

Montel Williams announced the launch of his medical cannabis company LenitivLabs at the CWCExpo in Los Angeles in September. The talk show host has been outspoken about his use of medical cannabis as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

“I’m developing different delivery systems, which will speed up the process of being able to absorb the cannabinoids,” Williams told the Cannabist. “We intend to have product in California, in dispensaries, by the first of December.

Melissa Etheridge also expects to have her line of cannabis products on the shelves by the end of the year. Like Williams, she has been outspoken about her use of medical cannabis since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Etheridge Farms will sell topicals, flowers, edibles and vape cartridges, reported Billboard.

Other celebrities are going the licensing route instead of direct brands. Reggae singer Damian Marley’s Stony Hill by Tru Cannabis retail outlet opened in Denver on Sept. 22. While Marley doesn’t own the dispensary due to Colorado ownership regulations, the shop bears his name and aesthetic imprints.

“Stony Hill is a place in Jamaica where I grew up, so it has a lot of significance,” “I didn’t know in my lifetime I’d be opening a dispensary,” Bob Marley’s son told Billboard.

Die Antwoord, the rap duo from South Africa, is partnering with Natural Cannabis to launch their cannabis line Zef Zol that includes flowers, vape cartridges and candy. The duo have lip balm, chocolate, mouth spray and gold blunt wrap brands in the pipeline.

Before he passed away in April, country legend Merle Haggard had been working on developing cannabis strains he called Merle’s Girls. In September, his relatives announced a partnership with the Pueblo-based Colorado Weed Co. to bring his strains to the market, with plans to expand to other states.

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