This article was originally published on Cannabis & Tech Today and appears here with permission.
cCelebrities and hemp go together like Snoop Dogg and weed memes. Who will change things in the world of cannabis in 2022? Hemp and technology today I’ve spoken with a few notable people over the past year and these are 7 celebrities you’ll want to follow.
Redman
Record Producer, Actor, DJ, Legendary MC, and Longtime Cannabis Advocate. Redman has worked with cannabis into his art and lifestyle and is now helping others with treatment safely through his work with the FEC-certified National Cannabis Party. Redman’s passion for cannabis led him to become a licensed patient counselor at the University of Oakland in Oakland, California.
“I am amazed at how far we have come with this plant from me just smoking it for recreational use. I just knew it was for me at the time when I first started smoking. I can’t say I smoked it and knew it would be legalized one day, or That I knew it was going to be at that level, because nobody knew it was going to be at that level, a billion dollar industry. But I can honestly say that when guys like us started smoking it and when we started putting it on the front line, like Richard Lee and all the other greats Who put him on the front line… We were on the right track.”
“Overall, I felt like I made a great choice in my life by dealing with the marijuana plant, because marijuana brings people together. Through the music, while everyone was talking about being a gangster… we just stuck talking about marijuana, and what it brings, [fun] It brings.”
Wanda James
CEO of Simply Pure Infirmary and the first African American woman to own a dispensary in Colorado. Her accolades include her service as a Navy veteran, former political director, former member of President Obama’s National Finance Committee, and now a cannabis entrepreneur. James uses her years of experience in the cannabis industry to advise women entrepreneurs.
“Women are always taught, you know, don’t promote yourself, don’t be big on yourself, but the rest of the world does. And I think a lot of times, we don’t get jobs, or we don’t get funding, or we don’t get the salary we wanted. Because we play so people don’t feel bad around us. If you graduated from Harvard, girl, talk about it! Use words like “was in charge” strong words behind it instead of “I was a member of the team”. We have to put more power behind what we do.
Berner
Berner, an influential rapper with 16 albums under his belt, has become a household name not only through his music, but also through his cannabis empire. Berner is the founder and CEO of the international cannabis company COOKIES, which frequently collaborates with famous musicians and produces unique, award-winning strains.
“You see a lot of artists coming out with herbs now and they don’t have any real pedigree for what they call. What strain? The reason my eyes look the way they do is because I’m on a crazy hunt right now. We’re smoking through 30 different jars, trying to figure out the next flavor for our menu.”
“So, a lot of work goes into it and I think that if music and cannabis are combined correctly, it can be powerful. But if it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m an artist and I’m going to rap about some weed, put my name on it.'” Not very strong. Music brings people together.”
“Cannabis brings people together. You make music for a purpose and we grow cannabis for a purpose. So it’s like we all put our hearts into it, I work with people who put their hearts into their bullshit. You know what I mean? This is how I work.”
Andrew D’Angelo
Co-founder of the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a non-profit organization that fights to free every prisoner from the war on drugs. DeAngelo also co-founded Harborside, a vertically integrated legal cannabis company in California. Here, he reflects on what he has learned from current social justice activists campaigning for change in the current climate.
“What has happened in the past two years with these activists is that I have realized how much we have in common and how much I protect your privilege in the same trade as no one else has.”
“It really opened my mind. We’ve always had that commitment to release our brothers and sisters in prison. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is, we’ve always had that commitment. But what I’ve learned from these activists is that it’s not enough to have an obligation.”
“You must have the law, the force of law behind some of this. Until we are forced to establish justice, until we are asked to establish the property, our work is not finished. For this reason, not only with the Last Prisoner Project, but I also donate a certain amount of my time to justice.” Social, because I [we have a] Moral necessity. I really feel it in every cell of my being – that moral imperative.”
Jason Jan
Australian comedian, actor and the creative mind behind the cult classic television show Wilfred, which depicts a man’s extraordinary friendship with his dog Wilfred (played by Jean). His cannabis company was inspired by his television personality.
Here, Gann explains the reasons behind his marketing campaign, which included a series of videos featuring Wilfred on a journey through space, as he plays cannabis “Johnny Appleseed” growing cannabis seeds on a distant planet.
“I’ve been an old astronaut theorist for many years, my passion has been so great. One of the things that I found in my love for cannabis and love for the old astronaut theory is that I discovered this African tribe called the Dogon… and their account of human history was that we came here and designed and created And that these aliens came from the Sirius star system and brought cannabis to Earth as a gift to humanity to develop their consciousness.”
Ricky Williams
American football player and Heisman Cup winner when he was just 21 years old.
He is arguably one of the best footballers of our time. Because of the physical pain and mental stress that came with decades of intense training and play, Williams sought relief from medical marijuana at a time when public opinion about the plant was still quite conservative.
“Interestingly, the stigma was such that people assumed I was a part of it or a lazy head, but the truth is that cannabis helped me heal. At the time, I didn’t understand this. Not many people were talking about medical marijuana, but it was I have a feeling that consuming cannabis really contributes to my life. On the football field, it helped me recover.”
“Something is physical, emotional, mental and in some respects even spiritual. lan [being] A professional athlete, especially a professional football player, is very difficult. But the truth is that all of us in our lives go through things. I don’t know if this is human nature or what, but it seems like the only way we really grow, develop, and transform is by going through a crisis or traumatic experience.”
“I started to realize when I was in football, that if I was going to put my body at that kind of intensity, I also needed to think about recovery with the same level of intensity. After the workout, I would come home and my body was in pain, and my ritual of rolling a knuckle and smoking helped. A joint or two at night my body recovering, but more importantly it helped my mind and spirit recover.”
Cody Sanchez
Award-winning journalist, public speaker, institutional investor, attorney, and now Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital. Sanchez shared her insights on CNBC, Fox, CNN, and ForbesAnd entrepreneurAnd luck. In this excerpt, she shares her knowledge about impact investing, the act of investing in a company that promotes positive environmental or social benefits.
“I think the cannabis industry, by and large, is an impact investment. I mean the cannabis industry creates about 10,000 new jobs every month. It’s one of the fastest growing business sectors in the United States. The cannabis industry also has a lot of environmental components, like bioprocessing with cannabis and the ability to recycle.
“There is a bit of a global plastic supply shock at the moment. Hemp can in some cases be used in place of plastic, so I think there are really a lot of reasons to invest in cannabis as an impact investment … I usually think that if there is a big problem that needs to be solved, like Bioremediation, the problem of toxicity on farmland. Or opioids, people become very addicted. Or people who want to switch from alcohol to something a little healthier for them without the hangovers or calories — these are big problems, and when you solve a big problem, you can usually Great payout. So from that perspective, why wouldn’t you want to have an impactful investment in your portfolio?”
