Country music starĀ andĀ legalization advocate Willie Nelson is taking his relationship with cannabis to the next level. The musician and his family have announced plans forĀ the next retail marijuana brand to be tied to aĀ major celebrity: Willie’s Reserve.
Hemp and marijuana lobbyistĀ Michael Bowman, aĀ representative of the new brand, spoke on the subjectĀ in a recent interview withĀ The Daily Beast:
Willie has spent a lifetime in support of cannabis, both the industrial hemp side and the marijuana side. He wants it [the brand] to be something thatās reflective of his passion. Ultimately, itās his. But it was developed by his family, and their focus on environmental and social issues, and in particular this crazy war on drugs.
The company plans to open stores in statesĀ that have legalized marijuana, with the first stores comingĀ as earlyĀ as 2016. Stores will offer Willie’s Reserve brand cannabis, as well as products from other producers that have met the brand’s quality requirements.
Bowman calls this the “anti-Walmart model,” and says there will beĀ “aĀ certain standard by which growers have to account for carbon and such, in a way that empowers small growers who are doing the right thing…. Itāll all fall under that umbrella of ‘hereās our core beliefs, and hereās our mission statement,’ and they will be a part of that, to be a part of us.
Willie’s Reserve is not the first marijuana brand announced with a celebrity’s name and reputationĀ behind it: Privateer Holdings and the family of Bob Marley unveiled plans earlier this year for Marley Natural, which is expected to be shipping out products by the end of the year.
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Photo Credit:Ā Vladimir
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