Bob Marley to be face of the first 'global marijuana brand'
The iconic name and face of arguably the most famous cannabis smoker of all time is to be used on a global marijuana brand.
In an exclusive report on NBC's Today show, the Marley family and a Seattle-based private equity firm announced the launch of Marley Natural - a "a premium cannabis brand rooted in the life and legacy" of Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley.
The range will include pot-infused creams, accessories and - for those parts of the world where smoking it is legal - strains of "heirloom Jamaican cannabis" inspired by the plant Bob Marley enjoyed in huge joints.
“This is what the end of prohibition looks like,” Brendan Kennedy, the CEO of Privateer Holdings, the owners of Marley Natural, said to NBC: “Bob Marley started to push for legalization more than 50 years ago. We’re going to help him finish it.”
In recent years the Marley family has licensed brands of coffee, audio equipment and a range of lifestyle goods, but this is the family’s first move into actual marijuana.
Bob’s first-born daughter, Cedella Marley, 47, said in a recorded statement provided to NBC News:
Read: How do Britain's drug laws compare to other countries?
“Herb is for the healing of the nation; herb is for the meditation; herb is for the higher vibrations,” added Rohan Marley, the 42-year-old son of Bob and Rita Marley, who also appears in the NBC video.
According to the NBC report, Marley Natural is being pitched to operate as the "Ben and Jerry's ice cream of pot" - selling a global product, supporting local activism and sharing the wealth with "the little guys."
Marley Natural will look like a modern consumer product, cleanly packaged and marketed with the help of the same agency that branded New Balance and Starbucks Coffee.
The cannabis itself will be sold as “loose packed” buds, oils or concentrate, executives said. But only in markets where it is permitted legally.
Brendan Kennedy estimates the global marijuana market to be worth around $150 billion, should world-wide prohibition end. Kennedy also predicts two developments: the worldwide legalization of marijuana in his lifetime and the rise of large, well-run companies to sell the world what it wants. He calls cannabis “the biggest opportunity of my lifetime,” and more and more young professionals seem to agree.
“We’re getting tons of resumes,” Kennedy said. “People are thinking, ‘I was too late for Facebook. I was too late for Microsoft. I was too late for Amazon and Starbucks. I am not too late for [cannabis].”