Pot smoking and the entertainment industry have always been intertwined. With joints backstage at a concert or in the green room on film sets, entertainers have always shared a love for good old Mary Jane. Now, in the event of marijuana being legalized in 23 states and the District of Columbia, celebrities are being drawn to the cannabis industry.
Pop singer Rihanna reportedly said at the Cannabis Cup in Jamaica, “MaRihanna by Rihanna is truly the first mainstream cannabis, and I’m proud to be a pioneer.” Other famous musicians like rappers Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog have worked with startups in the cannabis industry as well. Even Nick Lachey pushed the bill to legalize marijuana in Ohio. So why are celebrities now more than ever trying to profit off of their favorite pastime?
Annie Lowery from New York Magazine wrote, “Marijuana businesses need branding and cash. Celebrities are great at branding and flush with cash. It all adds up to an unusually good alliance between the famous and the dank.” There are many small startups, but they all claim to be the “best.” With police raids and the stigma of cannabis use, many mom-and-pop stores are closed and can’t survive the expenses in a community. Having a big celebrity as the face brings in more money, stability, and brand affiliation; I mean who wouldn’t want to smoke what Rihanna smokes?
The cannabis industry also offers a new frontier in business for the high-net-worth individuals who invest in it. The market is filled with small players looking for cash, rather than being dominated by a few big, aggressive, well-capitalized firms. It’s the gap in the market in which the wealthy and the adventurous can step into.
With popular celebrities being the face of cannabis companies, smoking weed becomes less stigmatized. It erases the notion that all pot smokers are lazy, dirty, and have a love for tie-dye and jam bands. Celebrities put the face of normalcy on it and reinstate to consumers that it is not dangerous. Your life won’t go downhill if you smoke a blunt at a party with your friends.
Cannabis is in a prohibition phase much like alcohol was in America. During prohibition, people still found ways to obtain alcohol and profit off of it, which led to more organized crime, but when prohibition ended, the taboo effect of drinking alcohol was gone. Marijuana is on the same prohibition status; people do it regardless of the legalities, organized crime runs the marijuana industry, and it acts as "forbidden fruit" for rebellious teens making them more likely to try it, as opposed to it being normalized to them. Lowrey states, “Professional brands helped fuel the end of prohibition.” With more organized firms and businesses for cannabis, the more serious and less taboo it will become in our culture. It would be more respected and not be taken as some ‘hippy commune sh*t.”
The more normalized it is in our community; the more accepted it will become and will decrease the number of people who are arrested for low offense drug use. Hopefully with celebrities like Rihanna, who with courage and open mind venture into the cannabis industry, it can bring an end to the prohibition in America and the stigma around marijuana. Because let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy a good toke with Netflix and yummy snacks?
