The Pot Startup Behind Bob Marley Branded Weed Has Raised $75 Million, And We Could Be Smoking It Soon

Michael Jordan has his own basketball shoe, Dr. Dre has his own headphones, even Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino has his own protein-infused vodka. We are long overdue for a brand of weed inspired by the music legend and Pot Patriot, Bob Marley.

And thanks to Privateer Holdings, a Seattle-based weed conglomerate, we may not have to wait much longer.

Privateer is a huge player in the legal cannabis industry and has raised an industry-record $75 million in funding, bringing its total to $82 million. This is the largest-ever funding round for a pot startup.

The money will be spent on Marley Natural, a brand of medicinal cannibis in association with Marley’s family that hopes to be the “Ben & Jerry’s of pot,” according to NBC news. The brand will be rooted in the life and legacy of iconic musician and pot poster boy and plans to release pot-infused creams, vaporizers, and strains of heirloom Jamaican weed for the U.S. market in late 2015.

**Speaking of vaporizers, BroBible is giving away three Firefly vaporizers leading up to 4/20, so you should click that link to enter because they’re awesome and will get you silly stoned.**

Marley Natural’s products won’t be packaged in a wrinkled plastic baggy like we’re all familiar with, but will be cleanly packaged and marketed by the same company that helped brand Starbucks and New Balance.

Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Privateer, spoke to TechCrunch after their record-breaking round of fundraising:

“We’re in this really interesting stage at the end of prohibition. Our focus is on creating brands that fuel change, that change perceptions of the product and user brands that inspire trust, and brands that create legitimacy.”

I’ll follow you into a ring of fire, Brendan.

The company also plans to use the allocate the funds to two of their other pot-centered companies. Leafy, a Yelp-like pot review site that has amassed 5.5 million views just last month and Tilray, a company based in Vancouver that produces, processes, packages, and distributes medicinal cannabis across Canada, will get a chunk of Privateer’s fortune.

Privateer currently has 250 employees, but hopes to triple that number by the end of the year.  And I’m having second thoughts about my blogging career choice.

[H/T Lad Bible]

Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.