REGGAE legend Bob Marley is to become the official face of a new
multi-million-pound CANNABIS business.
The singer’s widow last night revealed the family would launch the Marley
Natural brand next year in countries where the sale of marijuana is legal.
Rita Marley said the line would feature a range of Jamaican-strength strains
of the drug once enjoyed by the icon himself.
The brand will also extend to cannabis-infused lotions, creams and
accessories.
Smokers will be able to buy the cannabis as “buds” or concentrates and oils to
roll their own joints.
Rita, who married the Buffalo Soldier singer in 1966, claimed her husband
would be in favour of the business.
She said: “He’s 100 per cent behind what is happening. He’s happy because this
is what we dreamed of.”
The Marley Natural website says the brand would “nurture a positive connection
in the world”. Marley’s family have linked up with private equity firm
Privateer Holdings for what they hope will become a global brand.
They are said to have bought a 60,000 sq ft site in Canada, where medical use
of the drug is permitted, to grow the plant.
The launch comes as moves to decriminalise the drug, which is still banned in
the UK, gather pace around the globe. Five American states — Washington,
Alaska, Oregon, Colorado and Washington DC — now allow recreational use of
cannabis.
Last year Uruguay became the first country to legalise both its sale and
production, while Holland allows the drug to be smoked in certain licensed
cafes.
In Britain, the Liberal Democrats have discussed decriminalising possession of
cannabis.
Posters depicting Bob Marley smoking joints have long adorned the walls of
student digs.
The Rastafarian, who has sold 75million records, often said he believed it was
good to inhale marijuana.
But the drug’s links to mental illness and some types of cancer mean that the
product will remain controversial.
Marley himself died in 1981, aged just 36, from skin cancer.
The new venture is not the first time Marley’s image has been used to sell
products.
Below we look at the Marley family’s “one love” for sticking his image on
merchandise.
Other Marley merchandise
COFFEE: Six blends are on sale with names such as Buffalo Soldier.
Price: £6-£19 Available: Now
MELLOW MOOD DRINKS: Including Green Tea With Honey.
Price: £12-£14 Available: Now
LEATHER: Posh-sounding House of Marley label sells bags.
Price: From £60 Available: Now
SOUND GEAR: You can listen to the reggae legend on his official Riddim
headphones.
Price: £95 Available: Now
Danger of the ‘herb’
SUN medical expert Dr CAROL COOPER says:
People say cannabis is a simple drug, but it’s not. It has about 80 different
compounds called cannabinoids and they don’t always have the same effect.
There are dangers related to smoking cannabis. The most obvious is, if you get
stoned there is a greater risk of injury.
There are more long-term worries too.
If you smoke it, it increases the risk of lung and neck cancer. No one is sure
whether it is the cannabis itself or the tobacco causing the cancer.
There is also the big issue of mental health problems. There seems to be a
definite link.
It can uncover a pre-existing problem such as paranoia.
But we are still not sure of the truth. Some of the compounds can relieve
shaking and muscle spasms, such as for people with multiple sclerosis.
For people with chronic pain it can boost the effect of other painkillers. It
can also reduce vomiting during chemotherapy.
And lab tests have suggested that some cannabinoids which don’t get you high
can kill cancer cells.
But smoking it can deactivate beneficial compounds.