Shops roll out Willie’s own-brand weed

Country music star Willie Nelson announced plans to roll out his own brand of marijuana, capitalising on his association with pot.

Willie Nelson performs in Austin, Texas, last year.

Country music star Willie Nelson announced plans yesterday to roll out his own brand of marijuana, capitalising on his association with pot.

The move makes the 81-year-old Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die singer the latest celebrity to jump into the marijuana marketplace.

Willie’s Reserve will be grown and sold in Colorado and Washington, where recreational pot is legal.

Nelson said that he was “looking forward to working with the best growers in Colorado and Washington to make sure our product is the best on the market”.

He joins other pot personalities, including rapper Snoop Dogg, who endorses vaporising products, and singer Melissa Eth­eridge, who is developing marijuana-­infused wine. “Like other industries, branding and creative marketing is a big part of supporting legal cannabis products,” said Vicki Christ­ophersen, director of the Washington CannaBusiness Association.

Nelson has been a decriminalisation advocate and has been busted for pot possession several times. He also appeared in the stoner comedy Half Baked.

Washington and Colorado made pot legal for adult use in 2012. Oregon, Alaska and the ­District of Columbia also have ­removed legal restrictions, and more states are expected to vote on legalisation next year.

The moves have created ­marketing opportunities, but links to celebrity smokers aren’t always considered a positive. This year, the National Cannabis Industry Association decided to drop actor Tommy Chong — of Cheech and Chong fame — as it prepared to lobby congress for pot-friendly regulations.

The group wanted to move past the stoner stereotypes they say Chong represents in favour of positioning pot as similar to fine wine. Others see it differently, however.

Chong has an endorsement deal with Marisol Therapeutics, a pot shop in Pueblo, Colorado, that sells a strain in his name.

Store owner Mike Stetler said Chong was marijuana’s equivalent of the Marlboro Man, and when it comes to pot pitchmen, he asked, “Who better?”

AP