The creators of ‘Star Leaf,’ a sci-fi cannabis horror/comedy film released in 2015, have launched a cannabis brand of the same name on Washington’s I-502 recreational marketplace.
Starting today, March 1, Star Leaf Enterprises, LLC is offering Star Leaf-branded cannabis strains cultivated in partnership with I-502 licensee Phoenix Cannabis Company. The new products include sativa, indica, and hybrid Star Leaf strains and are currently available at the Clear Choice Cannabis location in Lakewood, Washington.
While it’s not uncommon for cannabis strains to be named after or inspired by films (i.e. Pineapple Express, Skywalker, etc.), Star Leaf’s launch is unique because the film and the cannabis products — or at least the idea behind them both — were born about the same time.
“At the end of the day, I just thought they went together,” filmmaker Richard Cranor told Ganjapreneur. “To me, weed is the poster child for a lot of things about our world that are good — and yet, for some reason, it often gets vilified,” Cranor said.
The movie, which was filmed and takes place in Washington, follows the journey of an Afghanistan War veteran who suffers from PTSD as he and others pursue an extraterrestrial cannabis strain somewhere deep in the Olympic National Forest. The movie repeatedly brings up the topic of cannabis as a PTSD treatment and has been hailed for raising awareness for the struggles faced by many U.S. war veterans.
Star Leaf cannabis is in a unique position considering its exposure and recognition among fans of the movie. Considering this, Cranor and his partners have turned away from traditional marketing strategies for their product launch, choosing instead to lead the Star Leaf launch with a series of short webisodes called ‘Star Leaf is Coming,’ which feature characters from the film reacting to the Star Leaf strain’s impending arrival on store shelves.