The Marley Natural cannabis brand — first announced in 2014 as part of an arrangement between reggae legend Bob Marley’s family and the marijuana moguls behind Privateer Holdings — is finally hitting dispensary and retail store shelves across the U.S.
Marley Natural is offering four different strains of cannabis flower and oils: Marley Green, Red, Gold and Black. Reportedly, each strain was strategically developed to produce certain thematically-appropriate sensations when smoked. The products are available today in certain California dispensaries, but are expected to soon be available in other, normalized states as logistics for the world’s first international cannabis brand are hammered out.
“We’re not only natural in how we source our products and how they’re made; it’s important for us to demonstrate to people that the herb can be a natural part of life, which was the way Bob viewed it,” said Marley Natural spokesperson Zack Hutson. “So that’s what we’re hoping to do really with this brand — help people understand the herb the way Bob did.”
The Marley Natural product lines also include a series of body care products, as well as pipes crafted from “sustainably grown American Black Walnut wood pieces.”
Some individuals, however, do not see the Marley Natural brand as something that Bob Marley would have actually supported.
“Given Marley’s anti-capitalist, anti-establishment identity, the idea of having a company [logo] that evokes the name of centuries-old pirates, and a very negative tradition of imperialist assault… sends a lot of the wrong messages,” said Mike Alleyne, a professor in music recording in Texas and expert on reggae music and culture. “I’m not sure if anyone involved in the whole process is thinking about it, but it’s not a good conceptual foundation for this enterprise.”