DO CELEBRITY POT BRANDS SELL?

Guitar icon Carlos Santana is the latest high-profile celeb to have his own cannabis brand, but does having a famous musician or athlete’s endorsement help move product? In WeedWeek, Willis Jacobson found it’s a mixed bag:

“Having a celebrity brand may help get you to first base quicker than other start-ups, but in the long run, I would advise building a great brand with a high-quality product,” said Randall Huft, CEO of Innovation Agency. He recommends that brands consider using celebrity endorsements rather than building an entire brand around one celebrity.

• Among other reasons, if a celeb’s image is tarnished or loses cache, it can tank the brand.”

Willis wrote several more must-read business features this week:

• Operators have grown accustomed to paying a “cannabis tax” to landlords and service providers  who overcharge them compared to mainstream companies. Now some businesses are fighting back against price gouging.
  WeedWeek
• After years of being the next big thing, THC-infused drink companies say their time has finally arrived.
  WeedWeek
• Similarly, cannabis tourism outfits think they can thrive, despite COVID.
  WeedWeek

Quick Hits

1. Colorado dispensary Standing Akimbo has made a long shot appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in its case against hated tax rule 280E.
   WeedWeek
2. A federal judge ruled that a CBD retail chain can move forward with a lawsuit accusing credit card giant Visa of “terrorizing” its business.
   WeedWeek