Despite the legalization of marijuana in some states in the U.S., people won’t be able to experience the Marley Natural, which is the special blend of herb that Marley’s family will reportedly help mass-produce, according to the Rolling Stones.
However, Bob Marley’s ongoing legacy may reportedly contribute to the movement to legalize marijuana across the world.
“Bob Marley started to push for legalization more than 50 years ago. We’re going to help him finish it,” Privateer Holdings CEO Brendan Kennedy told NBC News.
Marley’s widow Rita Marley and children Cedella and Rohan have reportedly teamed up with Privateer Holdings, a private equity group specializing in the legal marijuana market, to exclusively mass-produce those “heirloom Jamaican cannabis strains” that Marley used to smoke. Bob Marley may actually become the face of the legalization of marijuana in the future.
“It just seems natural that Daddy should be part of this conversation,” stated 47-year-old Cedella Marley, the reggae singer’s first-born daughter, in a taped statement.
She continued, “As Daddy would say, ‘make way for the positive day.’”
Son Rohan Marley added, “Herb is for the healing of the nation; herb is for the meditation; herb is for the higher vibrations.”
The move to create “Marley Natural” has reportedly raised concern among those in Jamaica who share Marley’s Rastafarian faith, a spiritual movement that considers marijuana divine, according to ABC News. Maxine Stowe of the Rastafari Millennium Council reportedly worries that his estate’s efforts to launch a cannabis brand will negatively impact future efforts in Jamaica to benefit financially from a legalization movement.
Some believers of the Rastafarian faith are reportedly bothered that Marley Natural will be based in New York.
Despite the backlash that Marley Natural may receive in the coming weeks or months, Rita Marley, who was once a member of his backup singing group the I Threes, reportedly assured people that this is what the singer wanted.
“You can depend on Bob, too. He’s 100 percent behind what is happening,” stated Rita Marley in a statement, regarding marijuana legalization.
The statement continued, “It was unruly for them to call it weed or drugs. We saw it as a spiritual thing, give to us by God.”
