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The legal cannabis company founded by Bob Marley’s family just opened its first legal “herb house” in the reggae legend’s hometown of Kingston, Jamaica.
The new Marley Natural dispensary will be located in the Bob Marley Museum, on the original site of the iconic musician’s home and recording studio. The dispensary will only sell medical marijuana products, but tourists with legit medical marijuana cards will be able to shop there too. The new development also includes a smoking lounge for museum visitors, decorated with colorful vinyl record artwork created by local artists.
The new dispensary will feature the family’s Marley Natural product line, which includes a variety of THC and CBD flower, pre-rolls, edibles, and accessories. The company already sells these products at several dispensaries in the US and Canada, but the Jamaican herb house will be its first exclusive retail outlet. In time, the company plans to open additional Marley Natural dispensaries in Jamaica and North America.
The Bob Marley Group of Companies, which is run by the singer’s immediate family, launched the new dispensary in partnership with Docklight Brands, a Seattle-based cannabis firm. The weed being sold at the new location is all being grown locally in St. Ann, the parish where Bob Marley was born. In Jamaica, the new outlet is exclusively operated by One Draw Holdings, the medical cannabis company set up by Bob Marley’s son Stephen – who also just happens to be a Grammy-winning musician himself.
“I think my father would be pleased to see this herb house opening at the museum,” said Stephen Marley to Forbes. “When I think of how far the world has progressed surrounding attitudes toward cannabis and to finally recognize its many positive qualities—this is exactly what my father and the Rastafarian community has been saying for over 40 years. It’s right that we do this for him and his legacy.”
“We are thrilled to work with the Marley family to bring the Marley Natural portfolio to Jamaica through this flagship retail location,” said Docklight Brands CEO Damian Mariano to the Jamaica Observer. “This unique cannabis experience will bring to life the ethos of Bob Marley. It is incredibly meaningful to have the first Marley Natural dispensary in the world at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica.”
Despite its longtime fame as the home of ganja, Jamaica has been relatively slow to embrace the wave of cannabis legalization. The country still prohibits recreational cannabis sales and use, but officials did decriminalize the possession of up to 30 grams of bud in 2015. Jamaican dispensaries eventually began selling medical marijuana in 2018, and its homegrown medicinal ganja market has been growing strong ever since.
