Peaches, Houseplant and Willie's Reserve – cannabis brands and the high flyers behind them

There are quite a few "celebrity" cannabis brands out there right now.

A celebrity brand enjoys benefits that regular cannabis brands do not. Even though celebrity brands are subject to the same advertising restrictions, they get a lot of press. For example, Drake has invested in a cannabis brand called Bullrider. Justin Bieber has a limited-edition line of cannabis called Peaches.

The Tragically Hip have invested in the parent company of Up Cannabis. They see it as an extension of the band's brand. Rob Baker, the lead guitarist for the Hip, says marijuana has been a part of the band for a long time. Interestingly, his father was a judge, and Baker witnessed his dad incarcerate people for cannabis offences during the 60's and 70's. The cannabis company has named strains after some of the Hip's best-known songs. There is one called "Grace" – after the song "Grace, Too" as well as "Morning Moon" and "Eldorado."

Then there's Seth Rogan.

He and a partner started a company called Houseplant, and launched a cannabis brand in Canada in 2019, then expanded to the U.S. in 2021. Besides cannabis, Houseplant offers a line of household goods geared to the toker. Things like ashtrays and lighters – designed to be proudly displayed. The Houseplant offices are contained, not surprisingly, in a house, featuring the cannabis products Rogan creates.

In the U.S., both Cheech and Chong each have their own weed brands, so does Snoop Dogg, Jim Belushi, Whoopi Goldberg, Chelsea Handler, and even Martha Stewart. She partnered with Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth to create CBD cannabis products for people and their pets. Stewart calls herself the "Cool Weed Grandma." But long before there was a Cheech and Chong, long before there was a Snoop Dogg, and way before there was a Seth Rogan, there was a weed pioneer.

His name is Willie Nelson.

Willie Nelson smoked his first joint in 1954. He worked his first reference to marijuana into a song in 1971. The title was "In A Memory" off the Willie Nelson and Family album. In it, he sings, "I'm a voice on a green telephone" – it was a veiled reference, but it was the precursor to a song he would record 41 years later, titled, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."

Willie has his own brand called "Willie's Reserve." His weed company has raised close to $30 million from investors. Willie said, "I've bought so much of it, it's time to start selling it back."

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