Excuse me while I light my $pliff
WITH the global movement to legalise ganja gaining even more momentum in 2015, a close friend of reggae icon Bob Marley believes his estate stands to benefit substantially next year.
“Many companies (involved with ganja) are going to use Bob Marley to link their names with him. This type of endorsement can go into the millions,” said Tommy Cowan, who once worked as marketing manager for Marley’s Tuff Gong record company.
The Jamaican government took its first steps to decriminalise ganja in April by amending the Dangerous Drugs Act. This prevents individuals using small amounts of ganja from being prosecuted. Previously, it could draw a criminal record.
In November, High Times magazine staged its long-running Cannabis Cup in Negril, attracting a number of people and companies that either distribute or are interested in marketing ganja-based products.
“A lot of people around the world identify Bob with the weed, so if things go as I think they will, what he earned this year will be nothing compared to next year,” said Cowan.
Forbes Magazine named Marley at number four among its Richest Dead Celebrities this year, with earnings over US$21 million through music sales as well as merchandise bearing his name and image.
Only Michael Jackson (US$115), Elvis Presley (US$55 million) and cartoonist Charles Schultz (US$40 million) earned more.
Marley, who died in 1981 from cancer at age 36, is synonymous with reggae and ganja. He openly smoked the weed and paid homage to it on some of his songs, including Kaya and Easy Skanking.
In the United States, ganja has been legalised in the states of Colorado and Washington, and parts of California.
Last week, the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper reported that the diverse marijuana industry in the US has an annual worth of US$3.5 billion.
— Howard Campbell