Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Jimi Hendrix marijuana line to be rolled out

By George Varga
Source: utsandiego.com

Likeness, name and song titles of the iconic rock guitarist, who died in 1970, set to be used array of new marijuana & edible hemp-based products.


FILE- In this 1970 file photo, Jimi Hendrix performs on the Isle of Wight in England. Rock 'n' roll will never die, but it's a hazardous occupation. A new study confirms that rock and pop musicians more often die prematurely than the general population, and an early death is twice as likely for solo musicians than for members of bands. (AP Photo/file)
FILE- In this 1970 file photo, Jimi Hendrix performs on the Isle of Wight in England. Rock 'n' roll will never die, but it's a hazardous occupation. A new study confirms that rock and pop musicians more often die prematurely than the general population, and an early death is twice as likely for solo musicians than for members of bands. (AP Photo/file) — AP


It appears that Bob Marley and Willie Nelson may have some company in the fast-expanding field of active and deceased music icons with their own line of marijuana-related products.
On Monday, Toronto-based Nutritional High International Inc.announced it has "entered into an exclusive licensing agreement... under which the Company may manufacture and distribute various marijuana and hemp-based edible products using the song titles and bearing the likeness of iconic guitarist Jimi Hendrix."
The products in question, which will be marketed under the Edible Experiences banner, include "Purple Haze" and "Stone Free" lines. Both are named after popular songs by Hendrix, neither of which were about marijuana, but why quibble over technicalities?
The "Purple Haze" and "Stone Free" lines will, according to Nutritonal High, include "hemp oil-infused products, including gummy bears, hard candies and health and energy drinkable products."
Nutritional High also plans to market a Hendrix edible marijuana line, Jimi's Cannabis Collection, in conjunction with Purple Haze Properties, an American company that works in collaboration with Hendrix's brother, Leon, 67. Purple Haze Properties will independently launch other marijuana products, including dried marijuana leaves and Hendrix-branded cafes in "major marijuana markets" in the U.S.
Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27. He choked to death on his own vomit, after ingesting too many sleeping pills in a London apartment. Hendrix completed only four albums in his lifetime, but his popularity and commercial success have both surged to new highs in subsequent decades.
In 2013, "People, Hell and Angels," a collection of 12 previously unreleased Hendrix recordings, became his highest-charting album in 44 years. In 2014, OutKast member Andre Benjamin starred as Hendrix in the bio-pic "All Is By My Side."
According to a press release issued Monday by Nutritional High, "a variety of products under the 'Edibles Experience' banner are in development including the 'Purple Haze' line of THC-based products and the 'Stone Free' line of CBD-based, non-psychoactive health products." The contract gives the Canadian company "non-exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute certain apparel and accessories, in the United States and Canada. The term of the Agreement is for five years, with a renewal option for an additional five years."
Both Hendrix lines are set to be launched by the end of this year in Colorado, where recreational marijuana use is legal, according to David Posner, the CEO of Nutritional High. The company was was founded in April, 2014, and is focused on making marijuana extracts and additives in the legalized pot market in the U.S. Nutritional High could get a a major boost, in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market, by having the rights to use Hendrix's name, image and song titles.
"It's massive," Posner said Monday afternoon from his Toronto office.
"This is the second major signing of an iconic music artist; the first was the Bob Marley's Natural brand. We really wanted to have somebody iconic that our product is based on. There's Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, maybe five key artists associated with the psychedelic age. There's also Bob Dylan."

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