Former Seattle Seahawk, and member of the Super Bowl-winning team, Marshawn Lynch has thrown his name into the world of legal marijuana with the launch of Oakland-centric brand Dodi Blunts.
The line of premium cannabis will be “diamond-infused,” a news release from the company said. But there’s more than flash to the brand launching in March, as it is partnering with Last Prisoner Project “to help address cannabis-related criminal justice reform.”
“At the end of the day, the industry has the ability to raise up Black and Brown communities-and I intend to lift up those who I can,” Lynch said in the news release.
Last Prisoner Project program associate Evelyn LaChapelle said in the news release that she felt personally attached to the mission, as she served seven years in prison for “depositing cannabis profits into her bank account.”
“Through our work the Last Prisoner Project aims to ensure that every last cannabis prisoner is released and able to rebuild their lives,” she said. “I am so grateful to Marshawn and Dodi Blunts for further destigmatizing this plant, and for committing to give back to those like myself who have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.”
The company also hopes to dissolve the stigma of marijuana in sports, the release said.
“Dodi Blunts challenges the traditional concept of ‘Game Day’ rituals and hopes to promote and normalize the relationship between sports and cannabis cultures,” said Jeff Goldenberg, a co-founder of partner company 2nd and Goal Ventures, in the release.
On Dodi Blunts’ website, Lynch wrote about his relationship to marijuana as a football player. He said that while growing up, people said weed would slow him down, and attached other negative outcomes to it.
“And then it’s like… Well, you know, I’ve been blowing for about the last, s-t… 20 years?? I’m aite!” Lynch said. “Not that damn bad after all.
“After high school, I started to see how my body responded and reacted to the dodi. During my NFL career, my body took such a beating that on Monday it felt like I’d been hit by a Mac Truck. …so hell yeah that’s when some dodi came in handy for me personally to allow my mind to go elsewhere while my body took its time to recover.”
In addition to the glamor of “24kt diamond-infused blunts,” the brand is focused on craft and will only be launched in 24 specially selected dispensaries throughout the Bay Area, and not beyond it. Lynch grew up in the area, and played for the then-Oakland Raiders after he left the Seahawks.
“I’ve been around dodi most of my life. As I learned more about the business, the financial upside, the good that could be done, and the doors it could open, I knew it was something I needed to be rockin’ with,” Lynch said in the release.
The former running back is the second Seattle sports legend to publicly put his name on marijuana. Seattle SuperSonics icon Shawn Kemp opened a cannabis shop last year near the Space Needle.