The NBA is one of the world’s finest showcases for raw athletic talent. Few other professional sports let both the individual athletes and the larger team shine in such equal measures. The determined, hard-charging attitude that defines an NBA player’s drive to the top of the best basketball league in the world, is finding a new and equally fruitful home in an unexpected place: the cannabis industry.
With a myriad of uses for cannabis products, from medicines to recreational alternatives, and ever newer ways to extract the cannabis oil for ready use and distillation, plus its potential as a pain management tool for athletes of all levels, it makes sense that athletes-turned-entrepreneurs would train their attention on the cannabis industry.
Read on to find out which ballers are taking their game to this all-new court.
Isaiah Thomas
CEO of One World Products, Isaiah Thomas is first and foremost an NBA hall-of-famer. In the years since his retirement from play, he’s proved his savvy in the business world, as well. He is the sole owner of Cheurlin Champagne, a fine French champagne produced by traditional farming families.
His company, Isaiah International, invested 3 million dollars into One World Products and took over as the CEO, replacing the founder, Craig Ellins. Not only is Thomas interested in the potential of cannabis as an athlete and businessman, he’s seen the compound’s medical benefits first hand. His mother, while suffering from cancer, was prescribed cannabis-based medication that greatly alleviated her suffering. As a result, Thomas’s investment in the cannabis industry is driven by his desire to facilitate cannabis access to those in need.
Chris Webber
NBA All-Star, Chris Webber, is bringing a philanthropic eye to the cannabis industry. Webber launched a private-equity fund that concentrates on cannabis. This $100 million fund will be invested in cannabis companies founded by people of color. Weber is partnered with JW Wild of JW Asset Management, a historical cannabis-industry investor.
Unfortunately, the cannabis industry remains disproportionately homogenous, with up to 80% of cannabis-based businesses owned by white people. Webber’s company hopes to not just make the space more equitable, but foster the creativity and innovation that a diverse and dynamic industry is uniquely capable of fomenting.
Al Harrington
Similar to his colleague Chris Webber, Al Harrington also aims to increase diversity and equity within the cannabis industry. To this end, he’s begun a business incubation program for 100 black entrepreneurs. Additionally, Harrington recently promised to donate 20,000 topical CBD creams to protestors suffering from chronic pain.
Of course, this isn’t Webber’s first foray into the cannabis industry. Famously, he created the cannabis company, Viola, in honor of his grandmother who benefitted from cannabis. With a starting investment of $5 million, Viola is currently looking at a $100 million valuation, just seven years later. Plus, in an industry alley-oop, Harrington has partnered with his teammate Larry Hughes to open dispensaries and a cultivation and processing center in St. Louis, Missouri.
John Salley
John Salley formed a new team with insurance guru, Daron Philips, to launch a next-generation insurance business: cannabis insurance. Called The Cannabis Plan and provided through National Insurance Partners, Salley’s venture is one of the first large insurance organizations to venture into a complex (but rapidly simplifying) space.
The company insures cultivators and labs, but also individuals who may run into problems with traditional insurance due to their need for cannabis-based medicines.
Salley is a four-time NBA champion, owner of Deuce22, a premium cannabis brand and also a stakeholder in GreenSpace Lands.
Join Team Cannabis Today
Invest in one of these champions today! At One World Products Inc, we make it easy for you to get on the same team as Isaih Thomas. Our ventures in Colombian cannabis and hemp production are the future of industrial production. Whether it’s CBD isolate, full-spectrum cannabis products, hempcrete, biofuel or more, we will produce both the raw materials and refinement of the products. This allows us to not only streamline the production process, but also guarantee quality and compliance across the board.
Go to www.OneWorldProducts.com to learn more about investing in OWP and Isaiah Thomas’s vision of a cannabis-friendly future.