Talk about a complete 180! A very exciting partnership between reggae star Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and the California cannabis company Ocean Grown Extracts has just been announced, which will allow the entities to repurpose a former prison into a fully operational marijuana facility. The 77,000 square-foot space on the twenty-acre Coalinga, CA property will be used to cultivate, manufacture, and test cannabis products within the state of California.
Not only is the new Coalinga facility legal, but it’s also going to be a boon for the local economy. The press release states that 100 new jobs will be created, and will ultimately generate over one million dollars annually in tax revenue. The new cannabis facility has literally brought Coalinga out of debt, as the group paid $4.1 million to purchase the complex from a city that was $3.3 million in debt.
In a press release, Damian Marley posits, “Many people have sacrificed so much for the herb over the years who got locked up. If this helps people and it’s used for medicinal purposes and inspires people, it’s a success.” Kelly Dalton, founder of Ocean Grown, adds, “Damian is our perfect partner, who operates with integrity and shares in our belief in the amazing medicinal benefits of the plant. He is honest, humble and always puts quality first. We were honored that he has been involved in every step of our journey.”
The two groups are also teaming up to release the Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley Speak Life cannabis vapor pen, with Marley working alongside a PhD chemist from Ocean Grown Extracts to pick only the purest strains for the new pen. The waste-conserving product and more can be found on the Ocean Grown Extracts website.