Carmelo Anthony has introduced a cannabis brand that will give a portion of its proceeds to a nonprofit organization that looks to give back to the same community harmed by the government’s war on drugs that imprisoned people who sold cannabis.
The former National Basketball Association player launched StayMe7o (pronounced Stay Melo) Cannabis on April 20, the day that celebrates the use of marijuana. The brand’s name is “Stay Melo,” a play off of his nickname, Melo, and his uniform number, seven, which he wore for the New York Knicks, the Oklahoma Thunder, and the Houston Rockets while playing in the NBA.
StayMe7o Cannabis debuted under the umbrella of a new cannabis-based agency named Grand National. The company is a partnership between Lowd Cannabis’ CEO and Founder Jesce Horton and Chief Creative Director Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce. The agency will focus on brand creation, expansion, strategy, and marketing efforts in the cannabis space.
“I was always into the benefits and the science and education of cannabis,” Melo stated. “Over the years, I was studying it, paying attention to the industry, seeing where it was going, the trajectory, taking in the feedback. Given all the research, why not do it? Talk about the benefits of cannabis, what to consume, how to consume.”
Melo also noted the importance of
representing Black entrepreneurs in the space and partnered with NuProject, founded by Jeanette Ward. Its website describes the company as an organization that works to “build generational wealth via the legal cannabis industry for the communities most harmed by cannabis criminalization—Black, Indigenous, and Latina/o/x communities.”“This is a space with a long history of Black entrepreneurs getting penalized and judged, arrested, and locked up for cannabis,” Melo said. “Now, for it to be
legal, it’s only right to open those doors back up for those who want to be in this game, who are already in this game. Instead of it being so singular, how do we come together and work together toward a common goal? Everyone has cannabis out here, what separates you?”There are two Black-owned locations in Oregon where StayMe7o Cannabis can be purchased: Green Muse and Natural Wonders, both in Portland.