MARIJUANA: How Bob Marley's Son Turned American Prison To Multi-Million Dollars Cannabis Farm

Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, is reaping some cash from his multimillion dollar investment in an old prison in California which he converted into a cannabis farm.

The cannabis advocate and partnering company, Ocean Grown Extracts, purchased the 77,000 square foot Claremont Custody Center – which was shut down in 2011 – from the City of Coalinga in 2016 for $4.1 million dollars.

They are cultivating medical marijuana for state dispensaries as well as cannabis oils. The business is expected to bring 100 new jobs and an annual tax revenue of over $1 million to the city which is struggling financially.

In January 2017, Coalinga City Manager Marissa Trejo told local news media Valley Public Radio that the prison had been rehabilitated and they were yet to start cultivation, manufacturing and delivery.

“They have done a wonderful job rehabbing the facility. It no longer looks like a prison from the inside and of course, it’s very secure. It’s decorated a lot nicer than it was when it was a prison,” she said.

The city allowed commercial marijuana operations to clear its debts and develop its facilities. Last year, the residents voted to allow a single cannabis retail facility that will dispense the herb.

Medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are legal in California, but for Damian Marley, growing cannabis is a part of his culture as a Rasta.

“Of course herb is a big part of our culture for Rastas and Jamaicans and all of that, and we’ve always advocated for it to be legal … If this [venture] helps people and it’s used for medicinal purposes and inspires people, it’s a success,” 39-year-old Marley told Vice in a 2016 interview.

Damian Marley also launched a 3,000-square-foot dispensary in Denver, in partnership with Colorado-based TruCannabis. The facility which is just across from Mile High Stadium has a 30,000-square-foot grow space complete with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for each plant.

Here’s Damian Marley’s music video for his song Medication featuring his brother Stephen Marley. It was shot at the prison cannabis farm.

California, local, and federal laws on medical marijuana.

Medical use of marijuana/cannabis has been legal since Proposition 215, the “Compassionate Use Act,” passed in 1996 (Cal. Health & Safety (H&S) § 11362.5).

After Proposition 64 legalized recreational marijuana, the legislature passed the passed the “Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act” (“MAUCRSA”), creating a combined regulatory system for both medical and recreational marijuana.

These rules permit and regulate for-profit cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, testing, dispensary, and transportation, with permits required from both local and state agencies. Temporary state licenses became available starting January 1, 2018.

For the most part, these rules do not affect individual patients, as long as they cultivate solely for personal medical use and limit their growing area to 100 square feet.

Primary caregivers can cultivate up to 500 square feet for the personal medical use of up to five patients without falling under the new rules.