Filed Under: Blunts, Brands & Bullshit
Carmelo Anthony isn’t just selling weed. He’s selling purpose.
At least, that’s what the launch of his new cannabis brand, STAYME7O, and his agency, Grand Nationa,l wants you to believe. Announced in a media blitz that includes a polished press release and high-gloss EPK, the project frames itself as more than business. “This is a mission from God,” Anthony is quoted saying.
“We’re building more than a brand—we’re building a movement.”
It’s not the first time those words have been used to roll out a celebrity cannabis venture. In 2022, Jim Belushi used almost identical language when promoting his 500 pounds of Oregon-grown flower: “It’s a mission from God.” He tweeted it. It trended. And then the price tag spoke for itself.
So is divine inspiration trending, or is this just how celebrity brands market authenticity now?
From Basketball to Brand Evangelism
To Anthony’s credit, he’s not the first athlete to jump into the green rush—but his angle is strikingly polished. STAYME7O is framed as a lifestyle brand “rooted in community, legacy, and purpose.” Meanwhile, Grand National positions itself as a “cultural agency” meant to connect cannabis to causes and communities across New York and beyond.
The visuals are clean. The mission language is tighter than most. And the campaign makes a point of aligning with Black and Brown entrepreneurs in the space—an approach that rightly acknowledges how those most harmed by prohibition deserve real equity in legalization.
But let’s not pretend this is a grassroots movement. STAYME7O is launching in New York, one of the most expensive and exclusive cannabis markets in the U.S. It’s not opening in Mississippi or Alabama. It’s not kicking off in neighborhoods shut out of licensing opportunities. It’s launching in the financial and media capital of the world—a place where brand power matters more than price points and where public relations strategy counts more than cultivation.
The Familiar Playbook
Let’s talk about the formula. Because this isn’t new.
Over the past five years, we’ve seen a pattern emerge: A high-profile figure announces a cannabis brand. They emphasize community. They claim it’s not about money. They align with social equity—often with a nod to restorative justice. Then they roll out in California, New York, or another tier-one market, where licenses are expensive, shelf space is political, and small operators routinely get shut out.
It happened with Belushi. It happened with Seth Rogen. It happened with Jay-Z. And now, it’s happening with Carmelo Anthony.
None of these figures are wrong to enter the space. But the language used—the spiritual metaphors, the community-first framing—often runs counter to the hard financial realities of launching a cannabis brand in 2025. This isn’t a public health campaign. It’s not mutual aid. It’s business. And business, as we’ve learned, doesn’t always leave room for the little guys it claims to represent.
Who Gets to Say It’s Sacred?
When Anthony says this is a “mission from God,” it’s worth asking: Whose mission? And whose God?
The phrase is powerful. It evokes legacy, righteousness, and even destiny. But in the context of a branded cannabis rollout backed by investors, press kits, and marketing firms, it begins to lose weight. Especially when used by public figures with access to capital, media platforms, and the kind of protection that few in the legacy market ever had.
Because let’s be clear: The legacy growers who kept weed alive during the height of the Drug War never called it divine. They called it risky. They called it survival.
In today’s industry, calling weed a sacred mission might sound poetic—but it often functions as a shield. A marketing tactic. A way to signal virtue while cashing checks. And the more often we hear it, the more hollow it rings.
No Cheap Shots. Just Patterns.
There’s no malice in Anthony’s campaign. There doesn’t need to be. The issue isn’t intent—it’s repetition.
When the same phrases, same values, and same promises are rolled out over and over again, what we’re watching isn’t innovation—it’s branding. And the more celebrity cannabis ventures lean on emotional appeal and vague commitments to community, the harder it becomes to take any of them seriously.
The cannabis world doesn’t need more slogans. It needs access. It needs transparency. It needs less talk about missions from God and more talk about how weed is still inaccessible, overpriced, and largely unavailable to the people who built the culture that made it profitable.
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