Al Harrington takes Viola to Canada Cannabis Industry

Al Harrington is taking on Canada. Forbes reports that the former NBA star is now launching the first Black-owned multinational cannabis company. Harrington has signed a licensing agreement for his cannabis brand, Viola, with biopharmaceutical company Avicanna to develop formulations for medical and recreational markets in Canada, where cannabis is federally legalized.

While Avicanna will develop the formulations sold, Viola will receive royalties on sales for the use of the brand’s name. Aras Azadian, the CEO of Avicanna, told Forbes that his company is proud to support Al Harrington Canada cannabis vision and philosophy, highlighting the partnership as bringing together companies owned by people of color. He also noted that Harrington’s message of reform and social justice will be associated with the products brought to market in Canada through the partnership.

Rapper T.I. is Viola’s social justice and reform ambassador, and Harrington has emphasized that while he is dedicated to making his business a success, it is not a “cash grab.” Instead, it remains rooted in the community and aims to uplift people and communities affected by U.S. drug policy.

Al Harrington’s cannabis products are sold in a number of states across the U.S., including California, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington. His brand, Viola, has distinguished itself through its consistent messaging and activities promoting justice and equity, especially for communities of color. Its Viola Cares initiatives promote education, expungement and business incubation programs for Black entrepreneurs and other founders of color, who have often suffered the worst ravages of the War on Drugs and received little support to enter the promising cannabis industry.

Harrington has repeatedly emphasized his focus on building more Black ownership in the industry. His incubator program is expected to create 10,000 new jobs while supporting the creation of hundreds of businesses. Black businesses have faced a lack of access to capital and economic racism, while venture capitalists have been able to delve into the new cannabis industry, a context Viola is working to change.

Viola has also partnered with Root & Rebound, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society, providing opportunities for jobs and business development. The organization also works to change drug policy, noting that cannabis criminalization and other forms of drug criminalization have had an outsized effect on communities of color. In many cases, Black entrepreneurs are kept out of the market due to the collateral effects and injustice of the War on Drugs. The organization produced a toolkit with Viola specifically for people imprisoned on marijuana charges, supporting re-entry and success after a conviction on cannabis charges.

Speaking with Forbes, Harrington expressed his enthusiasm for the forthcoming partnership, labeling Avicanna “the perfect biotech partner” for Viola’s Canadian introduction. He noted that with this agreement Viola was becoming the first Black-owned multinational brand, marking a significant milestone both for his company and for the industry as a whole.

This partnership builds upon an earlier agreement with Avicanna, in which Harrington’s brand re+PLAY, which focuses on CBD products, used the biopharmaceutical firm’s proprietary formulas. Both CEOs said that the partnership emerged from months that they had spent working together on collaborative research and development for innovative, high-quality cannabis products.