Method Man Launches Cannabis brand TICAL to Support Black Businesses

Method Man has stepped into the cannabis industry and he here’s to lend a helping hand to other black entrepreneurs and businesses in the industry.

Method Man titled his line, TICAL, an acronym for “Taking Into Consideration All Lives” that’s also the title of his 1994 debut solo album, has raise

d US$300,000 with New York-based JLS Fund for its initial launch, and aims to bring in US$3 million for a nationwide rollout.

Method Man, whose legal name is Clifford Smith, plans to use the business in his activism for cannabis legalization and against racism in law enforcement. TICAL’s first three cannabis strains — named “Cake,” “Gelato” and “Crusher” — will go on sale Friday at four black-owned dispensaries in California. Tical’s partnership with a small grow house is part of a plan to focus on family-owned or minority-owned businesses and high-quality strains of cannabis, said Bryan Zabinski, a partial owner and operating partner.

“Personally, it is essential that we use our bra

nd to help bring awareness to the social, systemic and economic injustice in communities that have struggled with oppressive mass incarceration and racially-biased policing procedures,” he said in a statement.

TICAL is developing its own strai

ns through a partnership with California-based grower Clone Guy Industries, according to a press release. The brand said it will focus on meeting high health standards amid the coronavirus pandemic.